On this page

Legacy Python Server SDK

Statsig's Legacy Server SDK for Python applications

Github Repository

Setup the SDK

  1. Install the SDK

    Install the sdk using pip3:

    The Statsig SDK isn't compatible with python 2. You must be on python 3.7+ to use the Statsig SDK.

    bash
    pip3 install statsig
    
  2. Initialize the SDK

    After installation, initialize the SDK using a Server Secret Key from the Statsig console.

    Do NOT embed your Server Secret Key in client-side applications, or expose it in any external-facing documents. However, if you accidentally expose it, you can create a new one in the Statsig console.

    There is also an optional parameter named options that allows you to pass in a StatsigOptions to customize the SDK.
    python
    from statsig import statsig
    
    statsig.initialize("server-secret-key")
    
    # or with StatsigOptions
    options = StatsigOptions(tier=StatsigEnvironmentTier.development)
    statsig.initialize("server-secret-key", options)
    
    # check if sdk is initialized
    initialized = statsig.is_initialized()
    
    initialize performs a network request. After initialize completes, virtually all SDK operations are synchronous (refer to Evaluating Feature Gates in the Statsig SDK). The SDK fetches updates from Statsig in the background, independently of API calls.

Working with the SDK

Checking a Feature Flag/Gate

After the SDK is initialized, you can check a Feature Gate. Feature Gates create logic branches in code that you can roll out to different users from the Statsig Console. Gates are always CLOSED or OFF (return false;) by default.All APIs require you to specify the user (refer to Statsig user) associated with the request. For example, to check a gate for a user:
python
from statsig.statsig_user import StatsigUser

...

statsig.check_gate(StatsigUser("user-id"), "gate-name")

Reading a Dynamic Config

Feature Gates work well for simple on/off switches with optional user targeting. To send a different set of values (strings, numbers, and so on) to clients based on specific user attributes such as country, use Dynamic Configs. The Dynamic Config API is similar to Feature Gates, but returns a full JSON object configured on the server, from which you can fetch typed parameters.
python
config = statsig.get_config(StatsigUser("user-id"), "config-name")

config_json = config.get_value()

Getting a Layer/Experiment

Use Layers/Experiments to run A/B/n experiments. Two APIs are available, but Statsig recommends layers for faster iterations with parameter reuse.
python
# Values via getLayer

layer = statsig.get_layer(user, "user_promo_experiments")
title = layer.get("title", "Welcome to Statsig!")
discount = layer.get("discount", 0.1)

# or, via getExperiment

title_exp = statsig.get_experiment(user, "new_user_promo_title")
price_exp = statsig.get_experiment(user, "new_user_promo_price")

title = title_exp.get("title", "Welcome to Statsig!")
discount = price_exp.get("discount", 0.1)

...

price = msrp * (1 - discount)

Retrieving Feature Gate Metadata

When you need more than a boolean value from a gate evaluation, use the Get Feature Gate API, which returns a FeatureGate object with additional evaluation metadata:

python
gate = statsig.get_feature_gate(StatsigUser("user-id"), "gate-name")
print(gate.name)  # 'gate-name'
print(gate.value)  # True or False
print(gate.rule_id)  # rule ID that was evaluated
print(gate.evaluation_details)  # evaluation metadata

Logging an Event

To track custom events and measure how features or experiment groups affect those events, call the Log Event API. Specify the user and event name to log, and optionally provide a value and metadata object:

python
from statsig.statsig_user import StatsigUser
from statsig.statsig_event import StatsigEvent

statsig.log_event(StatsigEvent(StatsigUser("user-id"), "event-name"))

Python supports retry_queue_size, which allows you to adjust the memory allocated for handling retries. While service outages are rare, increasing the retry_queue_size can help minimize event loss by providing additional memory to buffer events during such occurrences. This option is generally not needed for typical use but offers added flexibility in exceptional situations.

Statsig User

When calling APIs that require a user, pass as much information as possible to take advantage of advanced gate and config conditions (like country or OS/browser level checks), and to correctly measure the impact of your experiments on your metrics/events. At least one identifier (userID or customID) is required to provide a consistent experience for a given user. Refer to userID requirements for more detail.

In addition to userID, email, ip, userAgent, country, locale, and appVersion are available as top-level fields on StatsigUser. You can also pass any key-value pairs in an object/dictionary to the custom field to create targeting based on them.

Typing on the StatsigUser object is lenient: you can pass numbers, strings, arrays, objects, and even enums or classes. However, evaluation operators only work on primitive types, mostly strings and numbers. The SDK attempts to cast custom field types to match the operator, but evaluation results for other types are not guaranteed. For example, an array set as a custom field is only compared as a string: there is no operator to match a value within that array.

