Overview

The mod_wsgi package provides an Apache module that implements a WSGI compliant interface for hosting Python-based web applications on top of the Apache web server.

The primary package for mod_wsgi is available on the Python package index (PyPi) as mod_wsgi. That package installs the Apache mod_wsgi module itself, along with the mod_wsgi-express command-line wrapper for starting Apache/httpd with mod_wsgi pre-configured. It assumes that you have a suitable version of Apache pre-installed on your target system, and if you don’t, installation of the package will fail.

If you are on a UNIX-like system (Linux) and need a version of Apache to be installed for you, you can use the mod_wsgi-standalone package on PyPi instead. When installing the mod_wsgi-standalone package it will first trigger the installation of the mod_wsgi-httpd package, which will result in a version of Apache being installed as part of your Python installation. Next the mod_wsgi package will be installed, with it using the version of Apache installed by the mod_wsgi-httpd package rather than any system package for Apache.

This method of installation is only suitable for where you want to use mod_wsgi-express. It cannot be used to build mod_wsgi for use with your system Apache installation. This installation method will not work on Windows.

When installing mod_wsgi using this method, follow the installation and usage instructions outlined on the mod_wsgi documentation site at https://www.modwsgi.org, substituting mod_wsgi-standalone for mod_wsgi as the package to install.

The documentation has a page specifically about this package, The mod_wsgi-standalone Package. It covers what the host needs in order to compile everything, how support for HTTPS depends on the OpenSSL development files being present when Apache is compiled, how the version of Apache you get is tied to the version of mod_wsgi-standalone you install, how security fixes for Apache reach you, and why mod_wsgi-httpd and mod_wsgi should not be listed as two separate dependencies in place of mod_wsgi-standalone.

NOTE: Although this package may allow you to install a standalone Apache version, it is only really recommended that you use this package if you have absolutely no other choice for getting the Apache httpd server installed. Always use the Apache httpd server supplied with the operating system if you can. Building this package if you do choose to do so, will take some time. So if you think the install is hanging, it is probably still busy compiling everything.