ably
Python REST and Realtime client library SDK for Ably realtime messaging service
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Ably is a mature, actively maintained library with low install friction, no vulnerabilities, and permissive licensing. Install it if you need a managed realtime messaging service and are comfortable with Ably's hosted model and pricing. The SDK currently covers REST and basic realtime subscriptions; if you need advanced Ably Realtime features, check whether the MQTT adapter is required for your use case.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.7 or later; async/await syntax requires understanding of asyncio; Ably API key required to connect to the service.
- Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution.
- The package is actively maintained with a recent release and no known vulnerabilities.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
last release 2026-03-27 (140 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 56 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,385,602 downloads/mo, #3,975 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install ably
from ably import AblyRealtime
async with AblyRealtime('your-api-key', client_id='me') as client:
channel = client.channels.get('test-channel')
await channel.subscribe(lambda msg: print(msg.data))
await channel.publish('event', 'hello')- Whether full Ably Realtime features (beyond REST and basic subscriptions) are available in this SDK version or require the MQTT adapter.
- Performance characteristics and throughput limits under typical production loads.
- Reconnection and failover behavior during network interruptions.
What it is and what it does
Ably is a Python SDK that connects your application to Ably's hosted realtime messaging platform. It provides async-first APIs for pub/sub messaging, allowing you to publish messages to channels and subscribe to receive them in real time, along with features like message history and presence tracking. The SDK handles the underlying WebSocket and HTTP connections, authentication, and message serialization through dependencies on httpx, websockets, and msgpack.
The package is designed for building realtime features—live notifications, collaborative editing, activity feeds, and similar use cases—where you want reliable message delivery without managing your own infrastructure. It supports Python 3.7 through 3.14 and is actively maintained with no known security vulnerabilities.
Use it for
- Build live notification systems where clients subscribe to channels and receive updates as they happen.
- Implement presence features to track which users are online or active in a shared space.
- Retrieve message history for a channel to show users recent activity when they reconnect.
- Create collaborative applications where multiple clients publish and receive state changes in real time.
- Add push notifications to mobile or web apps by integrating with Ably's push infrastructure.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Ably is a mature, actively maintained library with low install friction, no vulnerabilities, and permissive licensing. Install it if you need a managed realtime messaging service and are comfortable with Ably's hosted model and pricing. The SDK currently covers REST and basic realtime subscriptions; if you need advanced Ably Realtime features, check whether the MQTT adapter is required for your use case.
Install
ably on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution. The package is actively maintained with a recent release and no known vulnerabilities. Dependencies on httpx, websockets, and pyee are standard async/networking libraries.
Requires Python 3.7 or later; async/await syntax requires understanding of asyncio; Ably API key required to connect to the service.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
Quickstart
pip install ably
from ably import AblyRealtime
async with AblyRealtime('your-api-key', client_id='me') as client:
channel = client.channels.get('test-channel')
await channel.subscribe(lambda msg: print(msg.data))
await channel.publish('event', 'hello')Verify before relying
- Whether full Ably Realtime features (beyond REST and basic subscriptions) are available in this SDK version or require the MQTT adapter.
- Performance characteristics and throughput limits under typical production loads.
- Reconnection and failover behavior during network interruptions.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.7 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 5 packagesh2httpxmsgpackpyeewebsockets |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 140 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,385,602 / month, #3,975 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 6 - MatureIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: ably-3.1.2-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “realtime pub/sub messaging”
- ablyAbly is a Python client library for connecting to Ably's realtime…
- broadcasterBroadcaster provides a simple async broadcast API that abstracts over…
- centrifuge-pythonWebSocket real-time client SDK for Centrifugo and Centrifuge-based…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Python Modules packages
Converts domain names between Unicode and ASCII-compatible encoding (Punycode) according to IDNA 2008 and Unicode Technical Standard 46, with security validation and broader script coverage than the standard library.
Install it if you work with internationalized domain names, need to validate domains, or use HTTP clients that depend on it transitively.
Setuptools is a Python build backend and package management tool that handles building, distributing, and installing Python packages, including support for C/C++ extension modules.
PyYAML parses and emits YAML 1.1 data format, enabling serialization and deserialization of configuration files and Python objects to and from human-readable YAML text.
Pydantic validates Python data structures against type hints, coercing and checking input at runtime to ensure it matches a declared schema.
Provides reusable metadata objects for use with PEP-593 `typing.Annotated` to express common constraints like bounds, collection sizes, and predicates on types.
Install it if you use or build libraries that need to express type constraints in a standardized, inspectable way—or if you want to annotate your own types with…
Provides runtime tools to inspect and introspect Python type annotations, enabling programmatic examination of type hints at execution time.
See also google-cloud-pubsublite · pubnub · realtime · google-cloud-pubsub · neonize · broadcaster · gcloud-aio-pubsub · pubcontrol · slixmpp · twitchAPI