Private Attributes

To keep sensitive user PII data out of logs, use the privateAttributes field on the StatsigUser object. This field accepts an object/dictionary of private user attributes. Any attribute set in privateAttributes is used only for evaluation/targeting and is removed from all logs before Statsig sends them to its servers.

For example, if a feature gate should only pass for users with emails ending in "@statsig.com", but you don't want to log email addresses to Statsig, add the key-value pair { email: "my_user@statsig.com" } to privateAttributes on the user.

Statsig Options

initialize() takes an optional options parameter in addition to the secret key to customize the Statsig client. Create a StatsigOptions class with the following available parameters:

(unit of measure for time related options is seconds)

tierStatsigEnvironmentTier | str

Sets the environment tier (for gates to evaluate differently in development and production)

Set the environment tier using the StatsigEnvironmentTier enum or as a str.

timeoutint

Enforces a minimum timeout on network requests from the SDK

init_timeoutint

Sets the maximum timeout on download config specs and id lists network requests for initialization

rulesets_sync_intervalint

How often the SDK updates rulesets from Statsig servers

idlists_sync_intervalint

How often the SDK updates idlists from Statsig servers

local_modebool

Disables all network requests. SDK returns default values and won't log events. Useful in combination with overrides to mock behavior for tests.

bootstrap_valuesstr

a string that represents all rules for all feature gates, dynamic configs and experiments. It can be provided to bootstrap the Statsig server SDK at initialization in case your server runs into network issue or Statsig server is down temporarily.

rules_updated_callbacktyping.Callable

a callback function that's called whenever the rules update; it's called with a logical timestamp and a JSON string (used as is for bootstrapValues mentioned above). As of v0.6.0, the SDK calls this from a background thread that it uses to update config values.

event_queue_sizeint

The number of events to batch before flushing the queue to the network. Default 500.

Events are also batched every minute by a background thread

data_storeIDataStore

A data store with custom storage behavior for config specs. Can be used to bootstrap Statsig server (takes priority over bootstrap_values).

proxy_configsOptional[Dict[NetworkEndpoint, ProxyConfig]]

Configuration network for each endpoint, for example, download_config_spec, get_id_lists

fallback_to_statsig_apiOptional[bool]

Fallback to Statsig CDN for download config specs and get id lists if the overridden api failed.

initialize_sourcesOptional[List[DataSource]]

List of sources SDK tries to get download_config_specs from when initialize. The list is ordered, SDK tries to get source from first element, and stops when getting dcs successfully

config_sync_sourcesOptional[List[DataSource]]

List of sources SDK tries to get download_config_specs from when downloading. The list is ordered, SDK tries to get source from first element, and stops when getting dcs successfully

Example:

python
from statsig import statsig, StatsigEnvironmentTier, StatsigOptions

options = StatsigOptions(None, StatsigEnvironmentTier.development)
statsig.initialize("secret-key", options).wait()

You can also use the set_environment_parameter function, but that takes in string values only:

python
from statsig import statsig, StatsigEnvironmentTier, StatsigOptions

options = StatsigOptions()
options.set_environment_parameter("tier", StatsigEnvironmentTier.development.value)
statsig.initialize("secret-key", options).wait()

Shutdown

To gracefully shutdown the SDK and ensure all events are flushed:

python
statsig.shutdown()

Client SDK bootstrapping

The Statsig server SDK can generate the initialization values for a client SDK. This is useful for server-side rendering (SSR) or when you want to pre-fetch values for a client.

python
values = statsig.get_client_initialize_response(user); # dict() | None

# To apply local overrides, set include_local_overrides = True (python sdk v0.32.0+)
values = statsig.get_client_initialize_response(user=user, include_local_overrides=True); # dict() | None

Local Overrides

You can override the values returned by the SDK for testing purposes, which is useful for local development when testing specific scenarios.

python
# Adding/Removing gate overrides
statsig.override_gate("a_gate_name", true, "a_user_id")
statsig.remove_gate_override("a_gate_name", "a_user_id")

# Adding/Removing config overrides
statsig.override_config("a_config_name", {"key": "value"}, "a_user_id")
statsig.remove_config_override("a_config_name", "a_user_id")

# Adding/Removing experiment overrides
statsig.override_experiment("an_experiment_name", {"key": "value"}, "a_user_id")
statsig.remove_experiment_override("an_experiment_name", "a_user_id")

# Remove All Overrides
statsig.remove_all_overrides()

# You can also override with custom ids
custom_id_user = StatsigUser("a_user_id", custom_ids={"statsigId": "a_statsig_id"})
statsig.override_gate("a_gate_name", true, "a_statsig_id")

# Local overrides will prioritize override with userId, then look up the custom id to override.
# To prevent clashing overrides, it is recommended to not use the same value for userId and customIds for different users.

