fix: start server when rest_api is enabled and gate static file servi…

[CollegeRideOut]

Fixes #767

Relevant components:

• Signalling server
• Common library
• Frontend library
• Frontend UI library
• Matchmaker
• Platform scripts
• SFU

Problem statement:

When serve=false and rest_api=true, the REST API is not accessible.

Although the REST API routes and middleware are registered on the Express app via the OpenAPI initialize(...) call, the HTTP/HTTPS server is only started when serve=true through the WebServer. As a result, no server is listening to handle incoming API requests, which can lead to unexpected responses (e.g. 426 Upgrade Required).

Solution

Start the server when either serve or rest_api is enabled.

Additionally, static file serving (express.static) and the / homepage route are now conditionally applied only when serve=true.

This ensures:

• The REST API is accessible when rest_api=true
• Static content is only served when explicitly enabled via serve

Note: This change keeps the existing configuration structure. Fully separating server startup and static file serving would require introducing a dedicated configuration option (e.g. serve_static), which is outside the scope of this fix.

Documentation

No documentation changes required.

Test Plan and Compatibility

• Verified that:

  • serve=false and rest_api=true → API is accessible
  • serve=true → static files and homepage are served as before
  • serve=true and rest_api=true → both API and static content work as expected

• Existing behavior for static file serving remains unchanged when serve=true

• Changes are limited to:

  • SignallingWebServer/src/WebServer.ts
  • SignallingWebServer/src/index.ts

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