I am working on a Python WebSocket server. I initiate it by running the python server.py command in Terminal. After this, the server runs fine and actually pretty well for what I'm using it for. The server runs on port 8000.
My question is, if I keep the server.py file outside of my localhost directory or any sub-directory, can the Python file be read and the code viewed by anyone else?
Thanks.
It is hard to give a definite yes or no answer, because there are a million ways in which your server may expose the .py file. The crucial point is though, that your server needs to actively expose the file to the outside world. A computer with no network-enabled services running does not expose anything on the network, period. Only physical access to the computer would allow you access to the file. 
From this absolute point, it's a slow erosion of security with every additional service that offers a network component. Your Python server itself (presumably) doesn't expose its own source code; it only offers the services it's programmed to offer. However, you may have other servers running on the machine which actively do offer the file for download, or perhaps can be tricked into doing so. That's where an absolute "No" is hard to give, because one would need to run a full audit of your machine to be able to give a definitive answer. 
Suffice it to say that a properly configured server without gaping security holes will not enable users to download the underlying source code through the network.
Can Python server code be read?