Hello, aioquic! (QUIC implementation with Python)

Overview

This project demonstrates a simple implementation of a QUIC client and server using the aioquic library in Python. The server listens for incoming QUIC connections and echoes back messages received from the client. The client connects to the server, sends a message, and prints the response.

info

Go version: Hello, quic-go! (QUIC implementation with Go)

Feature Highlights

• QUIC Protocol: Utilizes the QUIC protocol for low-latency, multiplexed connections.
• Asynchronous I/O: Built with asyncio for efficient handling of multiple connections.
• TLS Encryption: Uses TLS for secure communication between client and server.
• Self-signed Certificates: Generates self-signed certificates for local testing.

Screenshots

Use Cases

• Learning: Understand the basics of QUIC and how to implement it in Python.
• Prototyping: Quickly prototype applications that require low-latency communication.
• Testing: Test QUIC-based applications in a local environment.

Technologies Used

• Python: The programming language used to build the application.
• aioquic: A Python library for QUIC and HTTP/3.
• asyncio: Python's built-in library for writing concurrent code using the async/await syntax.
• OpenSSL: A robust, full-featured open-source toolkit for SSL and TLS.

Environment Setup

Install Dependencies

A Python virtual environment and OpenSSL are required to be installed.

info

The following command is for Ubuntu and Debian-based distributions. For any other OS or Linux distribution, check the relevant documentation.

Terminal

sudo apt install python3-venv openssl

Create Project Directory

Terminal

mkdir quic-python
cd quic-python

Create and Activate Python Virtual Environment

Terminal

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

Create Requirements File

Create a file named requirements.txt with the following content:

aioquic==1.2.0
attrs==25.3.0
certifi==2025.8.3
cryptography==45.0.6
pyasn1==0.6.1
pyasn1_modules==0.4.2
pycparser==2.22
pylsqpack==0.3.22
pyOpenSSL==25.1.0
service-identity==24.2.0
typing_extensions==4.14.1

Install Python Dependencies

Terminal

pip install -r requirements.txt

Generate Self-Signed Certificate for Localhost

warning

This certificate is for local testing purposes only. For production use, a trusted Certificate Authority (CA) should be used.

Terminal

openssl req \
  -new \
  -newkey rsa:2048 \
  -days 365 \
  -nodes \
  -x509 \
  -keyout key.pem \
  -out cert.pem \
  -subj "/CN=localhost" \
  -addext "subjectAltName=DNS:localhost"

Code

Create Server

Create a server file server.py with the following content:

server.py

import asyncio
from aioquic.asyncio import QuicConnectionProtocol, serve
from aioquic.quic.configuration import QuicConfiguration


# Define server protocol (how to handle messages)
class ServerProtocol(QuicConnectionProtocol):
    def quic_event_received(self, event):
        if hasattr(event, "data"):  # If data is received
            print("Server received:", event.data.decode())
            # Echo back to client
            self._quic.send_stream_data(event.stream_id, b"Hello from server!")


# Run the QUIC server
async def main():
    config = QuicConfiguration(is_client=False)
    config.load_cert_chain("cert.pem", "key.pem")  # TLS cert required

    # Listen on localhost:4433
    await serve("localhost", 4433, configuration=config, create_protocol=ServerProtocol)
    await asyncio.get_running_loop().create_future()  # Keep server running


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Create Client

Create a client file client.py with the following content:

client.py

import asyncio
from aioquic.asyncio import connect, QuicConnectionProtocol
from aioquic.quic.configuration import QuicConfiguration
from aioquic.quic.events import StreamDataReceived


class ClientProtocol(QuicConnectionProtocol):
    def quic_event_received(self, event):
        if isinstance(event, StreamDataReceived):
            print("Client received:", event.data.decode())


async def main():
    config = QuicConfiguration(is_client=True)
    config.verify_mode = False  # disable TLS verification for local testing
    config.load_verify_locations("cert.pem")

    # Connect to server
    async with connect(
        "localhost", 4433, configuration=config, create_protocol=ClientProtocol
    ) as client:
        stream_id = client._quic.get_next_available_stream_id()
        client._quic.send_stream_data(stream_id, b"Hello from client!")

        # Keep running for a bit to receive server reply
        await asyncio.sleep(2)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Directory Structure

After creating the above files, project directory structure should look like this:

Terminal

quic-python/
├── venv/
├── cert.pem
├── client.py
├── key.pem
├── requirements.txt
└── server.py

Running the Application

Run Server

Open a terminal, go to the project directory, activate the Python virtual environment, and then run the following command:

Terminal

python server.py

Run Client

Open another terminal, go to the same directory, activate the Python virtual environment, and then run the following command:

Terminal

python client.py