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I am using this command on Ubuntu but it is starting on port 8080 and I don't have another server running so I'd like it to start on port 80. I saw ways that you could set up a bash script to do something like this, but isn't there a command line flag or something simpler to specify the port?

python -m SimpleHTTPServer
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    Are you running as root? You can't listen on a port <1024 unless you have root privileges - and I would strongly advise against that.
    – Nathan Osman
    Nov 14, 2011 at 19:53

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sudo python -m SimpleHTTPServer 80

for python 3.x version, you may need :

sudo python -m http.server 80

Ports below 1024 require root privileges.

As George added in a comment, running this command as root is not a good idea - it opens up all kinds of security vulnerabilities.

However, it answers the question.

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    I might also add that running this command as root is not a good idea - it opens up all kinds of security vulnerabilities.
    – Nathan Osman
    Nov 14, 2011 at 19:56
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    @cwd :) The TCP/IP port numbers below 1024 are special in that normal users are not allowed to run servers on them. This is a security feaure, in that if you connect to a service on one of these ports you can be fairly sure that you have the real thing, and not a fake which some hacker has put up for you.
    – jrg
    Nov 14, 2011 at 20:17
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    @cwd If you want to run the server on a port <1024, use iptables to route incoming connections to a port ≥1024. For testing, do something like sudo nc -l 80 (netcat). And see Why are the first 1024 ports restricted to the root user only?
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Nov 14, 2011 at 23:42
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    @jrg A port <1024 only matters if you trust the sysadmin on the server but not other users. It's near-userless outside a few local networks nowadays: most servers aren't multiuser machines.
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Nov 14, 2011 at 23:43
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    This is a related question about how to drop privileges once you've opened port 80.
    – jcollado
    Nov 21, 2011 at 22:43
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Do something like : 

python -m SimpleHTTPServer 50505

Where 50505 is the port number.

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