anytree

What it is and what it does

anytree is a pure-Python tree library that lets you build and work with hierarchical data by creating Node objects and linking them via parent-child relationships. You can construct trees from scratch, modify them by reparenting nodes, and traverse them using built-in iterators. The library also includes rendering tools like RenderTree for ASCII visualization and exporters like UniqueDotExporter for generating graph images, plus a NodeMixin base class that lets you add tree capabilities to any existing Python class.

The package is stable and supports Python 3.9 through 3.13 with no external runtime dependencies, making it straightforward to integrate into projects that need to represent or manipulate tree-shaped data—from organizational hierarchies to file systems to abstract syntax trees.

Use it for:

• Build and visualize organizational hierarchies or family trees with parent-child relationships
• Represent file system structures or directory trees for traversal and analysis
• Create abstract syntax trees or expression trees for parsing and compiler work
• Export tree structures to graphviz dot format for diagram generation
• Add tree functionality to existing classes via NodeMixin without rewriting them

Worth the install?

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

Provides a lightweight Python library for creating, manipulating, and traversing tree data structures with support for rendering and exporting trees in various formats.

Yes, if you need a simple, dependency-free tree library. The package is stable, supports current Python versions, has no known vulnerabilities, and is widely used (top 5000 on PyPI). The main caveat is that the license is undocumented—verify it meets your requirements before use in proprietary code. Maintenance is aging but not abandoned.

Install

anytree on PyPI

pip install anytree

uv add anytree

poetry add anytree

Installing anytree

Before you install

Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is aging—last release was 493 days ago, though the repository remains active with a recent commit on 2025-04-08 and 1088 stars.

License in practice

License status is unclear; the package metadata does not specify a license. Verify licensing terms before use in proprietary or restricted contexts.

Quickstart

pip install anytree

from anytree import Node, RenderTree

root = Node("root")
child1 = Node("child1", parent=root)
child2 = Node("child2", parent=root)

for pre, fill, node in RenderTree(root):
    print(f"{pre}{node.name}")

Graphviz must be installed separately on your system if you want to use UniqueDotExporter to generate image files.

Verify before relying

• Whether graphviz must be installed separately for visualization features to work
• Performance characteristics with large or deeply nested trees
• Thread safety of tree operations

Package facts

Evidence: anytree-2.13.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: tree, tree data, treelib, tree walk, tree structure

Tags

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