diff --git a/examples/server/server.cpp b/examples/server/server.cpp
index f255ad764..83b6c08e5 100644
--- a/examples/server/server.cpp
+++ b/examples/server/server.cpp
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ struct server_params {
     int32_t n_threads_http = -1;
 
     std::string hostname      = "127.0.0.1";
-    std::string public_path   = "examples/server/public";
+    std::string public_path   = "";
     std::string chat_template = "";
     std::string system_prompt = "";
 
@@ -2092,7 +2092,7 @@ static void server_print_usage(const char * argv0, const gpt_params & params, co
     printf("  --lora-base FNAME         optional model to use as a base for the layers modified by the LoRA adapter\n");
     printf("  --host                    ip address to listen (default  (default: %s)\n", sparams.hostname.c_str());
     printf("  --port PORT               port to listen (default  (default: %d)\n", sparams.port);
-    printf("  --path PUBLIC_PATH        path from which to serve static files (default %s)\n", sparams.public_path.c_str());
+    printf("  --path PUBLIC_PATH        path from which to serve static files (default: disabled)\n");
     printf("  --api-key API_KEY         optional api key to enhance server security. If set, requests must include this key for access.\n");
     printf("  --api-key-file FNAME      path to file containing api keys delimited by new lines. If set, requests must include one of the keys for access.\n");
     printf("  -to N, --timeout N        server read/write timeout in seconds (default: %d)\n", sparams.read_timeout);
@@ -2826,9 +2826,6 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
         return 1;
     }
 
-    // Set the base directory for serving static files
-    svr.set_base_dir(sparams.public_path);
-
     std::unordered_map<std::string, std::string> log_data;
 
     log_data["hostname"] = sparams.hostname;
@@ -2887,29 +2884,22 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
         return false;
     };
 
-    // this is only called if no index.html is found in the public --path
-    svr.Get("/", [](const httplib::Request &, httplib::Response & res) {
-        res.set_content(reinterpret_cast<const char*>(&index_html), index_html_len, "text/html; charset=utf-8");
-        return false;
-    });
+    if (sparams.public_path.empty()) {
+        auto handle_static_file = [](unsigned char * content, size_t len, const char * mime_type) {
+            return [content, len, mime_type](const httplib::Request &, httplib::Response & res) {
+                res.set_content(reinterpret_cast<const char*>(content), len, mime_type);
+                return false;
+            };
+        };
 
-    // this is only called if no index.js is found in the public --path
-    svr.Get("/index.js", [](const httplib::Request &, httplib::Response & res) {
-        res.set_content(reinterpret_cast<const char *>(&index_js), index_js_len, "text/javascript; charset=utf-8");
-        return false;
-    });
-
-    // this is only called if no index.html is found in the public --path
-    svr.Get("/completion.js", [](const httplib::Request &, httplib::Response & res) {
-        res.set_content(reinterpret_cast<const char*>(&completion_js), completion_js_len, "application/javascript; charset=utf-8");
-        return false;
-    });
-
-    // this is only called if no index.html is found in the public --path
-    svr.Get("/json-schema-to-grammar.mjs", [](const httplib::Request &, httplib::Response & res) {
-        res.set_content(reinterpret_cast<const char*>(&json_schema_to_grammar_mjs), json_schema_to_grammar_mjs_len, "application/javascript; charset=utf-8");
-        return false;
-    });
+        svr.Get("/", handle_static_file(index_html, index_html_len, "text/html; charset=utf-8"));
+        svr.Get("/index.js", handle_static_file(index_js, index_js_len, "text/javascript; charset=utf-8"));
+        svr.Get("/completion.js", handle_static_file(completion_js, completion_js_len, "text/javascript; charset=utf-8"));
+        svr.Get("/json-schema-to-grammar.mjs", handle_static_file(json_schema_to_grammar_mjs, json_schema_to_grammar_mjs_len, "text/javascript; charset=utf-8"));
+    } else {
+        // Set the base directory for serving static files
+        svr.set_base_dir(sparams.public_path);
+    }
 
     svr.Get("/props", [&ctx_server](const httplib::Request & req, httplib::Response & res) {
         res.set_header("Access-Control-Allow-Origin", req.get_header_value("Origin"));