|
| 1 | +## Process Forking and WSGI Servers |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +### ⚠️ Warning: Do not fork processes after Statsig initialization |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +**Important:** Never fork processes after calling `statsig.initialize()`. Doing so will put Statsig in a weird state and may cause deadlocks. |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +The Python Core SDK uses internal threading and async runtime components that do not work correctly when copied across process boundaries. When a process forks after initialization, these components can become corrupted, leading to: |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +- Deadlocks in event logging |
| 10 | +- Hanging initialization calls |
| 11 | +- Unpredictable SDK behavior |
| 12 | +- Silent failures in feature evaluation |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +### Correct initialization for WSGI servers |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +For production deployments using WSGI servers like uWSGI or Gunicorn, ensure Statsig is initialized **after** the worker processes are forked, not in the main process. |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | +#### ✅ Correct: uWSGI example |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +```python |
| 21 | +# app.py |
| 22 | +from statsig_python_core import Statsig, StatsigOptions |
| 23 | +from flask import Flask |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +app = Flask(__name__) |
| 26 | +statsig = None |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +def init_statsig(): |
| 29 | + global statsig |
| 30 | + if statsig is None: |
| 31 | + options = StatsigOptions() |
| 32 | + options.environment = "production" |
| 33 | + statsig = Statsig("your-server-secret-key", options) |
| 34 | + statsig.initialize().wait() |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +# Initialize in each worker process |
| 37 | +@app.before_first_request |
| 38 | +def before_first_request(): |
| 39 | + init_statsig() |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +@app.route('/') |
| 42 | +def index(): |
| 43 | + # Use statsig here |
| 44 | + return "Hello World" |
| 45 | +``` |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +```ini |
| 48 | +# uwsgi.ini |
| 49 | +[uwsgi] |
| 50 | +module = app:app |
| 51 | +master = true |
| 52 | +processes = 4 |
| 53 | +# Statsig will be initialized in each worker process |
| 54 | +``` |
| 55 | + |
| 56 | +#### ✅ Correct: Gunicorn example |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +```python |
| 59 | +# gunicorn_config.py |
| 60 | +def post_fork(server, worker): |
| 61 | + # Initialize Statsig after worker process is forked |
| 62 | + from app import init_statsig |
| 63 | + init_statsig() |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +# app.py - same as uWSGI example above |
| 66 | +``` |
| 67 | + |
| 68 | +```bash |
| 69 | +# Start Gunicorn with post-fork hook |
| 70 | +gunicorn --config gunicorn_config.py app:app |
| 71 | +``` |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | +#### ❌ Incorrect: Initializing before fork |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +```python |
| 76 | +# DON'T DO THIS - initializing in main process before fork |
| 77 | +from statsig_python_core import Statsig, StatsigOptions |
| 78 | + |
| 79 | +# This runs in the main process |
| 80 | +options = StatsigOptions() |
| 81 | +options.environment = "production" |
| 82 | +statsig = Statsig("your-server-secret-key", options) |
| 83 | +statsig.initialize().wait() # ❌ This will cause issues when workers fork |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +app = Flask(__name__) |
| 86 | +# Workers inherit the initialized statsig instance - this causes problems! |
| 87 | +``` |
| 88 | + |
| 89 | +### Alternative: Use lazy initialization |
| 90 | + |
| 91 | +If you cannot control the forking behavior, use lazy initialization to ensure Statsig is only initialized when first needed in each process: |
| 92 | + |
| 93 | +```python |
| 94 | +import threading |
| 95 | +from statsig_python_core import Statsig, StatsigOptions |
| 96 | + |
| 97 | +_statsig = None |
| 98 | +_statsig_lock = threading.Lock() |
| 99 | + |
| 100 | +def get_statsig(): |
| 101 | + global _statsig |
| 102 | + if _statsig is None: |
| 103 | + with _statsig_lock: |
| 104 | + if _statsig is None: # Double-check locking |
| 105 | + options = StatsigOptions() |
| 106 | + options.environment = "production" |
| 107 | + _statsig = Statsig("your-server-secret-key", options) |
| 108 | + _statsig.initialize().wait() |
| 109 | + return _statsig |
| 110 | + |
| 111 | +# Use get_statsig() instead of direct statsig access |
| 112 | +@app.route('/') |
| 113 | +def index(): |
| 114 | + statsig = get_statsig() |
| 115 | + # Use statsig here |
| 116 | + return "Hello World" |
| 117 | +``` |
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