Multi-instance usage

To create multiple independent instances of the Statsig SDK (for example, to use different API keys or configurations), use the instance-based approach:

python
sdk_instance = StatsigServer()
sdk_instance.initialize(secret_key, options);

Forward proxy configuration

You can configure the SDK to use a forward proxy for network requests:

Basic setup to stream download config spec from forward proxy:

python
  proxyAddress = "0.0.0.0:50051" // local address update to your address
  Statsig.initialize(secret_key, StatsigOptions(proxy_configs={
            NetworkEndpoint.DOWNLOAD_CONFIG_SPECS: ProxyConfig(NetworkProtocol.GRPC_WEBSOCKET, proxyAddress)}))

When the SDK disconnects from the forward proxy when using grpc_websocket, the SDK retries the connection with exponential backoff. After push_worker_failover_threshold retries, the SDK starts polling from Statsig until it reconnects to the forward proxy. You can customize Streaming Failover Behavior. You can also define the sources/endpoints SDK poll from, SDK will try from source at index 0, and stops trying if get a response.

python

statsigOptions = StatsigOptions(
    proxy_configs={
        NetworkEndpoint.DOWNLOAD_CONFIG_SPECS: ProxyConfig(
            protocol=NetworkProtocol.GRPC_WEBSOCKET,
            proxy_address=address,
            push_worker_failover_threshold=1, # start polling from Statsig endpoint after 1 retry failed
            # 1st retry 5000 ms later, 2nd retry 2 * 5000ms = 10 seconds ....
            retry_backoff_multiplier=2,
            max_retry_attempt=8,
            retry_backoff_base_ms=5000
        )
    },
    # Get from network first, which is forward proxy here, if fails, try datastore, if fails try poll from Statsig endpoint
    initialize_sources=[
        DataSource.NETWORK,
        DataSource.DATASTORE,
        DataSource.STATSIG_NETWORK,
    ],
)

FAQs

How can I mock Statsig for testing?

The python server SDK, starting in version 0.5.1+, supports a few features to make testing easier.

The StatsigOptions parameter localMode, when set to true, prevents the SDK from making network requests and causes it to return only default values. This is useful for placeholder or test environments that shouldn't access the network.

The overrideGate and overrideConfig APIs on the global statsig interface (refer to Local Overrides) can set a gate or config override for a specific user, or for all users (by not providing a specific user ID).

Enable localMode and then override gates/configs/experiments to specific values to test the code flows you are building.

Can I generate the initialize response for a client SDK using the Python server SDK?

Yes. Refer to Client Initialize Response.

Reference

StatsigUser

python
@dataclass
class StatsigUser:
    """An object of properties relating to the current user
    user_id or customID is required: /sdks/user#why-is-an-id-always-required-for-server-sdks
    Provide as many as possible to take advantage of advanced conditions in the statsig console
    A dictionary of additional fields can be provided under the custom field
    Set private_attributes for any user property you need for gate evaluation but prefer stripped from logs/metrics
    """
    user_id: Optional[str] = None
    email: Optional[str] = None
    ip: Optional[str] = None
    user_agent: Optional[str] = None
    country: Optional[str] = None
    locale: Optional[str] = None
    app_version: Optional[str] = None
    custom: Optional[dict] = None # key: string, value: string
    private_attributes: Optional[dict] = None # key: string, value: string
    custom_ids: Optional[dict] = None # key: string, value: string

StatsigOptions

python
class StatsigOptions:
    """An object of properties for initializing the sdk with additional parameters"""

