werkzeug

Werkzeug is a Python library that provides a comprehensive set of utilities for building web applications. It is a WSGI utility toolkit and a core component of the Pallets Projects. Werkzeug's design emphasizes simplicity, flexibility, and compatibility with other WSGI frameworks, and it is widely used as the underlying toolkit for Flask, though it can be used independently.

Key features include a request and response object model, a routing system for URL mapping, helpers for parsing and generating HTTP data, and a development server with automatic reloading and an interactive debugger. Werkzeug also offers a variety of WSGI utilities, error handling mechanisms, and helpers for working with headers, cookies, and sessions.

Historically created by Armin Ronacher in 2007 as part of the Pocoo projects, Werkzeug has evolved as part of the Pallets project, with ongoing maintenance and community contributions. It is released under the BSD license, and its modular design allows developers to use individual components in other WSGI applications.

While closely associated with Flask, Werkzeug does not require Flask and can be integrated into any WSGI-compatible framework or raw application. Its emphasis on small, well-documented components makes it a common choice for building custom web frameworks or tooling.