Guides

Django HTTP Server

This guide explains how to create and deploy a Python Django web app. To run this example, follow these steps:

Install the CLI. Use the unikraft CLI or the legacy kraft CLI. You need a BuildKit builder. The easiest way to get one is via Docker. Alternatively, you can also directly set up and use BuildKit, see the quick start.

The unikraft CLI is the current standard, while kraft is the legacy version. Choose one of the CLIs below and only run the commands associated with it for the rest of this guide.

Clone the examples repository and cd into the examples/httpserver-python3.12-django5.0/ directory:

Code
git clone https://github.com/unikraft-cloud/examples
cd examples/httpserver-python3.12-django5.0/

Make sure to log into Unikraft Cloud and pick a metro close to you. This guide uses fra (Frankfurt, 🇩🇪):

When done, invoke the following command to deploy this app on Unikraft Cloud:

The output shows the instance address and other details:

In this case, the instance name is httpserver-python312-django50-vt56c and the address is https://dawn-sound-n5wrkxi2.fra.unikraft.app. They're different for each run.

Use curl to query the Unikraft Cloud instance of the Django web app server:

Code
curl https://dawn-sound-n5wrkxi2.fra.unikraft.app

Code

<!doctype html>

<html lang="en-us" dir="ltr">
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <title>The install worked successfully! Congratulations!</title>
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
        <style>
          html {
            line-height: 1.15;
          }
          a {
            color: #19865C;
          }
[...]

Or point a browser at the address and/or its /admin area. You can set the username and password in the Dockerfile (more on this file later) to unikraft/unikraft.

The example sets ALLOWED_HOSTS to * and runs in debug mode. For a production site, ensure you read the recommended deployment guides of the official Django project.

You can list information about the instance by running:

When done, you can remove the instance:

Customize your app

To customize the app, update the files in the repository, listed below:

main.py: the entry point for the app
Kraftfile: the Unikraft Cloud specification
Dockerfile: the Docker-specified app filesystem

Lines in the Kraftfile have the following roles:

spec: v0.7: The current Kraftfile specification version is 0.7.
runtime: base-compat:latest: The runtime kernel to use is the base compatibility kernel.
rootfs: Build the app root filesystem. source: ./Dockerfile means the filesystem is built using the Dockerfile. format: erofs means the filesystem type is EROFS.
cmd: ["/usr/bin/python3", "/app/main.py"]: Use this as the starting command of the instance.

Lines in the Dockerfile have the following roles:

FROM scratch: Build the filesystem from the scratch container image, to create a base image.

The following options are available for customizing the app:

If you only update the implementation in the main.py source file, you don't need to make any other changes.
If you create any new source files, copy them into the app filesystem by using the COPY command in the Dockerfile.
More extensive changes may require extending the Dockerfile (see Dockerfile syntax reference). This includes the use of Python frameworks and the use of pip, as shown in the next section.

Using `pip`

pip is a package manager for Python. It's used to install dependencies for Python apps. pip uses the requirements.txt file to list required dependencies (with versions).

The httpserver-python3.12-flask3.0 guide details the use of pip to deploy an app using the Flask framework on Unikraft Cloud.

Run the command below to deploy the app on Unikraft Cloud:

Differences from the Django app are also the steps required to create an pip-based app:

Add the requirements.txt file used by pip.
Add framework-specific source files. In this case, this means the server.py file.
Update the Dockerfile to:

3.1. COPY the local files.

3.2. RUN the pip3 install command to install dependencies.

3.3. COPY of the resulting and required files (/usr/local/lib/python3.12 and server.py) in the app filesystem, using the scratch container.

The following lists the files:

The requirements.txt file lists the flask dependency.

The Kraftfile is the same one used for Django.

For Dockerfile newly added lines have the following roles:

FROM python:3.12-bookworm AS base: Use the base image of the python:3.12-bookworm container. This provides the pip3 binary and other Python-related components. Name the current image base.
WORKDIR /app: Use /app as working directory. All other commands in the Dockerfile run inside this directory.
COPY requirements.txt /app: Copy the package configuration file to the Docker filesystem.
RUN pip3 install ...: Install pip components listed in requirements.txt.
COPY --from=base ...: Copy generated Python files in the new base image in the scratch-based image.

Similar actions apply to other pip3-based apps.

Learn more

Use the --help option for detailed information on using Unikraft Cloud:

Or visit the CLI Reference or the legacy CLI Reference.

Edit this page

Last modified on August 11, 2026

Debian SSH server DragonflyDB

Guides

Django HTTP Server

This guide explains how to create and deploy a Python Django web app. To run this example, follow these steps:

Install the CLI. Use the unikraft CLI or the legacy kraft CLI. You need a BuildKit builder. The easiest way to get one is via Docker. Alternatively, you can also directly set up and use BuildKit, see the quick start.

The unikraft CLI is the current standard, while kraft is the legacy version. Choose one of the CLIs below and only run the commands associated with it for the rest of this guide.

