# Introducing Flask-Sockets
*January 2013*





![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/665498111876725f7613f1e6/1719666505947-ZIU1Q7IC5K18GY6EJIIY/b6254-img.jpg)

The state of [WebSockets](http://websocket.org) in Python is unfortunate — there's no obvious way to do it. Twisted \+ Autobhan? Node.js \+ HAProxy? Diesel.io? Nothing feels right. Let's create a WebSocket echo endpoint.


```python
from flask import Flask
from flask_sockets import Sockets

app = Flask(__name__)
sockets = Sockets(app)

@sockets.route('/echo')
def echo_socket(ws):
    while True:
        message = ws.receive()
        ws.send(message)

@app.route('/')
def hello():
    return 'Hello World!'
```
 Serving WebSockets in Python was really difficult. Now it's not.


> I'm going to use the shit out of this. — Randall Degges
>
>  This looks absolutely incredible. — Glenn Siegman
>
>  How do you install this in node? — Nick Hudkins
>
>  You are a golden god, sir. — Jeremy Bowers
>
>  \*foams at the mouth\* — Kyle Conroy

 ## Installation \& Deployment

 [Flask\-Sockets](https://github.com/kennethreitz/flask-sockets) is an easy to install Flask extension:


```bash
$ pip install Flask-Sockets
```
 Production services are provided by gevent and gevent\-websocket. Anything that inserts `wsgi.websocket` into the WSGI environ is supported, but gevent\-websocket is recommended.

 A custom Gunicorn worker is included to make deployment as friendly as possible:


```bash
$ gunicorn -k flask_sockets.worker hello:app
```
 Everything else is taken care of for you.

 ## Moving Forward

 If you'd like to help bring this library to the next level, [fork it](https://github.com/kennethreitz/flask-sockets) and send a pull request!

### Related Links

- [Flask-Sockets on PyPi](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/Flask-Sockets)
- [Flask-Sockets on GitHub](https://github.com/kennethreitz/flask-sockets)
- [Gevent-WebSocket](http://www.gelens.org/code/gevent-websocket/)
- [RFC 6455](http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6455)