A lightweight ASGI framework for building async web services in Python, designed for modularity and high performance.
Starlette is a lightweight ASGI framework and toolkit for building asynchronous web services in Python. It provides a production-ready foundation with essential web functionality including HTTP handling, WebSocket support, background tasks, and middleware, all while maintaining minimal complexity and dependencies. The framework is designed to be used either as a complete web framework or as a modular toolkit where components can be used independently.
Python developers building asynchronous web services, APIs, and real-time applications who want a lightweight, performant foundation without the overhead of larger frameworks. It's particularly suitable for those working with ASGI servers like Uvicorn, Daphne, or Hypercorn.
Developers choose Starlette for its excellent performance in benchmarks, 100% type-annotated codebase, modular design that promotes reusable components, and compatibility with both asyncio and trio backends. Its minimal dependencies and clean API separation make it easier to understand and maintain compared to more complex alternatives.
The little ASGI framework that shines. 🌟
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Starlette achieves excellent results in independent benchmarks like Techempower, making it ideal for high-throughput web services and APIs.
Components such as responses and middleware are reusable across any ASGI framework, promoting clean API separation and code reusability.
It works seamlessly with both asyncio and trio backends, giving developers flexibility in choosing concurrency models for async applications.
With few hard dependencies, Starlette reduces bloat and simplifies maintenance, as highlighted in its lightweight installation requirements.
Core functionality is minimal; features like Jinja2 templating, form parsing, and session management require optional dependencies, increasing initial setup complexity.
Compared to frameworks like Django or FastAPI, Starlette has fewer community extensions and pre-built solutions, which can slow development for niche use cases.
As a toolkit, building full-featured applications often requires assembling middleware and components manually, unlike more opinionated frameworks that provide ready-made structures.