aiocoap

What it is and what it does

aiocoap is a production-grade implementation of the CoAP protocol for Python 3.10+, designed to let developers build applications that communicate with constrained, network-enabled devices typical in IoT deployments. It uses Python's native asyncio to handle concurrent operations while keeping the interface straightforward. The library supports most CoAP standards including RFC7252 (core CoAP), blockwise transfer, observe notifications, OSCORE encryption, and CoAP over TCP/WebSockets, though some features like DTLS and EDHOC remain experimental.

The package has no runtime dependencies and installs cleanly on Linux, BSD, Windows, and macOS, though Linux offers the most complete network backend. It comes with examples, tools, and comprehensive documentation. Development is tracked on Codeberg with a focus on standards compliance—unimplemented features from supported RFCs are treated as bugs. The library is suitable for both client and server implementations, with multicast support on the server side and partial support for clients.

Use it for:

• Build IoT gateway or bridge applications that translate between CoAP devices and other network protocols
• Implement CoAP servers for resource-constrained embedded systems that need to expose sensor data or accept commands
• Create monitoring or management tools that query multiple CoAP endpoints concurrently using asyncio
• Develop secure CoAP applications using OSCORE encryption for authenticated, confidential device communication
• Test and debug CoAP implementations or devices using the provided command-line tools and library functions

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

aiocoap is a Python library for writing CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) clients and servers using asyncio, enabling communication with network-enabled IoT and embedded devices.

Yes, if you need to communicate with CoAP devices or build CoAP services. The library is production-stable, has no dependencies, and covers most CoAP standards. Maintenance is aging (282 days since last release), so check the issue tracker for your specific use case. Avoid if you require production-grade DTLS or client certificates, which are not yet fully supported.

Install

aiocoap on PyPI

pip install aiocoap

uv add aiocoap

poetry add aiocoap

Installing aiocoap

Before you install

Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance status is aging (282 days since last release), but the package has been in production since 2014 and remains actively tracked.

License in practice

Published under MIT and BSD-3-Clause (permissive licenses). Files in vendored utilities may carry compatible OSI-approved licenses. No restrictions on commercial or proprietary use.

Quickstart

pip install aiocoap

import asyncio
from aiocoap import *

async def main():
    context = await Context.create_client_context()
    request = Message(code=GET, uri='coap://example.com/resource')
    response = await context.request(request).response
    print(response.payload)

asyncio.run(main())

Requires Python 3.10 or newer. Full feature support (DTLS, OSCORE, link-format handling) requires additional libraries per installation instructions.

Verify before relying

• Whether experimental DTLS and EDHOC support are production-ready for security-critical applications
• Current state of missing RFC7641 (Observe) features: reordering, re-registration, active cancellation
• Whether Group OSCORE implementation is suitable beyond experimentation without joining/persistence mechanisms

Package facts

Evidence: aiocoap-0.4.17-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: coap, asyncio, iot

Tags

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