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The Python preset provides Python with pip and a virtual environment, managed by a systemd service.

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Available Versions

VersionStatus
Python 3.11Supported
Python 3.12Default
Select a version when creating your pod. If not specified, Python 3.12 is used. 
instapods pods create my-app -p python --version 3.11

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What’s Included

ComponentVersionDetails
Python3.11 or 3.12 (your choice)Python runtime
pipBundledPackage manager
venvBuilt-inVirtual environment (auto-created)
systemd—Process manager (app service)
gitLatestVersion control
SSHOpenSSHAccess via dedicated port
Pre-installed utilities: curl, wget, vim, htop, unzip.

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Directory Structure

/home/instapod/app/
├── requirements.txt
├── app.py              # Entry point
└── venv/               # Virtual environment (auto-created)
  • App Root: /home/instapod/app
  • App Port: 8000 (your app must listen on this port)
  • Virtual environment: /home/instapod/app/venv

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How the App Service Works

Your Python app runs as a systemd service called app. It:
  • Runs /home/instapod/app/venv/bin/python app.py from the app directory
  • Starts automatically on boot
  • Restarts on crash (on-failure policy)
  • Logs to the system journal
  • Runs as the instapod user
The service expects your app to listen on port 8000. Traffic from your pod’s public URL is proxied to this port.
Your app must bind to 0.0.0.0 (not localhost or 127.0.0.1) on port 8000, otherwise it won’t be reachable from the public URL.

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Virtual Environment

A Python virtual environment is automatically created at /home/instapod/app/venv when the pod is provisioned. It is also auto-activated on SSH and terminal login — you can use pip directly without activating it manually. 
# These all work inside the pod
pip install flask
python app.py

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Deploying Your App

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Upload and Reload

# Sync your project
instapods files sync my-python-app --local ./my-project

# Reload (auto-installs deps + restarts)
instapods pods reload my-python-app
pods reload automatically runs pip install -r requirements.txt (using the venv) when it detects a requirements.txt in your app directory. You don’t need to install dependencies manually.

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Example Flask App

# app.py
from flask import Flask

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/')
def hello():
    return 'Hello from InstaPods!'

if __name__ == '__main__':
    app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=8000)

# requirements.txt
flask>=3.0
gunicorn>=21.2

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Example FastAPI App

# app.py
from fastapi import FastAPI
import uvicorn

app = FastAPI()

@app.get('/')
def hello():
    return {'message': 'Hello from InstaPods!'}

if __name__ == '__main__':
    uvicorn.run(app, host='0.0.0.0', port=8000)

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Gunicorn Auto-Detection

If gunicorn is installed in your virtual environment (listed in requirements.txt), pods reload automatically configures the systemd service to use gunicorn instead of python app.py: 
gunicorn -b 0.0.0.0:8000 app:app
If a wsgi.py file exists in your app directory, it uses wsgi:app as the module instead. This works out of the box for Django projects.

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Viewing Logs

instapods logs my-python-app -s app

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Adding a Database

instapods services add my-python-app -s postgresql -w
instapods services creds my-python-app -s postgresql
Database services require the Build plan or higher.

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Use Cases

  • Django applications
  • Flask / FastAPI APIs
  • Data science dashboards (Streamlit, Dash)
  • Machine learning model serving
  • Python scripts and automation