pygofastproxy

A simple, fast, and secure HTTP reverse proxy for Python, powered by Go's fasthttp library.

Quick Start

1. Install the package:

   pip install pygofastproxy

2. Start your backend server (e.g., Flask) on port 4000.

3. Run the proxy:

   from pygofastproxy import run_proxy
   
   run_proxy(target="http://localhost:4000", port=8080)

4. Send requests to http://localhost:8080.

What is pygofastproxy?

pygofastproxy is a reverse proxy that sits in front of your Python web application to provide:

• Fast performance using Go's fasthttp library
• Built-in security with automatic security headers
• CORS handling for frontend applications
• Rate limiting to protect your backend
• Simple setup with zero configuration required

Client → pygofastproxy:8080 → Your Backend:4000

The proxy receives all client requests, adds security protections, and forwards them to your backend server.

Installation

Install from PyPI:

pip install pygofastproxy

Requirements:

• Python 3.8+
• Go (for building the proxy binary)

Usage

Basic Example

from pygofastproxy import run_proxy

# Start the proxy (forwards :8080 to your backend at :4000)
run_proxy(target="http://localhost:4000", port=8080)

With Configuration

from pygofastproxy import run_proxy

run_proxy(
    target="http://localhost:4000",
    port=8080,
    rate_limit_rps=5000,
    allowed_origins="https://yourdomain.com"
)

Configuration Options

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
target	str	"http://localhost:4000"	Backend server URL to proxy to
port	int	8080	Port for proxy to listen on
max_conns_per_host	int	1000	Maximum concurrent connections per host
read_timeout	str	"10s"	Read timeout (e.g., "10s", "1m")
write_timeout	str	"10s"	Write timeout (e.g., "10s", "1m")
rate_limit_rps	int	1000	Requests per second limit (0 = unlimited)
max_request_body_size	int	10485760	Max request body size in bytes (10MB default)
allowed_origins	str	None	Comma-separated CORS origins

Environment Variables

You can also configure the proxy using environment variables:

PY_BACKEND_TARGET=http://localhost:4000
PY_BACKEND_PORT=8080
PROXY_MAX_CONNS_PER_HOST=2000
PROXY_READ_TIMEOUT=30s
PROXY_WRITE_TIMEOUT=30s
PROXY_RATE_LIMIT_RPS=5000
PROXY_MAX_REQUEST_BODY_SIZE=20971520
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=https://yourdomain.com

Security Features

The proxy automatically adds security headers and protections:

• Request size limits - Prevents memory exhaustion attacks (default: 10MB)
• Security headers - Adds X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, X-XSS-Protection, Cache-Control
• Input validation - Validates all URLs and ports
• Rate limiting - Token bucket rate limiting to prevent backend overload
• CORS protection - When allowed_origins is set, only requests from those origins are permitted

Docker

Use the included Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml:

docker compose up --build

The compose file builds the proxy. Make sure your backend server is accessible at the URL specified in PY_BACKEND_TARGET (default: http://host.docker.internal:4000 for accessing host services from Docker).

Testing

Run the included test:

python test_functionality.py

Or test manually:

1. Start a backend server: python3 -m http.server 4000
2. Start the proxy: python -m pygofastproxy
3. Test it: curl http://localhost:8080

Troubleshooting

"Go is not installed or not found in PATH"

Install Go from golang.org/dl

Rate limiting triggered

Increase rate_limit_rps or set to 0 for unlimited

CORS errors

Set allowed_origins to include your frontend domain

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

Credits

Powered by fasthttp by valyala.