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Overview
Gunicorn is a Python HTTP server for UNIX built around a prefork worker model derived from Unicorn. It serves WSGI applications such as Django and Flask and now also provides an ASGI worker for FastAPI and Starlette plus beta HTTP/2 support.
Features and best fit
Based on official documentation; not hands-on tested · Content checked:
Key features
Manage Python web applications through a master process and multiple workers
Gunicorn starts and supervises workers under a prefork model and offers sync, gthread, gevent, and ASGI worker types. WSGI applications such as Django and Flask and ASGI applications such as FastAPI and Starlette can use the same process-management layer.
Sources: [2]
Extend the serving layer with HTTP/2, the uWSGI protocol, and graceful worker management
The 26.x line includes beta HTTP/2, the uWSGI binary protocol for nginx integration, and graceful worker process management. HTTP/2 dependencies and worker choices remain explicit deployment decisions.
Best fit
Before adoption
Require Python 3.10+ and UNIX/POSIX, and test HTTP/2 and ASGI by worker and protocol
Gunicorn 26.2.2 requires Python 3.10 or newer and primarily targets UNIX/POSIX systems. HTTP/2 remains beta. Version 26.2.2 fixes an ASGI worker issue where HTTP/1.1 connections could close without a Connection: close header, so connection reuse and graceful shutdown deserve regression tests for the selected worker and protocol combination.
Official sources
- [1]benoitc/gunicorn — GitHub repository(2026-10-06)
- [2]Gunicorn 26.2.2 — README(2026-10-06)
- [3]Gunicorn 26.2.2 — pyproject.toml(2026-10-06)
- [4]Gunicorn 26.2.2 release(2026-10-06)
- [5]Gunicorn 26.2.2 changelog(2026-10-06)
- [6]Gunicorn MIT license(2026-10-06)
Supplemental curator note
Gunicorn now spans traditional WSGI deployments and an ASGI worker, but behavior depends on the selected worker and HTTP protocol. Treat beta HTTP/2 as a deployment-specific choice and test reverse proxy, keepalive, and graceful shutdown behavior explicitly.
Try it in 3 steps
- 1
Clone the reviewed Gunicorn source
Pin the reviewed tag so the official example application is available locally.
git clone --depth 1 --branch 26.2.2 https://github.com/benoitc/gunicorn.git && cd gunicorn - 2
Install Gunicorn 26.2.2
Install the same Gunicorn version in a Python 3.10 or newer environment.
python -m pip install "gunicorn==26.2.2" - 3
Start the official WSGI example with four workers
Combine the README Quick Start with
examples/test.py, then open http://127.0.0.1:8000/ and confirm Hello, World!.gunicorn examples.test:app --workers 4
Growth
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10,694 Stars
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Categories and tags
Categories
GitHub data
GitHub dataView detailed GitHub data
GitHub Topics
- http
- http-server
- python
- wsgi
- wsgi-server
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