---
id: astatine
version: "0.3.3"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# astatine — Some handy helper functions for Python's AST module.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 104.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Astatine is a utility library that wraps Python's built-in ast module with helper functions to work around version inconsistencies. The ast module itself has changed between Python releases, making it difficult to write code that works reliably across versions; astatine abstracts those differences away. It depends on asttokens and domdf-python-tools to provide its functionality.

The package is in Beta status and actively maintained. It supports Python 3.6 through 3.11 on both CPython and PyPy, and is distributed as a pure Python wheel with no compiled dependencies. It's typed (includes type hints) and has no known security vulnerabilities.

Use it for:

- Normalize AST handling across different Python versions in a code analysis or transformation tool
- Build linters or code quality checkers that need consistent AST access across Python 3.6–3.11
- Simplify AST-based code generation or refactoring scripts by using stable helper functions
- Develop Python parsing libraries that need to support multiple Python versions without version-specific branching

## Worth the install?

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

Astatine provides helper functions and utilities for working with Python's AST (Abstract Syntax Tree) module, abstracting away version inconsistencies across Python releases.

Yes, if you're writing tools that parse or manipulate Python code and need to support multiple Python versions. The low install friction, permissive license, active maintenance, and zero known vulnerabilities make it a safe choice. Not worth installing if you only target a single Python version or don't work with the ast module.

## Install

pip install astatine
uv add astatine
poetry add astatine

## Installing astatine

Before you install: Low friction: pure Python wheel with only two runtime dependencies (asttokens and domdf-python-tools). Actively maintained as of 2026-04-07, though last release was 2023-08-15.

License in practice: MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute astatine freely in commercial and open-source projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install astatine

import astatine
# Use astatine's helper functions for AST manipulation
# (specific functions depend on the version's API)

Requires Python 3.6 or later; the package is designed to smooth over AST differences across supported Python versions.

Verify before relying:

- What specific AST helper functions are provided and their typical use patterns
- How the package handles AST differences between Python 3.6 and 3.11
- Performance characteristics when processing large syntax trees

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 104.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

ast module helpers, python abstract syntax tree utilities, ast compatibility layer, python code parsing helpers, ast version compatibility, python syntax tree tools, ast wrapper functions, ast-utilities, python-compatibility

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