Trac and mod_python

Trac 0.7.1 and later supports mod_python, which speeds up Trac's response times considerably and permits use of many Apache features not possible with tracd/mod_proxy.

Simple configuration

Here's a typical Trac CGI/Apache setup:

ScriptAlias /projects/myproject /path/to/python/share/trac/cgi-bin/trac.cgi
<Location /projects/myproject>
   SetEnv TRAC_ENV /var/trac/myproject
</Location>

The equivalent mod_python setup is:

<Location /projects/myproject>
   SetHandler mod_python
   PythonHandler trac.ModPythonHandler
   PythonOption TracUriRoot "/projects/myproject"
   PythonOption TracEnv /var/trac/myproject
</Location>

Note that the option TracUriRoot may or may not be necessary in your setup. Try without first, and if the URLs produced by Trac look wrong, add the TracUriRoot option.

Setting up multiple projects

The Trac mod_python handler handler supports a configuration option similar to Subversion's SvnParentPath, called TracEnvParentDir:

<Location /projects>
  SetHandler mod_python
  PythonHandler trac.ModPythonHandler
  PythonOption TracUriRoot /projects
  PythonOption TracEnvParentDir "/var/trac"
</LocationMatch>

When you request the /projects URL, you will get a (currently very simple) listing of all subdirectories of the directory you set as TracEnvParentDir. Selecting any project in the list will bring you to the corresponding Trac instance. You should make sure that the configured directory only contains Trac environment directories that match the currently installed Trac version, because that is not checked prior the the generation of the project list.

Adding authentication

Adding authentication is straightforward in both cases. For example:

<LocationMatch /projects/[[:alnum:]]+/login>
  AuthType Basic
  AuthName "Trac"
  AuthUserFile /var/www/passwd
  Require valid-user
</LocationMatch>

Win32 Issues

If you run trac with mod_python on Windows, attachments will not work.

There is a (simple) workaround for this which is to apply the patch attached to ticket #554.

---

See also TracGuide, TracInstall, TracMultipleProjects