---
id: better-exceptions
version: "0.3.3"
license: unclear
license_treatment: unclear
maintenance: active
---

# better-exceptions — Pretty and helpful exceptions, automatically

License: unclear · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 589.5K/mo

## What it is and what it does

better-exceptions hooks into Python's exception system to display tracebacks with syntax highlighting and local variable values inline, making it easier to understand what went wrong at a glance. It works by setting an environment variable and is designed to be transparent—once activated, all exceptions in your Python process are automatically formatted without code changes. The package depends only on colorama for terminal color support.

You can use it in regular scripts, the Python REPL (via `python -m better_exceptions`), unittest test runners (with a monkey patch), or Django applications (via middleware). Advanced usage allows disabling value truncation. The package is intended for development and debugging; the documentation explicitly warns against leaving the environment variable set in production to avoid leaking sensitive data in logs.

Use it for:

- Interactive debugging in the Python REPL to see local variables and syntax-highlighted code context.
- Development workflows where you want richer exception output without modifying application code.
- Django projects where middleware integration provides formatted exceptions across the entire request lifecycle.
- Unit test debugging to see better-formatted assertion failures and error context.

## Worth the install?

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

Formats Python exceptions with syntax highlighting and local variable inspection to make debugging easier, activated via an environment variable.

Yes, if you do development work in Python and want better exception visibility without code changes. The low install friction, active maintenance, and zero known vulnerabilities make it a safe addition to a development environment. Not necessary for production unless you explicitly want formatted exception logging, in which case be careful to disable the environment variable in production.

## Install

pip install better-exceptions
uv add better-exceptions
poetry add better-exceptions

## Installing better-exceptions

Before you install: Low install friction with a single lightweight dependency (colorama). Actively maintained as of July 2026, though the latest release was in January 2021.

License in practice: License treatment is unclear in the metadata; the description references MIT licensing, but this is not formally declared in the package metadata.

Quickstart:

pip install better-exceptions
export BETTER_EXCEPTIONS=1
python -m better_exceptions

Requires the BETTER_EXCEPTIONS environment variable to be set; without it, exceptions display normally.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works with current Python versions (requires_python is unspecified in metadata).
- Whether the MIT license claim in the description is the authoritative license for this package.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (unclear)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 589.5K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

pretty print exceptions, python exception formatting, debug with local variables, colorized error output, better error messages, debugging, exception-handling, development-tools

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