diff --git a/pywb/cdx/cdxdomainspecific.py b/pywb/cdx/cdxdomainspecific.py
index 7295bf0c..9890605e 100644
--- a/pywb/cdx/cdxdomainspecific.py
+++ b/pywb/cdx/cdxdomainspecific.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ from pywb.utils.dsrules import BaseRule, RuleSet
 
 from pywb.utils.canonicalize import unsurt, UrlCanonicalizer
 
+from cdxobject import CDXQuery
 
 #=================================================================
 def load_domain_specific_cdx_rules(ds_rules_file, surt_ordered):
@@ -70,13 +71,13 @@ class FuzzyQuery:
     def __init__(self, rules):
         self.rules = rules
 
-    def __call__(self, params):
+    def __call__(self, query):
         matched_rule = None
 
-        urlkey = params['key']
-        url = params['url']
-        filter_ = params.get('filter', [])
-        output = params.get('output')
+        urlkey = query.key
+        url = query.url
+        filter_ = query.filters
+        output = query.output
 
         for rule in self.rules.iter_matching(urlkey):
             m = rule.regex.search(urlkey)
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@ class FuzzyQuery:
                   'filter': filter_,
                   'output': output}
 
-        return params
+        return CDXQuery(**params)
 
 
 #=================================================================
diff --git a/pywb/cdx/cdxobject.py b/pywb/cdx/cdxobject.py
index 8fed07af..682e8c74 100644
--- a/pywb/cdx/cdxobject.py
+++ b/pywb/cdx/cdxobject.py
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 from collections import OrderedDict
 import itertools
 
+from urllib import urlencode
+from urlparse import parse_qs
+
 
 #=================================================================
 class CDXException(Exception):
@@ -20,6 +23,126 @@ class AccessException(CDXException):
         return '403 Access Denied'
 
 
+#=================================================================
+class CDXQuery(object):
+    def __init__(self, **kwargs):
+        self.params = kwargs
+
+    @property
+    def key(self):
+        return self.params['key']
+
+    @property
+    def end_key(self):
+        return self.params['end_key']
+
+    def set_key(self, key, end_key):
+        self.params['key'] = key
+        self.params['end_key'] = end_key
+
+    @property
+    def url(self):
+        try:
+            return self.params['url']
+        except KeyError:
+            msg = 'A url= param must be specified to query the cdx server'
+            raise CDXException(msg)
+
+    @property
+    def match_type(self):
+        return self.params.get('matchType', 'exact')
+
+    @property
+    def is_exact(self):
+        return self.match_type == 'exact'
+
+    @property
+    def allow_fuzzy(self):
+        return self._get_bool('allowFuzzy')
+
+    @property
+    def output(self):
+        return self.params.get('output', 'text')
+
+    @property
+    def limit(self):
+        return int(self.params.get('limit', 100000))
+
+    @property
+    def collapse_time(self):
+        return self.params.get('collapseTime')
+
+    @property
+    def resolve_revisits(self):
+        return self._get_bool('resolveRevisits')
+
+    @property
+    def filters(self):
+        return self.params.get('filter', [])
+
+    @property
+    def fields(self):
+        v = self.params.get('fields')
+        return v.split(',') if v else None
+
+    @property
+    def closest(self):
+        # sort=closest is not required
+        return self.params.get('closest')
+
+    @property
+    def reverse(self):
+        # sort=reverse overrides reverse=0
+        return (self._get_bool('reverse') or
+                self.params.get('sort') == 'reverse')
+
+    @property
+    def secondary_index_only(self):
+        return self._get_bool('showPagedIndex')
+
+    @property
+    def process(self):
+        return self._get_bool('processOps', True)
+
+    def set_process(self, process):
+        self.params['processOps'] = process
+
+    def _get_bool(self, name, def_val=False):
+        v = self.params.get(name)
+        if v:
+            try:
+                v = int(v)
+            except ValueError as ex:
+                v = (v.lower() == 'true')
+        else:
+            v = def_val
+
+        return bool(v)
+
+    def urlencode(self):
+        return urlencode(self.params, True)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def from_wsgi_env(env):
+        """ utility function to extract params and create a CDXQuery
+        from a WSGI environment dictionary
+        """
+        params = parse_qs(env['QUERY_STRING'])
+
+        if not 'output' in params:
+            params['output'] = 'text'
+
+        # parse_qs produces arrays for single values
+        # cdx processing expects singleton params for all params,
+        # except filters, so convert here
+        # use first value of the list
+        for name, val in params.iteritems():
+            if name != 'filter':
+                params[name] = val[0]
+
+        return CDXQuery(**params)
+
+
 #=================================================================
 class CDXObject(OrderedDict):
     CDX_FORMATS = [
diff --git a/pywb/cdx/cdxops.py b/pywb/cdx/cdxops.py
index 4bdb0a55..72d69417 100644
--- a/pywb/cdx/cdxops.py
+++ b/pywb/cdx/cdxops.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-from cdxobject import CDXObject, IDXObject, AccessException
+from cdxobject import CDXObject, IDXObject, AccessException, CDXQuery
 from pywb.utils.timeutils import timestamp_to_sec
 
