botocore
Low-level, data-driven core of boto 3.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Botocore is the foundational AWS SDK for Python, actively maintained by Amazon, with no known vulnerabilities, permissive licensing, and low install friction. Install it if you need programmatic access to AWS services. It is essential infrastructure for AWS automation in Python, though most developers will use boto3 (which depends on botocore) rather than calling botocore directly.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- AWS credentials must be configured (e.g., in ~/.aws/credentials and ~/.aws/config) before making API calls.
- Installation is straightforward with low friction.
- The package is actively maintained by Amazon Web Services with a release just 1 day old, and it supports current Python versions (3.10 through 3.14, including free-threading beta).
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Botocore is licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), meaning you can use, modify, and distribute it freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2026-08-13 (1 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 1,636 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 1,497,531,138 downloads/mo, #10 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install botocore
import botocore.session
session = botocore.session.get_session()
client = session.create_client('ec2')
print(client.describe_instances())- Whether the package handles credential refresh and session management automatically in long-running applications.
- Performance characteristics and rate-limiting behavior for high-volume API calls.
- Compatibility guarantees across AWS service API versions and deprecation timelines.
What it is and what it does
Botocore is the low-level, data-driven foundation that powers both the AWS CLI and boto3. It handles the mechanics of communicating with Amazon Web Services APIs—request formatting, response parsing, error handling, and service discovery—without imposing higher-level abstractions. Developers typically use botocore directly when they need fine-grained control over AWS API calls or when building tools that wrap AWS services.
The package depends on jmespath, python-dateutil, and urllib3 for JSON path queries, date handling, and HTTP transport. It requires Python 3.10 or later and is actively maintained by Amazon Web Services, with releases tracking AWS API changes closely. The library is in full support phase and has been generally available since 2015.
Use it for
- Building custom AWS CLI tools or automation scripts that need direct control over API calls and responses.
- Developing AWS service integrations where boto3's higher-level abstractions are too opinionated or slow.
- Creating monitoring or infrastructure-as-code tools that interact with multiple AWS services programmatically.
- Testing AWS API behavior or building mock AWS service implementations.
- Integrating AWS access into applications where you need to manage sessions and credentials explicitly.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Botocore is the foundational AWS SDK for Python, actively maintained by Amazon, with no known vulnerabilities, permissive licensing, and low install friction. Install it if you need programmatic access to AWS services. It is essential infrastructure for AWS automation in Python, though most developers will use boto3 (which depends on botocore) rather than calling botocore directly.
Install
botocore 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 it supports current Python versions (3.10 through 3.14, including free-threading beta). Note that Python 3.9 support ended on 2026-04-29.
AWS credentials must be configured (e.g., in ~/.aws/credentials and ~/.aws/config) before making API calls.
License in practice
Botocore is licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), meaning you can use, modify, and distribute it freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install botocore
import botocore.session
session = botocore.session.get_session()
client = session.create_client('ec2')
print(client.describe_instances())Verify before relying
- Whether the package handles credential refresh and session management automatically in long-running applications.
- Performance characteristics and rate-limiting behavior for high-volume API calls.
- Compatibility guarantees across AWS service API versions and deprecation timelines.
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 packagesjmespathpython-dateutilurllib3 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 1 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 1,497,531,138 / month, #10 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 :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsNatural 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: botocore-1.43.71-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “aws api client library”
- botocoreBotocore provides low-level, data-driven access to Amazon Web…
- sample-helper-aws-appconfigFetches and caches configuration from AWS AppConfig, handling API…
- boto3Boto3 is the official AWS SDK for Python, providing programmatic…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Internet packages
Provides an async client for AWS services using botocore and aiohttp, allowing you to call AWS APIs asynchronously within asyncio-based applications.
Install it if you need to call AWS services from async Python code; it is the standard way to do so.
Pydantic validates Python data structures against type hints, coercing and checking input at runtime to ensure it matches a declared schema.
Provides a platform-independent file locking mechanism to coordinate access to files across processes and threads.
FastAPI is a Python web framework for building REST APIs using type hints, with automatic request validation, serialization, and interactive API documentation.
Provides common Protocol Buffer message definitions used across Google Cloud APIs, enabling Python clients to interact with Google services.
Provides shared infrastructure and utilities for Google API client libraries, including authentication, request handling, and protocol buffer support.
See also boto3 · boto · aws-s3-access-grants-boto3-plugin · ibm-cos-sdk-core · s3transfer · awscli · awsretry · amazon-dax-client · keyrings.codeartifact