---
id: ably
version: "3.1.2"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# ably — Python REST and Realtime client library SDK for Ably realtime messaging service

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.4M/mo

## 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 above — verify before relying.

Ably is a Python client library for connecting to Ably's realtime pub/sub messaging service, supporting message publishing, subscriptions, message history, and presence features.

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

pip install ably
uv add ably
poetry add ably

## Installing ably

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.

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')

Requires Python 3.7 or later; async/await syntax requires understanding of asyncio; Ably API key required to connect to the service.

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_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.4M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

realtime pub/sub messaging, ably python client, message subscriptions, realtime messaging service, async message broker, presence and history, websocket messaging, realtime-messaging, pub-sub, async-io

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