 import bisect
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ from collections import deque
 
 
 #=================================================================
-def cdx_load(sources, params, perms_checker=None, filter=True):
+def cdx_load(sources, query, perms_checker=None, process=True):
     """
     merge text CDX lines from sources, return an iterator for
     filtered and access-checked sequence of CDX objects.
@@ -19,25 +19,30 @@ def cdx_load(sources, params, perms_checker=None, filter=True):
     :param perms_checker: access check filter object implementing
       allow_url_lookup(key, url), allow_capture(cdxobj) and
       filter_fields(cdxobj) methods.
+    :param process: bool, perform processing sorting/filtering/grouping ops
     """
-    cdx_iter = load_cdx_streams(sources, params)
-    cdx_iter = make_obj_iter(cdx_iter, params)
-    cdx_iter = filter_cdx(cdx_iter, params)
+    cdx_iter = load_cdx_streams(sources, query)
+    cdx_iter = make_obj_iter(cdx_iter, query)
+
+    if process and query.process:
+        cdx_iter = process_cdx(cdx_iter, query)
+
     if perms_checker:
-        cdx_iter = restrict_cdx(cdx_iter, params, perms_checker)
+        cdx_iter = restrict_cdx(cdx_iter, query, perms_checker)
+
     return cdx_iter
 
 #=================================================================
-def restrict_cdx(cdx_iter, params, perms_checker):
+def restrict_cdx(cdx_iter, query, perms_checker):
     """
     filter out those cdx records that user doesn't have access to,
     by consulting :param perms_checker:.
     :param cdx_iter: cdx record source iterable
-    :param params: request parameters (dict)
+    :param query: request parameters (CDXQuery)
     :param perms_checker: object implementing permission checker
     """
-    if not perms_checker.allow_url_lookup(params['key'], params['url']):
-        if params.get('matchType', 'exact') == 'exact':
+    if not perms_checker.allow_url_lookup(query.key, query.url):
+        if query.is_exact:
             raise AccessException('Excluded')
 
     for cdx in cdx_iter:
@@ -51,31 +56,26 @@ def restrict_cdx(cdx_iter, params, perms_checker):
         yield cdx
 
 #=================================================================
-def filter_cdx(cdx_iter, params):
-    if params.get('proxyAll'):
-        return cdx_iter
-
-    resolve_revisits = params.get('resolveRevisits', False)
-    if resolve_revisits:
+def process_cdx(cdx_iter, query):
+    if query.resolve_revisits:
         cdx_iter = cdx_resolve_revisits(cdx_iter)
 
-    filters = params.get('filter', None)
+    filters = query.filters
     if filters:
         cdx_iter = cdx_filter(cdx_iter, filters)
 
-    collapse_time = params.get('collapseTime', None)
+    collapse_time = query.collapse_time
     if collapse_time:
         cdx_iter = cdx_collapse_time_status(cdx_iter, collapse_time)
 
-    limit = int(params.get('limit', 1000000))
+    limit = query.limit
 
-    reverse = params.get('reverse', False) or params.get('sort') == 'reverse'
-    if reverse:
+    if query.reverse:
         cdx_iter = cdx_reverse(cdx_iter, limit)
 
