โŒโŒ Chirp

June 16, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

PyPI version Python 3.14+ License: MIT Status: Alpha

A Python web framework for HTMX, HTML fragments, streaming HTML, and Server-Sent Events.

๐Ÿฑ Live demo โ€” Lucky Cat: a flagship ChirpUI crypto-exchange built entirely on server-owned signals, SSE, Suspense, and OOB swaps โ€” no client framework. (source)

Note

How this is verified Lucky Cat's headline claims are regression-locked in the example test suite: test_app.py proves the race-safe fill path with test_concurrent_buys_never_500 and test_try_place_order_is_atomic_under_threads; test_feed_determinism.py pins the warmed feed with TestSimFeedGoldenSnapshot; test_auth.py covers public browse, gated routes, signed-in access, and CSRF-protected mutations end to end.

from chirp import App

app = App()

@app.route("/")
def index():
    return "Hello, World!"

app.run()

What is Chirp?

Chirp is a Python web framework built for the modern web platform: browser-native UI, HTML over the wire, streaming responses, and Server-Sent Events. Routes return intent โ€” Page, Fragment, OOB, EventStream, Suspense โ€” and the framework handles content negotiation, layout composition, and htmx awareness automatically. One template with named blocks serves as a full page, a fragment endpoint, an SSE payload, and a Suspense deferred block. No make_response(). No jsonify(). The type is the intent.

@app.route("/search")
async def search(request: Request):
    results = await db.search(request.query.get("q", ""))
    return Page("search.html", "results", results=results)
    # Full page for browsers. Fragment for htmx. Same template, same data.
  • Browser-native UI โ€” <dialog>, popover, View Transitions, container queries. Let the browser be the framework.
  • HTML over the wire โ€” Full pages, fragments, streaming HTML, and SSE. Built for htmx.
  • Streaming HTML โ€” Shell first, content fills in as data arrives. No loading spinners.
  • Server-Sent Events โ€” Real-time updates over plain HTTP. No WebSocket upgrade required.
  • MCP tools โ€” Register functions as tools callable by LLMs and MCP clients.

Read the Philosophy for the full picture. See Public API for the stable/provisional import surface.

Use Chirp For

  • HTMX-driven web apps โ€” Server-rendered UI with fragment swaps and progressive enhancement
  • Server-rendered applications โ€” Full pages plus partial updates from the same templates
  • Streaming interfaces โ€” Progressive HTML delivery and token-by-token responses
  • Real-time dashboards โ€” SSE-powered updates without WebSocket complexity
  • Teams avoiding heavy frontend stacks โ€” HTML, CSS, templates, and browser-native features
  • AI-assisted development โ€” app.check() contracts name the fix (stable category + concrete message), so apps stay buildable from the public API and contract errors

Installation

# pip
pip install bengal-chirp

# uv
uv add bengal-chirp

Requires Python 3.14+.

Chirp works on its own with plain templates. chirp-ui is an optional companion UI layer, not part of the framework core.


Quick Start

chirp new myapp && cd myapp && python app.py
FunctionDescription
chirp new <name>Scaffold an auth-ready project
chirp new <name> --shellScaffold with a persistent app shell (topbar + sidebar)
chirp new <name> --sseScaffold with SSE boilerplate (EventStream, sse_scope)
chirp run <app>Start the dev server from an import string
chirp check <app>Validate hypermedia contracts
chirp check <app> --warnings-as-errorsFail CI on contract warnings
chirp check <app> --coverageShow contract coverage counters
chirp check <app> --deployDeploy preflight: production-posture severity (implies --warnings-as-errors)
chirp routes <app>Print the registered route table
chirp --versionPrint chirp, kida, pounce, and Python versions
App()Create an application
@app.route(path)Register a route handler
Template(name, **ctx)Render a full template
Template.inline(src, **ctx)Render from string (prototyping)
Page(name, block, **ctx)Auto Fragment or Template based on request
PageComposition(template, fragment_block, ...)Python-first composition with regions
Fragment(name, block, **ctx)Render a named template block
Stream(name, **ctx)Stream HTML progressively
Suspense(name, **ctx)Shell first, OOB swaps for deferred data
EventStream(gen)Server-Sent Events stream
hx_redirect(url)Redirect helper for htmx and full-page requests
app.run()Start the development server

Streaming: Stream vs Suspense vs EventStream

Picking the wrong one is the most common return-type mistake. Use this table:

TypeShell first?TransportUse forNot for
StreamNo โ€” flush blocks as they completeSingle chunked HTTP responseSlow first-byte pages with independent sections (SEO-friendly progressive render)Post-load updates
SuspenseYes โ€” shell renders, deferred blocks stream as OOB swapsSingle chunked HTTP responseDashboards / detail pages with multiple slow data sources, one round tripPost-load updates
EventStreamN/A โ€” pure event channelSSE (text/event-stream, long-lived)Notifications, tickers, chat tails after the page loadsInitial page render

Rule of thumb: initial render that streams โ†’ Suspense (or Stream for SEO-heavy sections); updates after the page loads โ†’ EventStream. If you're hesitating between Suspense and EventStream, ask: is this the initial render or a post-load update?


