What?

Need a server that returns 404? 500? 418 I'm a Teapot?

npx 418 404

That's it. A server is now running on localhost:4180, returning 404 Not Found to every request. Every method, every path, every time.

Why?

Because when you're testing error handling in your frontend, API client, or webhook — you don't want to write a whole server. You want to type one command and get back to work.

Install

# Just use it (no install needed)
npx 418

# Or install globally
npm install -g 418

Usage

# Default: the legendary 418 I'm a Teapot
npx 418

# Any status code
npx 418 404
npx 418 500
npx 418 204

# Custom port
npx 418 503 -p 3000

# List all HTTP status codes
npx 418 -l

# List only 4xx codes
npx 418 -l 4xx

What you'll see

        ;,'
     _,-'/  )
  .-'  '  .-'  🫖 418 is brewing...
 /  ._   (
(   ' -._  )
 \  '.  > /
  '._'>-'

  ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
  │  Status:  404 Not Found             │
  │  Server:  http://localhost:4180     │
  │  Press Ctrl+C to stop              │
  └─────────────────────────────────────┘

  [14:30:01] GET     /api/users                     → 404 Not Found
  [14:30:03] POST    /login                         → 404 Not Found

Response format

Every request gets a JSON response:

{
  "status": 404,
  "message": "Not Found",
  "rfc": "RFC 7231"
}

Plus these headers:

• X-Powered-By: 418
• X-Status-Name: Not Found
• Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * (CORS-friendly)

List all status codes

npx 418 -l

  1xx Informational
  👉  100 Continue                            Keep going, you're doing great
  🔄  101 Switching Protocols                 Upgrading to something better

  2xx Success
  ✅  200 OK                                  Everything is awesome
  👶  201 Created                             Something new was born

  4xx Client Error
  👻  404 Not Found                           It's not here. Never was. Maybe
  🫖  418 I'm a Teapot                        Short and stout. Tip me over!
  ...

Zero Dependencies

Built with nothing but Node.js built-in http module. No chalk, no express, no commander. Just tea.

Status Codes

All standard HTTP status codes (1xx–5xx) are supported, including the greats:

| Code | Name | The Vibe | |------|------|----------| | 200 | OK | Everything is awesome | | 301 | Moved Permanently | We've moved. Update your bookmarks | | 404 | Not Found | It's not here. Never was. Maybe | | 418 | I'm a Teapot | Short and stout. Tip me over! | | 429 | Too Many Requests | Slow down! Rate limited | | 451 | Unavailable For Legal Reasons | Censored. Fahrenheit 451 style | | 500 | Internal Server Error | Something broke on our end | | 503 | Service Unavailable | We're down, try again later |

FAQ

Why "418"? Because RFC 2324 defined the Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol, which includes the legendary 418 I'm a Teapot status code. It's the internet's best easter egg, and now it's the internet's simplest mock server.

Can I use any status code? Yes! Any code from 100 to 599. If it's a standard code, we'll show you its name and RFC. If it's non-standard, it still works.

Is this production-ready? This is a development tool. Please don't serve your production traffic through a teapot.

License

MIT © Zhang Xilin