-    closest_to = params.get('closest', None)
-    if closest_to:
-        cdx_iter = cdx_sort_closest(closest_to, cdx_iter, limit)
+    closest = query.closest
+    if closest:
+        cdx_iter = cdx_sort_closest(closest, cdx_iter, limit)
 
     if limit:
         cdx_iter = cdx_limit(cdx_iter, limit)
@@ -85,21 +85,21 @@ def filter_cdx(cdx_iter, params):
 
 #=================================================================
 # load and source merge cdx streams
-def load_cdx_streams(sources, params):
+def load_cdx_streams(sources, query):
     # Optimize: no need to merge if just one input
     if len(sources) == 1:
-        return sources[0].load_cdx(params)
+        return sources[0].load_cdx(query)
 
-    source_iters = map(lambda src: src.load_cdx(params), sources)
+    source_iters = map(lambda src: src.load_cdx(query), sources)
     merged_stream = merge(*(source_iters))
     return merged_stream
 
 
 #=================================================================
 # convert text cdx stream to CDXObject/IDXObject
-def make_obj_iter(text_iter, params):
+def make_obj_iter(text_iter, query):
     # already converted
-    if params.get('showPagedIndex'):
+    if query.secondary_index_only:
         cls = IDXObject
     else:
         cls = CDXObject
diff --git a/pywb/cdx/cdxserver.py b/pywb/cdx/cdxserver.py
index 0de183ae..c3874a93 100644
--- a/pywb/cdx/cdxserver.py
+++ b/pywb/cdx/cdxserver.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ from pywb.utils.canonicalize import UrlCanonicalizer, calc_search_range
 from cdxops import cdx_load
 from cdxsource import CDXSource, CDXFile, RemoteCDXSource, RedisCDXSource
 from zipnum import ZipNumCluster
-from cdxobject import CDXObject, CaptureNotFoundException, CDXException
+from cdxobject import CDXObject, CaptureNotFoundException, CDXException, CDXQuery
 from cdxdomainspecific import load_domain_specific_cdx_rules
 
 from pywb.utils.loaders import is_http
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ class BaseCDXServer(object):
         # set perms checker, if any
         self.perms_checker = kwargs.get('perms_checker')
 
-    def _check_cdx_iter(self, cdx_iter, params):
+    def _check_cdx_iter(self, cdx_iter, query):
         """ Check cdx iter semantics
         If iter is empty (no matches), check if fuzzy matching
         is allowed, and try it -- otherwise,
@@ -48,21 +48,23 @@ class BaseCDXServer(object):
         if cdx_iter:
             return cdx_iter
 
-        url = params['url']
-
         # check if fuzzy is allowed and ensure that its an
         # exact match
-        if (self.fuzzy_query and params.get('allowFuzzy') and
-            params.get('matchType', 'exact') == 'exact'):
+        if (self.fuzzy_query and
+            query.allow_fuzzy and
+            query.is_exact):
 
-            fuzzy_params = self.fuzzy_query(params)
-            if fuzzy_params:
-                return self.load_cdx(**fuzzy_params)
+            fuzzy_query_params = self.fuzzy_query(query)
+            if fuzzy_query_params:
+                return self.load_cdx_query(fuzzy_query_params)
 
-        msg = 'No Captures found for: ' + url
+        msg = 'No Captures found for: ' + query.url
         raise CaptureNotFoundException(msg)
 
     def load_cdx(self, **params):
+        return self.load_cdx_query(CDXQuery(**params))
+
+    def load_cdx_query(self, query):
         raise NotImplementedError('Implement in subclass')
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -89,26 +91,18 @@ class CDXServer(BaseCDXServer):
         # config argument.
         self._create_cdx_sources(paths, kwargs.get('config'))
 
-    def load_cdx(self, **params):
-        # if key not set, assume 'url' is set and needs canonicalization
-        if not params.get('key'):
-            try:
-                url = params['url']
-            except KeyError:
-                msg = 'A url= param must be specified to query the cdx server'
-                raise CDXException(msg)
+    def load_cdx_query(self, query):
+        url = query.url
+        key, end_key = calc_search_range(url=url,
+                                         match_type=query.match_type,
+                                         url_canon=self.url_canon)
+        query.set_key(key, end_key)
 
