---
id: bindep
version: "2.14.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# bindep — Binary dependency utility

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.1M/mo

## What it is and what it does

Bindep is a command-line tool that validates whether system-level binary packages are installed on a machine. It reads a declarative requirements file (bindep.txt) listing Debian package names and outputs which packages are missing, making it easier to set up development and test environments where non-Python dependencies must be installed before pip can run. The tool supports profiles to handle different scenarios (e.g., test vs. production), platform-specific selectors to map Debian package names to RPM, Gentoo, or other package managers, and version constraints similar to pip's syntax.

Bindep is particularly useful in CI/CD pipelines and development setup documentation. It can output results in verbose or brief format (one package per line), making it easy to pipe missing packages directly to apt, yum, or other package managers. Exit codes indicate success (0), missing packages (1), or parse errors (2), allowing integration into automated workflows. The tool has been in production use since 2015 and supports modern Python versions.

Use it for:

- Validate that all system dependencies are installed before running tests in a CI pipeline, with brief output piped to apt-get or yum.
- Document system-level requirements in a project's bindep.txt file so developers can quickly set up a working environment.
- Handle platform-specific package names (e.g., libxml2-dev on Debian vs. libxml2-devel on RPM) in a single requirements file.
- Define test-specific system dependencies (e.g., database servers, development headers) using profiles without cluttering runtime requirements.
- Distinguish between Python 2 and Python 3 system packages using base-py2 and base-py3 labels on supported platforms.

## Worth the install?

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

Bindep checks for missing system binary packages needed by an application or library, reading requirements from a declarative file and reporting gaps in a format suitable for package managers.

Yes. Bindep is a stable, actively maintained tool with no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and permissive licensing. It solves a real problem—declaratively specifying and validating system-level dependencies—that is difficult to handle otherwise, especially in multi-platform projects. Install it if your project has non-Python system dependencies or if you need to standardize dependency setup across a team.

## Install

pip install bindep
uv add bindep
poetry add bindep

## Installing bindep

Before you install: Low install friction with four straightforward runtime dependencies (distro, packaging, Parsley, pbr). Actively maintained with a release within the last 148 days and support across Python 3.8 through 3.13.

License in practice: Licensed under Apache Software License (permissive), allowing use in both open-source and proprietary projects without copyleft obligations.

Quickstart:

pip install bindep

Create bindep.txt with your system package requirements:
  libffi6
  libffi-devel [test]

Run bindep to check for missing packages:
  bindep
  bindep test  # with specific profile
  bindep -b   # brief output for piping to package managers

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package mapping from Debian package names to other distros (RPM, Gentoo, etc.) covers your target platforms comprehensively.
- Performance characteristics when processing large or complex requirements files with many profiles and version constraints.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.1M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

system binary package checker, check missing system dependencies, binary package requirements, system library dependency validator, platform-specific package checker, development environment setup, bindep requirements file, system-dependencies, ci-cd, multi-platform

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