---
id: adf-lib
version: "0.2.1"
license: MIT License Copyright (c) 2024 ADF Library Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal… (full text in the JSON record)
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# adf-lib — A Python library for creating and manipulating ADF (Atlassian Document Format) documents

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 144.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

adf_lib is a Python library for programmatically building Atlassian Document Format documents. It wraps ADF's hierarchical structure (version, type, content) in a clean object-oriented API, letting you construct documents by adding typed content elements like headings, paragraphs, tables, and formatted text, then export them as dictionaries for use in Atlassian products or other systems that consume ADF.

The library provides classes for the main document container (ADF), text content with formatting marks (Text), tables with headers and cells (Table), and links. It supports text formatting through marks like bold, italic, code, strikethrough, and text color. Tables can be configured with different layouts and display modes. The package includes custom validation exceptions and is designed to catch common mistakes like empty text or invalid formatting marks.

Use it for:

- Generate Jira issue descriptions or comments programmatically from application data
- Build Confluence page content dynamically without manual markup authoring
- Export structured reports or documentation as ADF for import into Atlassian tools
- Create templated documents with consistent formatting and structure
- Automate document generation for workflows that feed into Atlassian products

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

adf_lib creates and manipulates Atlassian Document Format (ADF) documents programmatically, providing a type-safe API for building structured documents with headings, paragraphs, tables, and rich text formatting.

Yes, if you need to generate ADF documents programmatically. The package is actively maintained, has no dependencies, installs easily, and is MIT-licensed. However, it is in Alpha status with a short release history (since January 2025), so evaluate stability for production use and verify it covers the ADF features you need.

## Install

pip install adf-lib
uv add adf-lib
poetry add adf-lib

## Installing adf-lib

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance as of 2026-08-08, though the project is in Alpha status (Development Status :: 3) and relatively young (first release 2025-01-10).

License in practice: MIT License permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions. You may use this in proprietary projects, though you must retain the copyright notice and license text.

Quickstart:

pip install adf_lib

from adf_lib import ADF, Text
from adf_lib.constants.enums import HeadingLevel

doc = ADF()
doc.add(Text("My Document").heading(HeadingLevel.H1))
doc.add(Text("Paragraph text", "strong").paragraph())
adf_dict = doc.to_dict()

Verify before relying:

- Whether the library handles all ADF spec features or only a subset of content types
- Performance characteristics with large documents or complex table structures
- Stability guarantees given Alpha status and limited release history

## Package facts

- License: MIT License Copyright (c) 2024 ADF Library Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal… (full text in the JSON record) (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 144.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

atlassian document format library, adf document builder, create adf documents python, structured document generation, atlassian markup formatting, document-generation, atlassian-integration

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