Setting Up IIS to Use Python
Wow, this should have been easy, but it just wouldn’t work:
These websites will get you started and help you get everything set up:
MSDN: Using Python Scripts with IIS
Let’s Configure Windows 2000 IIS with CGI Scripts
Now I will provide my troubleshooting experiences from this morning:
—Trouble Shooting—
Problem 1: Not Authorized to view your test script
Error was:
You are not authorized to view this page
You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials
you supplied.
Please try the following:
* Click the Refresh button to try again with different credentials.
* If you believe you should be able to view this directory or page,
please contact the Web site administrator by using the e-mail address
or phone number listed on the localhost home page.
HTTP 401.3 - Access denied by ACL on resource
Internet Information Services
Technical Information (for support personnel)
* More information:
Microsoft Support
Solution: Right click on your test script file (or the entire directory), select properties, select the security tab, make sure that IUSR_[your computer name] and IWAM_[your computer name] has read and execute permissions. If they are not listed, click add. If you can’t find them to add, click advanced and make sure you search the entire computer (todo: add picture)
—
Problem 2: Python doesn’t see my test file.
error was:
CGI Error The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers. The headers it did return are: C:Python24python.exe: can't open file 'C:Documents': [Errno 2] No such file or directory
Solution: Fix your application mapping:
To do this, perform the following steps:
a. In the ISM, under Internet Information Server, right-click your website and select properties
c. Click the Home Directory or Virtual Directory tab (which ever you see), and then click Configuration.
d. Edit your mapping for the .py (other other Python extension) Executable to be:
C:\Python24\python.exe -u “%s” “%s”
(use your python path of course, keep those quote marks, they’re vital!)
–
Problem 3: My browser keeps asking me if I want to save the test script!
My browser prompts me with:
Opening wrongcontentTest.py You have chosen to open wrongcontentTest.py which is a: Python File from: http://localhost What should Firefox do with this file? ...
Solution: Script needs to print correct content type.
The test script from the MSDN link above tells you to start with this:
print
print 'Status: 200 OK'
print 'Content-type: text/html'
print
That did not work for me. Once I changed my test script to start with:
print "Content-Type: text/html\n\n"
everything was good.
Please post any questions in the comments section. I hope my lost morning helps someone out there!
addition: this website looks useful for setting up Python for cgi on Windows Server 2003
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April 26th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
thanks — #3 now works for me! *whistle*
that microsoft site is drain bamaged, grr.
February 19th, 2007 at 4:25 am
Hi. Can I assume you set this up on IIS 6.0/Windows 2003 Server? Did you use ActiveState, or the standard Python 2.4 distribution? Also, do you have sample scripts? Does they look like ASP/VBScript only with Python syntax, or do they look like something else? Thanks in advance (and if your website doesn’t email notices that you’ve updated, I’d love and email note telling me you’ve commented on this.)
February 19th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Mike, I’ve used this same technique on both Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP. I forget which version of IIS though.
These are just standard Python files, nothing more. The setup in this post just tells IIS to ask the standard Python interpreter to run your files.
You can go the ASP with Python syntax route, but that’s not covered here, you’d have to look that up how to do that, but I know it’s possible.
Just let me know if you need anymore help.
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Dang it’s a shame I didn’t find this site last week when I was banging my head on these same issues. It’s all working pretty good now though.
I can use Python in .ASP pages but it doesn’t seem possible to use this like Python Server Pages and other dynamic template engines.
I’m interested in trying Cheetah now.
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Hi Mike,
How are you using Python ins .ASP pages? That sounds promising. My biggest complaint with using Python in IIS is that the pages seem to be slow to load. Maybe Python in ASP would fix that?
October 31st, 2007 at 4:24 am
We have just read your article.
Now we have to set up the python CGI development environment on XP-SP2.
We have done what the following articles tell us, but the famous “CGI Error The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers” is not fixed:
http://www.blendedtechnologies.com/setting-up-iis-to-use-python/42
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B276494
http://urbanware.netfirms.com/python/pythonIIS.html
http://python.markrowsoft.com/iiswse.asp
Could you please give us some advice?
We will wait for your reply. Thank you.
October 31st, 2007 at 11:50 am
Joe,
Offhand, my first advice is to look again at the problem 2 section of my article above. I think the problem lies in that area. Did you put in the correct Python path? Also make sure you’re using regular double quotes (it looks like my article here changed them to fancy quotes which probably wouldn’t work.)
Let me know if that helps.
January 11th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Hi there- you might want to look into using an ISAPI server extension. With all the work you’ve put into getting this going, you might as well take the extra step for the performance gain. It keeps the Python interpreter loaded in between requests, and from the looks of it, CGI has been a pain for you anyway.
You won’t get templating per se, but adding a framework like Django in the mix will give you a pretty nice and fast template system.
http://pyisapie.sourceforge.net/
January 12th, 2008 at 1:37 am
PS, that looks very promising. How does it compare to this FastCGI extension for IIS: http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1521
March 11th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I was going crazy because I was following the directions in the Microsoft KB but it was not working! Changing the print statement as specified in you problem 3 solutions was the answer. Thank you thank you thank you!
March 11th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
p.s., I was wondering why Microsoft would put out a kb that simply did not work. Out of curiosity I decided to try the Microsoft code with the header as described in the kb in Internet Explorer:
print
print ‘Status: 200 OK’
print ‘Content-type: text/html’
Interestingly, the microsoft code works in IE7 but not in FF2. Any ideas on why this would be?