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Wasmer’s WCGI runs CGI-style programs compiled to WebAssembly and WASI. For each HTTP request, the gateway starts a fresh WebAssembly instance, passes request details through environment variables and standard input, then uses the program’s standard output as the HTTP response. That makes WCGI a fit for stateless request handlers—not applications that need a persistent socket server.

What WCGI does

WCGI stands for WebAssembly Common Gateway Interface. It combines CGI’s process-per-request model with WebAssembly modules built for WASI, the WebAssembly System Interface. Wasmer describes WCGI as a way to use normal CGI applications in WebAssembly: Wasmer’s WCGI Runner documentation.

In a conventional CGI setup, the web server starts a program to handle a request and exchanges data through standard streams and environment variables. WCGI keeps that basic contract, but the program runs as a new WebAssembly instance within the gateway’s sandbox.

How a request is handled

  1. The gateway receives an HTTP request.
  2. It starts a new WebAssembly instance for that request.
  3. It supplies request information through environment variables and standard input.
  4. The CGI program processes the input and writes its response to standard output.
  5. The gateway returns that output as the HTTP response and stops the instance.

Wasmer’s deployment documentation describes this per-request lifecycle: Deployment modes. The instance boundary gives each request an isolated execution environment rather than a shared, persistent application process.

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What goes in a WCGI package

A typical package includes a WASI-compatible WebAssembly module and a command configured to use Wasmer’s wcgi runner. The package configuration can also define environment variables—for example, those needed by a PHP application—and filesystem mappings for local development. Wasmer’s announcement demonstrates Rust and PHP examples: Announcing WCGI.

The key requirement is that the program must be compatible with the WASI execution model expected by the runner. A native CGI binary is not automatically a WCGI package; it must be compiled for a compatible WebAssembly target and configured appropriately.

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Where WCGI fits—and where it does not

Good fit: stateless CGI handlers

WCGI suits applications that can handle a request, produce a response, and finish without relying on in-memory state shared with later requests. Its fresh-instance model can simplify isolation and concurrency: the gateway manages incoming work, rather than requiring the application to coordinate multiple concurrent requests inside one persistent process. Wasmer lists language support for standard WASI targets, per-request isolation, gateway-managed scaling, and instance shutdown after a request among WCGI’s benefits in its deployment-mode documentation.

Not a persistent socket server

An application that must keep a listening socket open or preserve process-local state across requests has a different lifecycle from WCGI. Wasmer points such workloads toward its proxy or other deployment modes; its documentation says socket support requires the WASIX toolchain, which extends WASI. See Wasmer’s deployment modes and WCGI Runner.

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Question WCGI Persistent socket server
Request lifecycle A new WebAssembly instance handles each request. A server process remains available to handle connections.
State between requests Do not rely on process memory shared across requests. A persistent process can retain in-memory state.
Toolchain and networking Designed for CGI-style programs compiled to standard WASI. Wasmer says socket support requires WASIX.
Concurrency The gateway handles scaling in the documented model. The application may need to manage concurrency in its server process.

Run locally or deploy to Wasmer Edge

Local development

Configure the command and WCGI runner in wasmer.toml. Wasmer’s announcement used wasmer run-unstable in its 2023 examples; current runner documentation describes local wasmer run support for WASI/WASIX packages. Because the command shown in the announcement is dated, consult the current WCGI Runner documentation for the runner configuration that applies to your installed Wasmer version.

The Edge tutorial also shows the rfc-3875 CGI dialect configured in wasmer.toml. Follow its example when the application expects that CGI convention: Deploy a CGI application.

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Managed hosting

Wasmer Edge accepts WCGI packages through wasmer deploy. Its Edge introduction describes the service as a host for stateless HTTP workloads with automatic scaling and unique wasmer.app URLs. The CGI tutorial shows the address pattern https://<app-name>.wasmer.app. See Wasmer Edge and the CGI deployment tutorial.

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What WCGI does not establish

Wasmer’s cited documentation explains the execution model and deployment options, but does not establish a general performance, latency, throughput, or cost advantage for WCGI. Those outcomes depend on the application and deployment conditions; the per-request WebAssembly lifecycle alone is not a benchmark.

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