bitarray-hardbyte
efficient arrays of booleans -- C extension
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need memory-efficient boolean storage or bit-level operations. The package is mature, actively maintained, permissively licensed, and has no known vulnerabilities. Install friction is moderate due to C compilation, but precompiled wheels cover most common platforms. Not necessary for typical Python applications that don't require bit-level manipulation or extreme memory optimization.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires a C compiler if installing from source; precompiled wheels available for Python 3.6–3.10 on macOS, Linux (x86_64, i686), and Windows.
- Medium install friction due to C compilation requirement, but precompiled wheels are available for common platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows, multiple architectures).
- Maintenance is active with recent commits and a stable release history since 2019.
License · maintenance · safety
PSF (permissive) — Licensed under the Python Software Foundation License (PSF), a permissive license that allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.
last release 2022-02-28 (1628 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 792 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 93,774 downloads/mo, #13,363 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install bitarray-hardbyte
from bitarray import bitarray
a = bitarray()
a.append(1)
a.extend([1, 0])
print(a) # bitarray('110')
print(a.count(1)) # 2- Whether bitarray-hardbyte is a maintained fork or variant of the original bitarray package and how it differs functionally.
- Current Python 3.11+ support status, given that friction evidence shows wheels only up to cp310.
What it is and what it does
bitarray-hardbyte is a C extension that provides a memory-efficient array type for storing boolean values. Eight bits are packed into a single byte, making it far more compact than a Python list of booleans. The library supports both big-endian and little-endian bit ordering, allowing fine-grained control over how bits map to bytes—important when working with binary protocols, file formats, or memory-mapped data.
The package behaves like a standard Python sequence: you can slice, extend, iterate, and apply bitwise operations (&, |, ^, ~, <<, >>) directly on bitarray objects. It includes utility functions for encoding/decoding variable-length prefix codes, converting to hexadecimal, creating Huffman codes, and serialization. All functionality is implemented in C for speed, and the library supports the buffer protocol for zero-copy interoperability with other binary data structures like numpy arrays.
Use it for
- Storing large sets of boolean flags or bit masks where memory efficiency is critical.
- Implementing Bloom filters, bitmaps, or other bit-level data structures.
- Working with binary file formats or network protocols that require precise bit-level manipulation.
- Creating Huffman codes or other variable-length prefix codes for compression.
- Interfacing with memory-mapped files or C libraries that expect raw bit-level data.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need memory-efficient boolean storage or bit-level operations.
The package is mature, actively maintained, permissively licensed, and has no known vulnerabilities. Install friction is moderate due to C compilation, but precompiled wheels cover most common platforms. Not necessary for typical Python applications that don't require bit-level manipulation or extreme memory optimization.
Install
bitarray-hardbyte on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to C compilation requirement, but precompiled wheels are available for common platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows, multiple architectures). Maintenance is active with recent commits and a stable release history since 2019.
Requires a C compiler if installing from source; precompiled wheels available for Python 3.6–3.10 on macOS, Linux (x86_64, i686), and Windows.
License in practice
Licensed under the Python Software Foundation License (PSF), a permissive license that allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install bitarray-hardbyte
from bitarray import bitarray
a = bitarray()
a.append(1)
a.extend([1, 0])
print(a) # bitarray('110')
print(a.count(1)) # 2Verify before relying
- Whether bitarray-hardbyte is a maintained fork or variant of the original bitarray package and how it differs functionally.
- Current Python 3.11+ support status, given that friction evidence shows wheels only up to cp310.
Package facts
| License | PSF permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 1,628 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 93,774 / month, #13,363 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 6 - MatureIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: Python Software Foundation LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: CProgramming Language :: Python :: 2Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Utilities |
Evidence: bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_1_i686.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_1_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp310-cp310-win32.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp36-cp36m-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp36-cp36m-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp36-cp36m-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp36-cp36m-musllinux_1_1_i686.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp36-cp36m-musllinux_1_1_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp36-cp36m-win32.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp36-cp36m-win_amd64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp37-cp37m-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp37-cp37m-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp37-cp37m-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp37-cp37m-musllinux_1_1_i686.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp37-cp37m-musllinux_1_1_x86_64.whl; bitarray_hardbyte-2.3.8-cp37-cp37m-win32.whl
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See also bitarray · PyByteBuffer · tibs · bitmap · bitstring · graycode · ndindex · leb128 · fixedint · bitstruct