archspec
A library to query system architecture
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need CPU microarchitecture detection and compatibility reasoning. Low install friction, no dependencies, permissive dual licensing (Apache-2.0 OR MIT), and active maintenance make it a safe choice. Alpha status means the API may evolve, but the library is already in production use. Not needed if your tool doesn't care about CPU-level compatibility or microarchitecture details.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies.
- Active maintenance with recent commits as of 2026-08-11, though still in Alpha status.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 OR MIT (permissive) — Dual-licensed under Apache-2.0 OR MIT; users may choose either permissive license at their option, with no restrictions on commercial or private use.
last release 2026-05-14 (92 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-11 · 135 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 348,378 downloads/mo, #7,342 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install archspec
import archspec.cpu
host = archspec.cpu.host()
print(host.name)- Specific CPU models and microarchitectures supported by version 0.2.6
- Performance characteristics when querying large architecture datasets
- Stability guarantees given Alpha development status
What it is and what it does
Archspec is a Python library that provides standardized, human-readable labels for system architecture components—primarily CPU microarchitectures—and APIs to detect, query, and reason about compatibility relationships between them. It grew out of Spack and exposes functionality to identify what CPU architecture a system has, compare microarchitectures for compatibility, and model relationships between different CPU families and generations.
The library has no runtime dependencies and installs cleanly on Python 3.6 and later. It is actively maintained and suitable for integration into package managers, build systems, or any tool that needs to understand and work with CPU architecture compatibility. While still in Alpha, it has been in development since 2020-02-02 and is used in production contexts.
Use it for
- Detect the CPU microarchitecture of a system to select optimized binaries or build flags
- Compare microarchitectures to determine if a pre-built binary is compatible with a target system
- Model CPU compatibility chains in package managers to avoid installing incompatible optimized builds
- Query architecture metadata for system profiling or hardware inventory tools
- Reason about CPU feature sets and generations for compiler optimization decisions
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need CPU microarchitecture detection and compatibility reasoning.
Low install friction, no dependencies, permissive dual licensing (Apache-2.0 OR MIT), and active maintenance make it a safe choice. Alpha status means the API may evolve, but the library is already in production use. Not needed if your tool doesn't care about CPU-level compatibility or microarchitecture details.
Install
archspec on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with recent commits as of 2026-08-11, though still in Alpha status.
License in practice
Dual-licensed under Apache-2.0 OR MIT; users may choose either permissive license at their option, with no restrictions on commercial or private use.
Quickstart
pip install archspec
import archspec.cpu
host = archspec.cpu.host()
print(host.name)Verify before relying
- Specific CPU models and microarchitectures supported by version 0.2.6
- Performance characteristics when querying large architecture datasets
- Stability guarantees given Alpha development status
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 OR MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release !=2.7.*,!=3.0.*,!=3.1.*,!=3.2.*,!=3.3.*,!=3.4.*,!=3.5.*,>=3.6 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 92 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 348,378 / month, #7,342 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 3 - AlphaIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchLicense :: Other/Proprietary LicenseOperating System :: MacOSOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxOperating System :: UnixProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9 |
Evidence: archspec-0.2.6-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “cpu microarchitecture detection”
- archspecArchspec provides APIs to detect, query, and compare CPU…
- py-cpuinfoDetects and reports CPU information—architecture, frequency, cache…
- scaleneScalene profiles Python code to measure CPU, GPU, and memory…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Software Development packages
Provides backported and experimental type hints for Python 3.9+, allowing use of newer typing features on older Python versions and enabling early experimentation with type system PEPs before they enter the standard library.
NumPy provides an N-dimensional array object and a comprehensive suite of mathematical, linear algebra, Fourier transform, and random number functions for scientific computing in Python.
FastAPI is a Python web framework for building REST APIs using type hints, with automatic request validation, serialization, and interactive API documentation.
Provides a way to document function parameters, class attributes, return types, and variables inline using Python's `Annotated` type hint syntax instead of traditional docstrings.
Typer builds command-line applications from Python functions using type hints, automatically generating help text, argument parsing, and shell completion.
Install it if you are building CLIs in Python.
Distlib provides low-level packaging utilities for building, distributing, and managing Python software—including metadata handling, version specifiers, wheel support, script installation, and dependency resolution.
See also screeninfo · archinfo · Glances · extra-platforms · censys · python-binary-memcached · mozinfo · py-cpuinfo · Adafruit-PlatformDetect · impi-rt