---
id: static3
version: "0.7.0"
license: LGPL
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: abandoned
---

# static3 — A really simple WSGI way to serve static (or mixed) content.

License: copyleft · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 89.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

static3 is a lightweight WSGI middleware for serving static files and optionally templated content. It provides two main components: Cling for simple file serving with optional gzip compression and custom headers, and Shock for serving files with template processing using string substitution, kid, or Genshi. The package was designed as a Python 3 fork of an older library and includes convenience methods for serving files via pkg_resources and ad-hoc HTTP sharing.

The library has no runtime dependencies and integrates directly into WSGI applications. It supports header customization by file type, extension, or URL prefix, and can serve pre-compressed gzip variants of files when available. However, the package has been abandoned since 2016 with no active maintenance, making it a legacy tool suitable primarily for existing deployments or isolated use cases rather than new projects.

Use it for:

- Serve static assets (CSS, JS, images) from a Python WSGI application with minimal overhead.
- Ad-hoc HTTP file sharing for development or testing without setting up a full web server.
- Serve simple templated HTML files with variable substitution or Genshi templates in legacy systems.
- Add gzip compression and cache-control headers to static content in existing WSGI stacks.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Serves static and templated content over WSGI, with optional gzip compression and custom headers. Provides both a simple file server (Cling) and a templated variant (Shock) supporting string substitution, kid, and Genshi templates.

No. The package is abandoned (last release 2016, last commit 2019) with no active maintenance or security updates. While it has no known vulnerabilities and no runtime dependencies, the lack of maintenance and unspecified Python version support make it unsuitable for new projects. Use only if maintaining legacy code already depending on it; for new work, choose an actively maintained WSGI static server.

## Install

pip install static3
uv add static3
poetry add static3

## Installing static3

Before you install: High install friction: no runtime dependencies but the package is abandoned (last release 2016-05-10, last commit 2019-06-28). No active maintenance or security updates for years. Suitable only for legacy systems or isolated use cases where stability is not a concern.

License in practice: Licensed under LGPL (copyleft). Use in proprietary applications requires careful review of copyleft obligations—derivative works or linked code may require source disclosure. Acceptable for open-source projects or internal tools.

Quickstart:

pip install static3

from static import Cling
from wsgiref.simple_server import make_server
my_app = Cling("/my/directory")
make_server("localhost", 9999, my_app).serve_forever()

Python version support is unspecified in the package metadata; verify compatibility with your target Python version before deployment.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably on modern Python versions (3.9+) given its abandonment since 2016.
- Whether Genshi and kid template backends remain compatible with current versions of those libraries.
- Performance characteristics and security posture for production use compared to modern WSGI static servers.

## Package facts

- License: LGPL (copyleft)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 89.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

wsgi static file server, serve static content python, simple http file sharing, wsgi template serving, gzip compression headers wsgi, static content middleware, legacy, wsgi-middleware

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