🚀Cloudflare Python Workers Go GA with Pyodide Integration
Python Workers Now Live on Cloudflare
TL;DR
Cloudflare's Python Workers, built on Pyodide, are now generally available. This move democratizes serverless Python development, offering a unique blend of Python and WebAssembly. Key libraries like requests and httpx are now supported, with performance improvements and production patterns published.
Cloudflare has made Python Workers generally available, running on Pyodide and supporting WebAssembly. This means any Python package, including those with C, C++, or Rust extensions, can now run in the browser. Cloudflare has also compiled and hosted a limited set of packages, stabilizing the Pyodide build toolchain and adding PyEmscripten support. Libraries like requests and httpx now route through the JavaScript fetch API, making Python development more accessible. The cold start times have been significantly reduced, with a minimal Python app starting in around 60ms on Wasmer Edge compared to 900ms on Cloudflare Workers.
Key Points
Cloudflare Python Workers run on Pyodide, supporting WebAssembly and Python packages with C, C++, or Rust extensions.
Cloudflare compiled and hosts a limited set of packages, stabilizing the Pyodide build toolchain and adding PyEmscripten support.
Libraries like requests and httpx now route through the JavaScript fetch API in WebAssembly environments, improving performance.
Cold start times have been significantly reduced, with a minimal Python app starting in around 60ms on Wasmer Edge.
Cloudflare published production patterns in a python-workers-examples repository, offering guidance for developers.
Why It Matters
If you're building serverless applications in Python, Cloudflare's Python Workers are a game-changer. They offer a unique blend of Python and WebAssembly, making complex packages accessible in the browser. However, the limited set of hosted packages and experimental Emscripten backend in urllib3 mean smaller teams might face challenges. Larger teams with more resources can benefit from the improved performance and production patterns.
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