backports.zstd
Backport of compression.zstd
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need Zstandard support on Python 3.10–3.13. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, uses a permissive license, and is designed to be conditionally installed only when needed. Use the conditional dependency syntax `backports.zstd ; python_version<'3.14'` to avoid installing it on Python 3.14+.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later; intentionally does not install on Python 3.14+.
- Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple platforms and architectures.
- The package is actively maintained with recent releases and no known vulnerabilities.
License · maintenance · safety
PSF-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under PSF-2.0, a permissive license allowing broad use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-06-14 (61 days) · last repo commit 2026-06-14 · 28 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 77,835,120 downloads/mo, #437 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import sys
if sys.version_info >= (3, 14):
from backports import zstd
else:
from backports import zstd
compressed = zstd.compress(b"Hello, world!")- Whether system libzstd integration is recommended for production deployments
- Performance characteristics of the backport relative to future standard library versions
- Full compatibility scope with PyPy's CFFI-based implementation
What it is and what it does
backports.zstd brings Zstandard compression to Python 3.10–3.13 by backporting PEP-784's standard library implementation. It provides a zstd module for direct compression and decompression, plus enhanced tarfile and zipfile modules that understand zstd-compressed archives. The package is designed to be conditionally installed only on Python versions before 3.14, where the standard library already includes native zstd support.
The backport closely mirrors CPython 3.14's implementation, including type hints and test coverage. It ships with pre-built wheels for multiple platforms and architectures to minimize installation friction. For older Python versions, it allows code to work with zstd-compressed tar and zip files using familiar APIs, and integrates with shutil for archive operations.
Use it for
- Handle tar.zst archives in applications running Python 3.10–3.13 without external tools
- Create and extract zip files with Zstandard compression using the standard zipfile API
- Write version-agnostic code that uses native zstd support on Python 3.14+ and falls back to this backport
- Unpack zstd-compressed archives via shutil on pre-3.14 Python
- Compress and decompress data using the zstd algorithm in legacy Python environments
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need Zstandard support on Python 3.10–3.13.
The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, uses a permissive license, and is designed to be conditionally installed only when needed. Use the conditional dependency syntax `backports.zstd ; python_version<'3.14'` to avoid installing it on Python 3.14+.
Install
backports-zstd on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple platforms and architectures. The package is actively maintained with recent releases and no known vulnerabilities. Designed to be conditionally installed only on Python versions below 3.14.
Requires Python 3.10 or later; intentionally does not install on Python 3.14+.
License in practice
Licensed under PSF-2.0, a permissive license allowing broad use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
import sys
if sys.version_info >= (3, 14):
from backports import zstd
else:
from backports import zstd
compressed = zstd.compress(b"Hello, world!")Verify before relying
- Whether system libzstd integration is recommended for production deployments
- Performance characteristics of the backport relative to future standard library versions
- Full compatibility scope with PyPy's CFFI-based implementation
Package facts
| License | PSF-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <3.14,>=3.10 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 61 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 77,835,120 / month, #437 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Topic :: System :: Archiving :: Compression |
Evidence: backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux2010_i686.manylinux_2_12_i686.manylinux_2_28_i686.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_ppc64le.manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux_2_28_ppc64le.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_s390x.manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux_2_28_s390x.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_34_riscv64.manylinux_2_39_riscv64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_ppc64le.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_riscv64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_s390x.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-win32.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp310-cp310-win_arm64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; backports_zstd-1.6.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux2010_i686.manylinux_2_12_i686.manylinux_2_28_i686.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 › “zstd backport”
- backports.zstdProvides Zstandard compression support for Python versions before…
- types-zstdProvides type hints for the zstd compression library, enabling type…
- zstdProvides Python bindings to the Zstandard (Zstd) compression library,…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Compression packages
Provides Python bindings to the Brotli compression library, enabling lossless compression and decompression using a modern LZ77 variant with Huffman coding and context modeling.
Install it if you need Brotli compression in Python; the API is straightforward and the library is battle-tested.
Zopfli is a Python binding for Google's Zopfli compression library, providing higher-density compression for zlib and gzip formats than standard algorithms, with tunable iteration and block-splitting parameters.
Python binding for Google's Snappy compression library, providing fast compression and decompression of data via the cramjam backend.
However, dormant maintenance (715 days since last release) means security or compatibility issues may not be addressed quickly.
pyzipper replaces Python's standard zipfile module to read and write AES-encrypted zip archives, using the WinZip AES encryption specification.
Provides Python bindings to the Zstandard (zstd) compression library with an API similar to bz2, lzma, and zlib modules.
Compresses and decompresses Rich Text Format (RTF) data using the LZFu compression algorithm, implementing the Microsoft RTF Compression format.
However, maintenance is aging with no recent updates; verify that it meets your RTF variant requirements before relying on it for new projects.
See also zipfile-zstd · zipfile36 · zstd · backports.tarfile · tzst · zstandard · backports.tempfile · pyvista-zstd · backports.weakref