-            match_type = params.get('matchType', 'exact')
-
-            key, end_key = calc_search_range(url=url,
-                                             match_type=match_type,
-                                             url_canon=self.url_canon)
-            params['key'] = key
-            params['end_key'] = end_key
-
-        cdx_iter = cdx_load(self.sources, params,
+        cdx_iter = cdx_load(self.sources,
+                            query,
                             perms_checker=self.perms_checker)
-        return self._check_cdx_iter(cdx_iter, params)
+
+        return self._check_cdx_iter(cdx_iter, query)
 
     def _create_cdx_sources(self, paths, config):
         """
@@ -186,9 +180,9 @@ class RemoteCDXServer(BaseCDXServer):
         else:
             raise Exception('Invalid remote cdx source: ' + str(source))
 
-    def load_cdx(self, **params):
-        remote_iter = cdx_load((self.sources,), params, filter=False)
-        return self._check_cdx_iter(remote_iter, params)
+    def load_cdx_query(self, query):
+        remote_iter = cdx_load(self.sources, query, process=False)
+        return self._check_cdx_iter(remote_iter, query)
 
     def __str__(self):
         return 'Remote CDX server serving from ' + str(self.sources[0])
@@ -220,23 +214,4 @@ def create_cdx_server(config, ds_rules_file=None):
                       ds_rules_file=ds_rules_file,
                       perms_checker=perms_checker)
 
-#=================================================================
-def extract_params_from_wsgi_env(env):
-    """ utility function to extract params from the query
-    string of a WSGI environment dictionary
-    """
-    # use url= param to get actual url
-    params = urlparse.parse_qs(env['QUERY_STRING'])
 
-    if not 'output' in params:
-        params['output'] = 'text'
-
-    # parse_qs produces arrays for single values
-    # cdx processing expects singleton params for all params,
-    # except filters, so convert here
-    # use first value of the list
-    for name, val in params.iteritems():
-        if name != 'filter':
-            params[name] = val[0]
-
-    return params
diff --git a/pywb/cdx/cdxsource.py b/pywb/cdx/cdxsource.py
index ba5f8b3b..c17312c0 100644
--- a/pywb/cdx/cdxsource.py
+++ b/pywb/cdx/cdxsource.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ class CDXSource(object):
     """
     Represents any cdx index source
     """
-    def load_cdx(self, params):
+    def load_cdx(self, query):
         raise NotImplementedError('Implement in subclass')
 
 
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ class CDXFile(CDXSource):
     def __init__(self, filename):
         self.filename = filename
 
-    def load_cdx(self, params):
+    def load_cdx(self, query):
         source = SeekableTextFileReader(self.filename)
-        return iter_range(source, params.get('key'), params.get('end_key'))
+        return iter_range(source, query.key, query.end_key)
 
     def __str__(self):
         return 'CDX File - ' + self.filename
@@ -45,20 +45,16 @@ class RemoteCDXSource(CDXSource):
         self.cookie = cookie
         self.proxy_all = proxy_all
 
-    def load_cdx(self, proxy_params):
+    def load_cdx(self, query):
         if self.proxy_all:
-            params = proxy_params
-            params['proxyAll'] = True
+            query.set_process(False)
+            remote_query = query
         else:
             # Only send url and matchType params to remote
-            params = {}
-            params['url'] = proxy_params['url']
-            match_type = proxy_params.get('matchType')
+            remote_query = CDXQuery(url=query.url,
+                                    match_type=query.matchType)
 
-            if match_type:
-                proxy_params['matchType'] = match_type
-
-        urlparams = urllib.urlencode(params, True)
+        urlparams = remote_query.urlencode()
 
         try:
             request = urllib2.Request(self.remote_url, urlparams)
@@ -97,14 +93,14 @@ class RedisCDXSource(CDXSource):
             self.key_prefix = config.get('redis_key_prefix', self.key_prefix)
 
 
-    def load_cdx(self, params):
+    def load_cdx(self, query):
         """
         Load cdx from redis cache, from an ordered list
 
