diff --git a/server/request_handling.c b/server/request_handling.c
index 5c0f404..0b4a003 100644
--- a/server/request_handling.c
+++ b/server/request_handling.c
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
+#include <sys/stat.h>
 
 /**
  * Identical to strcpy, but strips a trailing '\r\n'
@@ -93,20 +94,20 @@ int get_file_from_url(const char *uri, struct requested_file *req_file) {
     if (*uri == '/') {
         uri++;
     }
+
+    struct stat file_stat;
+    int stat_result = stat(uri, &file_stat);
+    if (stat_result == -1) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
     FILE *open_file = fopen(uri, "r");
     if (open_file == NULL) {
         return -1;
     }
-    int seek_result = fseek(open_file, 0, SEEK_END);
-    if (seek_result != 0) {
-        return -1;
-    }
-    long size = ftell(open_file);
-    if (size == -1) {
-        return -1;
-    }
+
     rewind(open_file);
-    req_file->size = size;
+    req_file->size = file_stat.st_size;
     req_file->file = open_file;
 
     return 0;