Features

FeatureDescriptionDocs
HTMX PatternsSearch, inline edit, infinite scroll, modal, and fragment workflowshtmx Patterns โ†’
ComparisonWhen Chirp fits compared with Flask, FastAPI, and DjangoWhen to Use Chirp โ†’
RoutingPattern matching, path params, method dispatchRouting โ†’
Filesystem routingRoute discovery from pages/ with layoutsFilesystem โ†’
Route directory contract_meta.py, _context.py, _actions.py, sections, shell context, and route validationRoute Directory โ†’
Route introspectionReserved files, inheritance rules, debug headers, and route explorerRoute Contract โ†’
TemplatesKida integration, rendering, filtersTemplates โ†’
FragmentsRender named template blocks independentlyFragments โ†’
Formsform_or_errors, form macros, validationForms โ†’
Validationchirp.validation โ€” composable rules (required, email, max_length, โ€ฆ) returning a ValidationResultForms โ†’
StreamingProgressive HTML rendering via KidaStreaming โ†’
SSEServer-Sent Events for real-time updatesSSE โ†’
MiddlewareCORS, sessions, static files, security headers, customMiddleware โ†’
ContractsValidate htmx attrs, form actions, and route-bearing dialog argsContracts โ†’
TestingTest client, assertions, isolation utilitiesTesting โ†’
DataDatabase integration and form validationData โ†’
Optional UI layerchirp-ui companion components and styleschirp-ui โ†’

๐Ÿ“š Full documentation: lbliii.github.io/chirp


Benchmarks

Chirp now ships a synthetic benchmark suite for comparing Chirp, FastAPI, and Flask across JSON and CPU workloads, plus Chirp-specific fused sync and mixed JSON+SSE scenarios.

uv sync --extra benchmark
uv run poe benchmark

See benchmarks/README.md for how the benchmarks work, their caveats, and the available runners.


Production Deployment

Chirp apps run on Pounce, a production-grade ASGI server with HTTP/2, graceful shutdown, Prometheus metrics, rate limiting, and multi-worker scaling. Use chirp check myapp:app --warnings-as-errors for Chirp hypermedia contracts and pounce check --app myapp:app for server preflight. pounce.toml is Pounce-native today; app.run() and chirp run use AppConfig plus CLI flags. See the deployment guide for details.


Usage

Return Values โ€” Type-driven content negotiation

Route functions return values. The framework handles content negotiation based on the type:

return "Hello"                                  # -> 200, text/html
return {"users": [...]}                         # -> 200, application/json
return Template("page.html", title="Home")      # -> 200, rendered via Kida
return Page("search.html", "results", items=x)  # -> Fragment or Template (auto)
return Fragment("page.html", "results", items=x) # -> 200, rendered block
return Stream("dashboard.html", **async_ctx)    # -> 200, streamed HTML
return Suspense("dashboard.html", stats=...)    # -> shell + OOB swaps
return EventStream(generator())                 # -> SSE stream
return hx_redirect("/dashboard")                # -> Location + HX-Redirect
return Response(body=b"...", status=201)         # -> explicit control
return Redirect("/login")                       # -> 302

No make_response(). No jsonify(). The type is the intent.

For htmx-driven form posts or mutations that should trigger a full-page navigation, prefer hx_redirect() so both plain browser and htmx requests follow the redirect correctly.

Fragments and htmx โ€” Render template blocks independently

Kida can render a named block from a template independently, without rendering the whole page:

{# templates/search.html #}
{% extends "base.html" %}

{% block content %}
  <input type="search" hx-get="/search" hx-target="#results" name="q">
  {% block results_list %}
    <div id="results">
      {% for item in results %}
        <div class="result">{{ item.title }}</div>
      {% end %}
    </div>
  {% endblock %}
{% endblock %}
@app.route("/search")
async def search(request: Request):
    results = await db.search(request.query.get("q", ""))
    if request.is_fragment:
        return Fragment("search.html", "results_list", results=results)
    return Template("search.html", results=results)

Full page request renders everything. htmx request renders just the results_list block. Same template, same data, different scope. No separate "partials" directory.