Clone the examples repository and cd into the examples/httpserver-python3.12-django5.0/ directory:

Code
git clone https://github.com/unikraft-cloud/examples
cd examples/httpserver-python3.12-django5.0/

Make sure to log into Unikraft Cloud and pick a metro close to you. This guide uses fra (Frankfurt, 🇩🇪):

unikraft login

When done, invoke the following command to deploy this app on Unikraft Cloud:

unikraft build . --output <my-org>/httpserver-python312-django50:latest
unikraft run --scale-to-zero policy=on,cooldown-time=1000,stateful=true --metro fra -p 443:80/tls+http -m 1G --image <my-org>/httpserver-python312-django50:latest

The output shows the instance address and other details:

metro:        fra
name:         httpserver-python312-django50-vt56c
uuid:         d8469447-fdf6-4caf-9fea-494218ca6f72
state:        starting
image:        <my-org>/httpserver-python312-django50
resources:
  memory:     1024MiB
  vcpus:      1
service:
  uuid:       109aa11f-da45-8d57-d5e4-6eb509ee3e73
  name:       dawn-sound-n5wrkxi2
  domains:
  - fqdn:     dawn-sound-n5wrkxi2.fra.unikraft.app
networks:
- uuid:       95f37ba4-2586-54a2-bf3e-5764c91c4fc1
  private-ip: 10.0.6.5
  mac:        12:b0:9c:af:65:e7
timestamps:
  created:    just now

In this case, the instance name is httpserver-python312-django50-vt56c and the address is https://dawn-sound-n5wrkxi2.fra.unikraft.app. They're different for each run.

Use curl to query the Unikraft Cloud instance of the Django web app server:

Code
curl https://dawn-sound-n5wrkxi2.fra.unikraft.app

Code

<!doctype html>

<html lang="en-us" dir="ltr">
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <title>The install worked successfully! Congratulations!</title>
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
        <style>
          html {
            line-height: 1.15;
          }
          a {
            color: #19865C;
          }
[...]

Or point a browser at the address and/or its /admin area. You can set the username and password in the Dockerfile (more on this file later) to unikraft/unikraft.

The example sets ALLOWED_HOSTS to * and runs in debug mode. For a production site, ensure you read the recommended deployment guides of the official Django project.

You can list information about the instance by running:

unikraft instances list

METRO  NAME                                 STATE    IMAGE                                   ARGS  MEMORY   VCPUS  FQDN                                  CREATED
fra    httpserver-python312-django50-vt56c  running  <my-org>/httpserver-python312-django50        1024MiB  1      dawn-sound-n5wrkxi2.fra.unikraft.app  2 minutes ago

When done, you can remove the instance:

unikraft instances remove httpserver-python312-django50-vt56c

Customize your app

To customize the app, update the files in the repository, listed below:

main.py: the entry point for the app
Kraftfile: the Unikraft Cloud specification
Dockerfile: the Docker-specified app filesystem

Lines in the Kraftfile have the following roles:

spec: v0.7: The current Kraftfile specification version is 0.7.
runtime: base-compat:latest: The runtime kernel to use is the base compatibility kernel.
rootfs: Build the app root filesystem. source: ./Dockerfile means the filesystem is built using the Dockerfile. format: erofs means the filesystem type is EROFS.
cmd: ["/usr/bin/python3", "/app/main.py"]: Use this as the starting command of the instance.

Lines in the Dockerfile have the following roles:

FROM scratch: Build the filesystem from the scratch container image, to create a base image.

The following options are available for customizing the app:

If you only update the implementation in the main.py source file, you don't need to make any other changes.
If you create any new source files, copy them into the app filesystem by using the COPY command in the Dockerfile.
More extensive changes may require extending the Dockerfile (see Dockerfile syntax reference). This includes the use of Python frameworks and the use of pip, as shown in the next section.

Using `pip`

pip is a package manager for Python. It's used to install dependencies for Python apps. pip uses the requirements.txt file to list required dependencies (with versions).

The httpserver-python3.12-flask3.0 guide details the use of pip to deploy an app using the Flask framework on Unikraft Cloud.

Run the command below to deploy the app on Unikraft Cloud:

unikraft build . --output <my-org>/httpserver-python312-flask30:latest
unikraft run --scale-to-zero policy=on,cooldown-time=1000,stateful=true --metro fra -p 443:80/tls+http -m 1G --image <my-org>/httpserver-python312-flask30:latest

Differences from the Django app are also the steps required to create an pip-based app:

Add the requirements.txt file used by pip.
Add framework-specific source files. In this case, this means the server.py file.
Update the Dockerfile to:

3.1. COPY the local files.

3.2. RUN the pip3 install command to install dependencies.

3.3. COPY of the resulting and required files (/usr/local/lib/python3.12 and server.py) in the app filesystem, using the scratch container.

The following lists the files:

The requirements.txt file lists the flask dependency.

The Kraftfile is the same one used for Django.

For Dockerfile newly added lines have the following roles:

FROM python:3.12-bookworm AS base: Use the base image of the python:3.12-bookworm container. This provides the pip3 binary and other Python-related components. Name the current image base.
WORKDIR /app: Use /app as working directory. All other commands in the Dockerfile run inside this directory.
COPY requirements.txt /app: Copy the package configuration file to the Docker filesystem.
RUN pip3 install ...: Install pip components listed in requirements.txt.
COPY --from=base ...: Copy generated Python files in the new base image in the scratch-based image.

Similar actions apply to other pip3-based apps.

Learn more

Use the --help option for detailed information on using Unikraft Cloud:

unikraft --help

Or visit the CLI Reference or the legacy CLI Reference.

Edit this page

Last modified on August 11, 2026

Debian SSH server DragonflyDB

Customize your app

Using pip

Learn more

Customize your app

Using pip

Learn more

Using `pip`

Using `pip`