         Currently, there is no support for range queries
         Only 'exact' matchType is supported
         """
-        key = params['key']
+        key = query.key
 
         # ensure only url/surt is part of key
         key = key.split(' ')[0]
diff --git a/pywb/cdx/wsgi_cdxserver.py b/pywb/cdx/wsgi_cdxserver.py
index c138e5c6..e6ab6067 100644
--- a/pywb/cdx/wsgi_cdxserver.py
+++ b/pywb/cdx/wsgi_cdxserver.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-from werkzeug.wrappers import BaseRequest, BaseResponse
+from werkzeug.wrappers import BaseResponse
 from cdxserver import create_cdx_server
 from pywb import get_test_dir
+from cdxobject import CDXQuery
 
 import logging
 import os
@@ -18,37 +19,10 @@ DEFAULT_PORT = 8080
 
 #=================================================================
 
-class CDXQueryRequest(BaseRequest):
+class CDXQueryRequest(object):
     def __init__(self, environ):
-        super(CDXQueryRequest, self).__init__(environ)
+        self.query = CDXQuery.from_wsgi_env(environ)
 
-    def _get_bool(self, name):
-        v = self.args.get(name)
-        if v:
-            try:
-                v = int(s)
-            except ValueError as ex:
-                v = (s.lower() == 'true')
-        return bool(v)
-    @property
-    def output(self):
-        return self.args.get('output', 'text')
-    @property
-    def filter(self):
-        return self.args.getlist('filter', [])
-    @property
-    def fields(self):
-        v = self.args.get('fields')
-        return v.split(',') if v else None
-    @property
-    def reverse(self):
-        # sort=reverse overrides reverse=0
-        return (self._get_bool('reverse') or
-                self.args.get('sort') == 'reverse')
-    @property
-    def params(self):
-        return dict(t if t[0] == 'filter' else (t[0], t[1][0])
-                    for t in self.args.iterlists())
 
 class WSGICDXServer(object):
     def __init__(self, config, rules_file):
@@ -57,11 +31,11 @@ class WSGICDXServer(object):
     def __call__(self, environ, start_response):
         request = CDXQueryRequest(environ)
         try:
-            logging.debug('request.args=%s', request.params)
-            result = self.cdxserver.load_cdx(**request.params)
+            logging.debug('request.args=%s', request.query)
+            result = self.cdxserver.load_cdx_query(request.query)
 
             # TODO: select response type by "output" parameter
-            response = PlainTextResponse(result, request.fields)
+            response = PlainTextResponse(result, request.query.fields)
             return response(environ, start_response)
         except Exception as exc:
             logging.error('load_cdx failed', exc_info=1)
@@ -74,7 +48,7 @@ def cdx_text_out(cdx, fields):
     if not fields:
         return str(cdx) + '\n'
     else:
-        logging.info('cdx fields=%s', cdx.keys())
+        logging.info('cdx fields=%s', cdx.keys)
         # TODO: this will results in an exception if fields contain
         # non-existent field name.
         return ' '.join(cdx[x] for x in fields) + '\n'
diff --git a/pywb/cdx/zipnum.py b/pywb/cdx/zipnum.py
index 847c660f..fbb1503f 100644
--- a/pywb/cdx/zipnum.py
+++ b/pywb/cdx/zipnum.py
@@ -110,21 +110,21 @@ class ZipNumCluster(CDXSource):
     def lookup_loc(self, part):
         return self.loc_map[part]
 
-    def load_cdx(self, params):
+    def load_cdx(self, query):
         self.reload_loc()
 
         reader = SeekableTextFileReader(self.summary)
 
         idx_iter = iter_range(reader,
-                              params['key'],
-                              params['end_key'],
+                              query.key,
+                              query.end_key,
                               prev_size=1)
 
-        if params.get('showPagedIndex'):
-            params['proxyAll'] = True
+        if query.secondary_index_only:
+            query.set_process(False)
             return idx_iter
         else:
-            blocks = self.idx_to_cdx(idx_iter, params)
+            blocks = self.idx_to_cdx(idx_iter, query)
 
             def gen_cdx():
                 for blk in blocks:
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ class ZipNumCluster(CDXSource):
 
             return gen_cdx()
 
