boltons

When they're not builtins, they're boltons.

boltons Permissive license Active ★ 6,914 v26.1.0 released 2026-07-17

Install

boltons on PyPI

pip

pip install boltons

uv

uv add boltons

poetry

poetry add boltons

Package facts

License	not declared (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.7)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 27 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-08-07
First released	2013-03-23
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: boltons-26.1.0-py3-none-any.whl

Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: Utilities

About boltons

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

Boltons

boltons should be builtins.

Boltons is a set of over 230 BSD-licensed, pure-Python utilities in the same spirit as — and yet conspicuously missing from — [the standard library][stdlib], including:

[Atomic file saving][atomic], bolted on with [fileutils][fileutils]
A highly-optimized [OrderedMultiDict][omd], in [dictutils][dictutils]
Two types of [PriorityQueue][pq], in [queueutils][queueutils] *...

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AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Boltons is a collection of over 230 pure-Python utility functions covering file operations, data structures, iteration patterns, and stack trace handling—functionality designed to complement the standard library.

Low friction: pure Python with zero runtime dependencies and a wheel distribution. Actively maintained with a recent release (27 days ago) and strong repository signals (6914 stars, last commit 2026-08-07).

BSD-licensed under permissive terms, allowing broad use in commercial and open-source projects with minimal restrictions.

Usage

pip install boltons

from boltons.cacheutils import LRU
my_cache = LRU()
my_cache['key'] = 'value'

Verdict: Boltons is a mature, well-maintained utility library with no security vulnerabilities, zero dependencies, and permissive licensing. Its broad Python version support (3.7–3.14, PyPy3) and top-1000 popularity make it a low-risk addition for projects needing standard-library-adjacent functionality.

Needs verification

Whether individual modules can be safely vendored without maintenance overhead
Performance characteristics of OrderedMultiDict and PriorityQueue relative to alternatives

python utility library standard libraryatomic file operationsordered multidictpriority queue implementationchunked iteration helpersbackoff retry logictraceback utilities