bacpypes

What it is and what it does

BACpypes is a Python implementation of the BACnet protocol, a standard used in building automation and control systems to allow devices like HVAC units, lighting controllers, and sensors to communicate over a network. It provides both application-layer and network-layer functionality, making it suitable for building daemons, command-line scripts, and graphical management tools that need to speak BACnet.

The package has no runtime dependencies, making installation straightforward. However, it is classified as Pre-Alpha and has not released an update in over a year despite some recent repository activity, suggesting the project may be in maintenance mode rather than active development. The codebase targets older Python versions (2.5–3.8 per classifiers), so compatibility with modern Python releases is unclear.

Use it for:

• Build a BACnet client to read sensor data or control devices in a building management system.
• Create a BACnet gateway or bridge to integrate legacy building automation equipment with modern systems.
• Develop a monitoring daemon that polls BACnet devices and logs their status or triggers alerts.
• Write test scripts to validate BACnet device behavior or network communication.
• Prototype building automation applications without needing proprietary or commercial BACnet libraries.

Worth the install?

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

BACpypes implements the BACnet protocol stack in Python, enabling applications to communicate over BACnet networks for building automation and control systems.

Yes, if you need BACnet protocol support in Python and can verify compatibility with your Python version. The permissive MIT license and zero runtime dependencies make it low-risk to try. However, the Pre-Alpha status, 569-day release gap, and unclear modern Python support mean you should test thoroughly before production use and be prepared to maintain a fork if the upstream project does not respond to issues.

Install

bacpypes on PyPI

pip install bacpypes

uv add bacpypes

poetry add bacpypes

Installing bacpypes

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Maintenance status is aging—last commit was 2026-01-23 and the package has not had a release in 569 days, though the repository remains active and not archived.

License in practice

Licensed under MIT (permissive), so you can use, modify, and distribute the package freely with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart

pip install bacpypes

import bacpypes
# BACpypes provides BACnet protocol stack for building automation applications

Classifiers indicate support for Python 2.5–3.8, but requires_python is unspecified; verify compatibility with your target Python version before deploying.

Verify before relying

• Current Python version compatibility beyond the classifiers (2.5–3.8); whether modern Python 3.9+ is supported.
• Whether the 569-day release gap reflects active maintenance or de facto dormancy despite recent commits.
• Real-world stability and adoption in production building automation systems.

Package facts

Evidence: bacpypes-0.19.0-py3-none-any.whl

Tags

More Networking packages