-    def idx_to_cdx(self, idx_iter, params):
+    def idx_to_cdx(self, idx_iter, query):
         blocks = None
         ranges = []
 
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ class ZipNumCluster(CDXSource):
 
             else:
                 if blocks:
-                    yield self.block_to_cdx_iter(blocks, ranges, params)
+                    yield self.block_to_cdx_iter(blocks, ranges, query)
 
                 blocks = ZipBlocks(idx['part'],
                                    idx['offset'],
@@ -160,15 +160,15 @@ class ZipNumCluster(CDXSource):
                 ranges = [blocks.length]
 
         if blocks:
-            yield self.block_to_cdx_iter(blocks, ranges, params)
+            yield self.block_to_cdx_iter(blocks, ranges, query)
 
-    def block_to_cdx_iter(self, blocks, ranges, params):
+    def block_to_cdx_iter(self, blocks, ranges, query):
         last_exc = None
         last_traceback = None
 
         for location in self.lookup_loc(blocks.part):
             try:
-                return self.load_blocks(location, blocks, ranges, params)
+                return self.load_blocks(location, blocks, ranges, query)
             except Exception as exc:
                 last_exc = exc
                 import sys
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ class ZipNumCluster(CDXSource):
         else:
             raise Exception('No Locations Found for: ' + block.part)
 
-    def load_blocks(self, location, blocks, ranges, params):
+    def load_blocks(self, location, blocks, ranges, query):
 
         if (logging.getLogger().getEffectiveLevel() <= logging.DEBUG):
             msg = 'Loading {b.count} blocks from {loc}:{b.offset}+{b.length}'
@@ -195,9 +195,9 @@ class ZipNumCluster(CDXSource):
         iter_ = itertools.chain(*itertools.imap(decompress_block, ranges))
 
         # start bound
-        iter_ = linearsearch(iter_, params['key'])
+        iter_ = linearsearch(iter_, query.key)
 
         # end bound
-        end = params['end_key']
+        end = query.end_key
         iter_ = itertools.takewhile(lambda line: line < end, iter_)
         return iter_
diff --git a/pywb/handlers.py b/pywb/handlers.py
index c82db7fe..10456380 100644
--- a/pywb/handlers.py
+++ b/pywb/handlers.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import mimetypes
 import time
 
 from pywb.rewrite.wburl import WbUrl
-from pywb.cdx.cdxserver import extract_params_from_wsgi_env
+from pywb.cdx.cdxobject import CDXQuery
 from wbrequestresponse import WbResponse
 from wbexceptions import WbException, NotFoundException
 from views import TextCapturesView
@@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ class CDXHandler(BaseHandler):
         self.view = view if view else TextCapturesView()
 
     def __call__(self, wbrequest):
-        params = extract_params_from_wsgi_env(wbrequest.env)
-        cdx_lines = self.index_reader.load_cdx(**params)
+        query = CDXQuery.from_wsgi_env(wbrequest.env)
+        cdx_lines = self.index_reader.load_cdx_query(query)
 
         return self.view.render_response(wbrequest, cdx_lines)
 
diff --git a/pywb/indexreader.py b/pywb/indexreader.py
index a422d0b4..ff17dfde 100644
--- a/pywb/indexreader.py
+++ b/pywb/indexreader.py
@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ class IndexReader(object):
 
         return cdxlines
 
+    def load_cdx_query(self, query):
+        return self.cdx_server.load_cdx_query(query)
+
     def load_cdx(self, **params):
         return self.cdx_server.load_cdx(**params)
 
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 7f843161..c9ff86bd 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ setup(
         ('sample_archive/text_content/', glob.glob('sample_archive/text_content/*')),
         ],
     install_requires=[
-        'uwsgi',
         'rfc3987',
         'chardet',
         'redis',
@@ -36,7 +35,6 @@ setup(
         'WebTest',
         'pytest',
         'werkzeug>=0.9.4',
-        'setuptools',
         ],
     # tests_require=['WebTest', 'pytest'],
     zip_safe=False