cross-web
A library for working with web frameworks
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, with conditions: install if you need to write framework-agnostic web code or test handlers across multiple frameworks. The low install friction, permissive license, and active maintenance make it safe to try. However, the description's 'early development' caveat conflicts with the 'Production/Stable' classifier — verify stability for your use case before relying on it in production. No known vulnerabilities.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later.
- Framework-specific adapters (Starlette, Flask, Django, etc.) are optional but needed to use the unified interface with those frameworks.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (typing-extensions).
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) — you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in both open-source and commercial projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-05-19 (87 days) · last repo commit 2026-05-19 · 10 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 4,680,106 downloads/mo, #2,256 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install cross-web
from cross_web.request._starlette import StarletteRequestAdapter
from cross_web.testing.clients.starlette import StarletteHttpClient
adapter = StarletteRequestAdapter(request)
body = await adapter.get_body()- Maturity and stability: despite 'Production/Stable' classifier, the description states 'in early development' — actual production readiness unclear.
- Scope of framework coverage: which operations are unified across all supported frameworks vs. framework-specific gaps.
- Performance overhead of the abstraction layer compared to direct framework use.
What it is and what it does
Cross is a web framework adapter that lets you write request/response handling code once and reuse it across multiple Python web frameworks. Instead of rewriting handlers for FastAPI, Flask, Django, and others, you write against Cross's unified interface and adapt it to each framework via framework-specific request adapters. The package ships with testing clients for each supported framework, all exposing the same async API for making HTTP requests in tests.
The core use case is reducing boilerplate when building libraries or tools that need to work across multiple frameworks. It abstracts common operations like reading request bodies, accessing query parameters, and building responses into a framework-neutral layer. The testing module is particularly useful for integration tests that need to verify handler behavior without coupling to a specific framework's test utilities.
Use it for
- Build a reusable library or middleware that works with FastAPI, Flask, Django, and Starlette without framework-specific forks.
- Write integration tests for handlers using a unified async client API across different framework test environments.
- Migrate request-handling logic between frameworks by adapting to Cross's interface instead of rewriting handler signatures.
- Prototype web handlers framework-agnostically and defer framework selection until later in development.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, with conditions: install if you need to write framework-agnostic web code or test handlers across multiple frameworks.
The low install friction, permissive license, and active maintenance make it safe to try. However, the description's 'early development' caveat conflicts with the 'Production/Stable' classifier — verify stability for your use case before relying on it in production. No known vulnerabilities.
Install
cross-web on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (typing-extensions). Active maintenance with a recent release (87 days ago) and no known vulnerabilities.
Requires Python 3.9 or later. Framework-specific adapters (Starlette, Flask, Django, etc.) are optional but needed to use the unified interface with those frameworks.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) — you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in both open-source and commercial projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install cross-web
from cross_web.request._starlette import StarletteRequestAdapter
from cross_web.testing.clients.starlette import StarletteHttpClient
adapter = StarletteRequestAdapter(request)
body = await adapter.get_body()Verify before relying
- Maturity and stability: despite 'Production/Stable' classifier, the description states 'in early development' — actual production readiness unclear.
- Scope of framework coverage: which operations are unified across all supported frameworks vs. framework-specific gaps.
- Performance overhead of the abstraction layer compared to direct framework use.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagetyping-extensions |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 87 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 4,680,106 / month, #2,256 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseTopic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: cross_web-0.7.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also starlette · lia-web · jinja_partials · fastapi-csrf-protect · uvicorn · django-webtest · opentelemetry-util-http · gunicorn · awsgi2 · zappa