---
id: application-file-scanner
version: "0.6.4"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# application-file-scanner — A small package to deal with the headaches of scanning for files for an application to execute on.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.3M/mo

## What it is and what it does

application_file_scanner is a file-matching library that abstracts the complexity of specifying which files an application should process. Born from the PyMarkdown project's need for robust file selection, it handles pattern matching and directory traversal so you don't have to manually construct file lists or write custom scanning logic.

The package depends on typing-extensions and py-walk for its core functionality. It targets Python 3.10 and later, supports Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is actively maintained. The library is positioned as thoroughly tested and designed for ease of use, with documented examples showing both basic and advanced usage patterns.

Use it for:

- Build tools that need to identify which source files to process based on patterns
- Linters and formatters that must discover target files across directory structures
- Test runners that need to locate test files matching specific naming conventions
- Documentation generators that must find markdown or source files to include
- File processing pipelines that require flexible file selection without hardcoding paths

## Worth the install?

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

Specifies which files an application should scan by handling file-matching patterns and directory traversal, removing the need to manually construct file lists.

Yes. The package has low install friction, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive MIT license. It solves a real problem—file selection and scanning—that most applications need to handle. Install it if your application needs to discover or filter files based on patterns rather than hardcoded paths.

## Install

pip install application-file-scanner
uv add application-file-scanner
poetry add application-file-scanner

## Installing application-file-scanner

Before you install: Low install friction with only two runtime dependencies (typing-extensions and py-walk). Active maintenance with a recent commit on 2026-03-27 and no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.

Quickstart:

pip install application_file_scanner

from application_file_scanner import ApplicationFileScanner

scanner = ApplicationFileScanner()
files = scanner.scan(pattern='*.py', directory='.')

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Specific API surface and available methods beyond basic file scanning
- Whether pattern syntax supports glob, regex, or a custom format
- Performance characteristics on large directory trees
- Integration patterns with py-walk dependency

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

file scanning and filtering, file pattern matching, directory traversal library, file selection for applications, glob-like file matching, application file discovery, file list generation, file-scanning, pattern-matching, utilities

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/application-file-scanner) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/application-file-scanner/)