    def __init__(
        self,
        api: Optional[str] = None,
        api_for_download_config_specs: Optional[str] = None,
        api_for_get_id_lists: Optional[str] = None,
        api_for_log_event: Optional[str] = None,
        tier: Union[str, StatsigEnvironmentTier, None] = None,
        init_timeout: Optional[int] = None,
        timeout: Optional[int] = None,
        rulesets_sync_interval: int = DEFAULT_RULESET_SYNC_INTERVAL,
        idlists_sync_interval: int = DEFAULT_IDLIST_SYNC_INTERVAL,
        local_mode: bool = False,
        bootstrap_values: Optional[str] = None,
        rules_updated_callback: Optional[Callable] = None,
        event_queue_size: Optional[int] = DEFAULT_EVENT_QUEUE_SIZE,
        data_store: Optional[IDataStore] = None,
        idlists_thread_limit: int = DEFAULT_IDLISTS_THREAD_LIMIT,
        logging_interval: int = DEFAULT_LOGGING_INTERVAL, #deprecated
        disable_diagnostics: bool = False,
        custom_logger: Optional[OutputLogger] = None,
        enable_debug_logs = False,
        disable_all_logging = False,
        evaluation_callback: Optional[Callable[[Union[Layer, DynamicConfig, FeatureGate]], None]] = None,
        retry_queue_size: int = DEFAULT_RETRY_QUEUE_SIZE,
        proxy_configs: Optional[Dict[NetworkEndpoint, ProxyConfig]] = None,
        fallback_to_statsig_api: Optional[bool] = False,
        initialize_sources: Optional[List[DataSource]] = None,
        config_sync_sources: Optional[List[DataSource]] = None,
    ):

FeatureGate

python
class FeatureGate:

    def get_value(self):
        """Returns the underlying value of this FeatureGate"""

    def get_name(self):
        """Returns the name of this FeatureGate"""

    def get_evaluation_details(self):
        """Returns the evaluation detail of this FeatureGate"""

DynamicConfig

python
class DynamicConfig:
    def get(self, key, default=None):
        """Returns the value of the config at the given key
        or the provided default if the key is not found
        """

    def get_typed(self, key, default=None):
        """Returns the value of the config at the given key
        iff the type matches the type of the provided default.
        Otherwise, returns the default value
        """

    def get_value(self):
        """Returns the underlying value of this DynamicConfig"""

    def get_name(self):
        """Returns the name of this DynamicConfig"""

    def get_evaluation_details(self):
        """Returns the evaluation detail of this DynamicConfig"""

Layer

python
class Layer:
    def get(self, key, default=None):
        """Returns the value of the layer at the given key
        or the provided default if the key is not found
        """

    def get_typed(self, key, default=None):
        """Returns the value of the layer at the given key
        iff the type matches the type of the provided default.
        Otherwise, returns the default value
        """

    def get_name(self):
        """Returns the name of this Layer"""

    def get_values(self):
        """Returns all the values in this Layer but does not trigger an exposure log"""

    def get_evaluation_details(self):
        """Returns the evaluation detail of this Layer"""

EvaluationDetails

python
class EvaluationDetails:
    reason: EvaluationReason
    config_sync_time: int
    init_time: int
    server_time: int

class EvaluationReason(str, Enum):
    network = "Network"
    local_override = "LocalOverride"
    unrecognized = "Unrecognized"
    uninitialized = "Uninitialized"
    bootstrap = "Bootstrap"
    data_adapter = "DataAdapter"
    unsupported = "Unsupported"
    error = "error"

DataStore

python
class IDataStore:
    def get(self, key: str) -> Optional[str]:
        return None

    def set(self, key: str, value: str):
        pass

    def shutdown(self):
        pass

    def should_be_used_for_querying_updates(self, key: str) -> bool:
        return False

ForwardProxy - ProxyConfig

python
class NetworkProtocol(Enum):
    HTTP = "http"
    GRPC = "grpc"
    GRPC_WEBSOCKET = "grpc_websocket"


class NetworkEndpoint(Enum):
    LOG_EVENT = "log_event"
    DOWNLOAD_CONFIG_SPECS = "download_config_specs"
    GET_ID_LISTS = "get_id_lists"
    ALL = "all"

class ProxyConfig:
    def __init__(
        self,
        protocol: NetworkProtocol,
        proxy_address: str,
        # Websocket worker failover config
        max_retry_attempt: Optional[int] = None, # default is 10
        retry_backoff_multiplier: Optional[int] = None, # default is # default is 5
        retry_backoff_base_ms: Optional[int] = None, # default is 10,000 ms
        # Push worker failback to polling threshold, fallback immediate set 0,
        # n means fallback after n retry failed
        push_worker_failover_threshold: Optional[int] = None, # default is 4, about 30 minutes
    ):
        self.proxy_address = proxy_address
        self.protocol = protocol
        self.max_retry_attempt = max_retry_attempt
        self.retry_backoff_multiplier = retry_backoff_multiplier
        self.retry_backoff_base_ms = retry_backoff_base_ms
        self.push_worker_failover_threshold = push_worker_failover_threshold

Was this helpful?