About web.py

web.py is a web framework for Python that is as simple as it is powerful. web.py is in the public domain, you can use it for whatever purpose with absolutely no restrictions.

Install web.py

To install the latest web.py for Python 3, please run:

pip3 install web.py

The latest 0.62 release supports Python >= 3.5. Version 0.51 is the last release with Python 2.7 support.

A minimal web.py application

Save code below in file app.py:

import web

urls = (
    '/(.*)', 'hello'
)
app = web.application(urls, globals())

class hello:
    def GET(self, name):
        if not name:
            name = 'World'
        return 'Hello, ' + name + '!'

if __name__ == "__main__":
    app.run()

Start the application with command below, it listens on http://0.0.0.0:8080/ by default.

python3 app.py

Who uses web.py?

web.py was originally published while Aaron Swartz worked at reddit.com, where the site used it as it grew to become one of the top 1000 sites according to Alexa and served millions of daily page views. “It’s the anti-framework framework. web.py doesn’t get in your way,” explained founder Steve Huffman. (The site was rewritten using other tools after being acquired by Condé Nast.)

Some user testimonials:

• “In the ecosystem of web frameworks, something must occupy the niche of ‘small, light, and fast’: web.py does this.”*   —  Lloyd Dalton, colr.org

• “[Web.py inspired the] web framework we use at FriendFeed [and] the webapp framework that ships with App Engine…”*   —  Brett Taylor, co-founder of FriendFeed and original tech lead on Google App Engine

• “Django lets you write web apps in Django. TurboGears lets you write web apps in TurboGears. Web.py lets you write web apps in Python.”*   —  Alice Atlas

• “Guido* [van Rossum, creator of Python], you’ll probably find that web.py best suits your style. … If you don’t like it, I can’t imagine which of the other dozens of frameworks out there you would like.”   —  Phillip J. Eby, creator of the Python Web Server Gateway Interface (WSGI) #