boto3
The AWS SDK for Python
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Boto3 is the de facto standard for AWS automation in Python—actively maintained by Amazon, permissively licensed, widely adopted, and free of known vulnerabilities. Install it if you need to interact with any AWS service from Python code.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later.
- AWS credentials must be configured in ~/.aws/credentials and a default region in ~/.aws/config before use.
- Installation is straightforward with low friction; the package is actively maintained by Amazon Web Services with a release just 1 day old and a well-established repository.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-08-13 (1 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 9,870 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 3,717,556,977 downloads/mo, #1 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
$ python -m pip install boto3
import boto3
s3 = boto3.resource('s3')
for bucket in s3.buckets.all():
print(bucket.name)- Whether all supported AWS services are documented with current examples in the official docs.
- Performance characteristics and rate-limiting behavior for high-volume API calls.
What it is and what it does
Boto3 is Amazon's official Python SDK for interacting with AWS services. It abstracts the complexity of AWS APIs behind a Pythonic interface, allowing developers to manage cloud resources—storage buckets, compute instances, databases, and dozens of other services—directly from Python code. The library handles authentication, request signing, response parsing, and error handling automatically.
The package is built on top of botocore (which manages low-level HTTP communication and service definitions), jmespath (for parsing JSON responses), and s3transfer (for efficient S3 uploads and downloads). It's maintained in full support by Amazon Web Services, supports modern Python versions (3.10 through 3.14), and is one of the most widely downloaded packages on PyPI. Support for Python 3.9 ended on 2026-04-29.
Use it for
- Upload, download, and manage files in Amazon S3 buckets programmatically.
- Launch, monitor, and terminate EC2 instances and manage other compute resources.
- Query and manage data in DynamoDB, RDS, and other AWS database services.
- Automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration management workflows.
- Build serverless applications that invoke Lambda functions and manage related resources.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Boto3 is the de facto standard for AWS automation in Python—actively maintained by Amazon, permissively licensed, widely adopted, and free of known vulnerabilities. Install it if you need to interact with any AWS service from Python code.
Install
boto3 on PyPI
Before you install
Installation is straightforward with low friction; the package is actively maintained by Amazon Web Services with a release just 1 day old and a well-established repository. Runtime dependencies are minimal (botocore, jmespath, s3transfer).
Requires Python 3.10 or later. AWS credentials must be configured in ~/.aws/credentials and a default region in ~/.aws/config before use.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
$ python -m pip install boto3
import boto3
s3 = boto3.resource('s3')
for bucket in s3.buckets.all():
print(bucket.name)Verify before relying
- Whether all supported AWS services are documented with current examples in the official docs.
- Performance characteristics and rate-limiting behavior for high-volume API calls.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 3 packagesbotocorejmespaths3transfer |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 1 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 3,717,556,977 / month, #1 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersNatural Language :: EnglishProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming 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 :: Free Threading :: 2 - Beta |
Evidence: boto3-1.43.71-py3-none-any.whl
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See also s3fs · amazon-sns-extended-client · amazon-sqs-extended-client · tentaclio-s3