I wrote a ~2KB executable file HTTP file downloader without Libc
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HN · launched Mar 29, 2026 · 9 upvotes (top 46%) · 0 views
Niche: download manager utilities · 63 launches, 3 in the last 7 days ▼ -73% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Dev tools
- Developer
- Not AI
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 63 launches in download manager utilities →
Could you build this?
No Writing a ~2KB standalone ELF binary that performs HTTP downloads without libc requires assembly or raw Linux syscall mastery and binary golf expertise.
What it would actually take: Must be built in raw assembly or freestanding C using raw Linux kernel syscalls (sys_socket, sys_connect, sys_write, sys_read, sys_open). It requires implementing raw TCP socket handling, HTTP/1.0 parsing, and custom ELF header manipulation to strip all bloat and overhead down to ~2KB. This requires deep systems programming, OS architecture, and binary reverse-engineering expertise.
Discussion
6 comments analyzed.
Competitors mentioned: libcurl, curl, HTTP proxy, kurl (DNS+TLS implementation)
Concerns raised: TLS implementation is unprotected/insecure, No new functionality compared to existing tools, Many servers require TLS-only support, Unclear advantage over established alternatives
Feature requests: DNS support, TLS with proper security
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 1064 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #481 of 1065 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 149 days after the earliest competitor.
- File-based HTTP endpoints for Python with its own isolated dependencies · hn · 2026-08-07 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.59
- 18KB ls alternative in no_std rust and Libc · hn · 2026-07-15 · 23 upvotes · similarity 0.56
- gdirect · github · 2026-10-25 · 762 upvotes · similarity 0.55
- BitTorrent client written in Go without external dependencies · hn · 2026-02-28 · 6 upvotes · similarity 0.55
- Rust HTTP library modeled after Go but 2-3x faster · hn · 2026-04-04 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.53
- Hyperbutler · hn · 2026-11-04 · 6 upvotes · similarity 0.53
- rarftp · github · 2026-09-29 · 12 upvotes · similarity 0.53
- Ttar 2.4 KB freestanding TAR archiver written in C, no Libc · hn · 2026-06-12 · 9 upvotes · similarity 0.53
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