Forms and validation โ€” chirp.validation + ValidationError

chirp.validation is a small, composable rule library. Validators are plain callables ((str) -> str | None); rules compose into a dict; validate() returns a ValidationResult that's truthy iff the form is clean.

from chirp import Page, ValidationError
from chirp.validation import validate, required, email, max_length

@app.route("/contacts", methods=["POST"])
async def create_contact(request: Request):
    form = await request.form()
    result = validate(form, {
        "name":  [required, max_length(200)],
        "email": [required, email],
    })
    if not result:
        return ValidationError("contacts.html", "form", errors=result.errors, form=form)
    contacts.append(Contact(**result.data))
    return Page("contacts.html", "list", contacts=contacts)

ValidationError returns a 422 with the re-rendered form fragment so htmx swaps the error inline; non-htmx requests get the full page back.

Streaming HTML โ€” Progressive rendering

Kida renders template sections as they complete. The browser receives the shell immediately and content fills in progressively:

@app.route("/dashboard")
async def dashboard(request: Request):
    return Stream("dashboard.html",
        header=site_header(),
        stats=await load_stats(),
        activity=await load_activity(),
    )
Server-Sent Events โ€” Real-time HTML updates

Push Kida-rendered HTML fragments to the browser in real-time:

@app.route("/notifications")
async def notifications(request: Request):
    async def stream():
        async for event in notification_bus.subscribe(request.user):
            yield Fragment("components/notification.html", event=event)
    return EventStream(stream())

Combined with htmx's SSE support, this enables real-time UI updates with zero client-side JavaScript. The server renders HTML, the browser swaps it in.

Middleware โ€” Composable request/response pipeline

No base class. No inheritance. A middleware is anything that matches the protocol:

async def timing(request: Request, next: Next) -> Response:
    start = time.monotonic()
    response = await next(request)
    elapsed = time.monotonic() - start
    return response.with_header("X-Time", f"{elapsed:.3f}")

app.add_middleware(timing)

Built-in middleware: CORS, StaticFiles, HTMLInject, Sessions, SecurityHeaders.

Typed Contracts โ€” Compile-time hypermedia validation

Chirp validates the server-client boundary at startup:

# Prints a contract report and exits non-zero on errors.
app.check()

# Optional strict mode: treat warnings as failures too.
app.check(warnings_as_errors=True)

Every hx-get, hx-post, and action attribute in your templates is checked against the registered route table. Every Fragment and SSE return type is checked against available template blocks. SSE safety checks catch broken sse-connect / sse-swap structures and unsafe inherited target scopes before runtime.

For strict CI:

chirp check myapp:app --warnings-as-errors
Debug DevTools โ€” Browser-side diagnostics for htmx and hypermedia

Run the app in debug mode:

chirp dev myapp:app

Open the app in a browser and press Ctrl+Shift+D for Chirp DevTools. The drawer shows htmx activity, effective hx-* inheritance, render plans, native Chirp EventStream traces, View Transitions, DOM diffs, and Swap Doctor warnings.

Browser-capable agents can discover and export diagnostics with:

window.ChirpHtmxDebug.help()
window.ChirpHtmxDebug.exportRecordsJson()

Development

git clone https://github.com/lbliii/chirp.git
cd chirp
uv sync --group dev
uv run pytest -q --tb=short

Run uv commands from the Chirp repository root. Chirp is developed as a standalone project and resolves development dependencies the same way CI does. If an ancestor directory still has old multi-repo dependency overrides, clone or move Chirp outside that parent before running uv sync.


The Bengal Ecosystem

A structured reactive stack written in pure Python for 3.14t free-threading. Chirp is the framework; packages like chirp-ui sit on top as optional companions.

แ“šแ˜แ—ขBengalStatic site generatorDocs
โˆฟโˆฟPurrContent runtimeโ€”
โŒโŒChirpWeb framework โ† You are hereDocs
ส˜chirp-uiOptional companion UI layerโ€”
=^..^=PounceASGI serverDocs
)ๅฝกKidaTemplate engineDocs
เธ…แจเธ…PatitasMarkdown parserDocs
โŒพโŒพโŒพRosettesSyntax highlighterDocs
โšกZoomiesQUIC / HTTP/3โ€”

Python-native. Free-threading ready. No npm required.


License

MIT