---
id: cement
version: "3.0.16"
license: Copyright (c) 2009 Data Folk Labs, LLC All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are… (full text in the JSON record)
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# cement — Application Framework for Python

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 610.1K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Cement is a mature Python framework for building command-line applications, first released in 2014 and actively maintained. It provides a structured platform with customizable handlers for configuration parsing, argument handling, logging, plugins, controllers (for subcommands), and output rendering. The core framework has zero external dependencies, making it lightweight to install, while optional extensions can be added as needed for features like colored logging or caching.

Developers use Cement to move beyond simple argument parsing and build professional CLI tools with consistent structure, plugin support, and configuration management. It scales from single-file scripts to complex multi-tier applications and is particularly suited for teams that want a standard, opinionated foundation rather than assembling multiple smaller libraries. The framework emphasizes customization through handlers and interfaces, allowing applications to swap implementations without changing application code.

Use it for:

- Build a multi-command CLI tool with subcommands and nested controllers for managing infrastructure or services.
- Create a plugin-based application where users can extend functionality without modifying core code.
- Develop a backend service with consistent logging, configuration file parsing, and command-line argument handling.
- Scaffold a team project that needs a standardized CLI structure and shared conventions across multiple applications.
- Build a rapid-prototyping CLI that can grow from a simple script into a full-featured application without major refactoring.

## Worth the install?

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

Cement is a Python application framework designed specifically for building command-line interfaces, from simple scripts to complex multi-tier applications, with customizable handlers for configuration, logging, plugins, and subcommands.

Yes. Cement is a solid choice if you are building anything beyond a trivial CLI tool and want a structured, extensible foundation. The zero-dependency core, active maintenance, permissive license, and long track record (since 2014) make it low-risk. Install it if you need subcommands, plugins, configuration management, or a team-standard CLI structure; skip it if you only need basic argument parsing, where simpler libraries may suffice.

## Install

pip install cement
uv add cement
poetry add cement

## Installing cement

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with low friction—the core framework has zero external runtime dependencies. The package is actively maintained with a recent release and steady commit activity, making it a stable choice for CLI development.

License in practice: Cement is distributed under the BSD License (three clause), a permissive open-source license that permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, requiring only copyright and license notice in redistributions.

Quickstart:

pip install cement

from cement import App

with App('myapp') as app:
    app.setup()
    print('Hello from Cement')

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the handler/interface customization system is documented with sufficient examples for typical use cases.
- Performance characteristics when handling very large numbers of subcommands or deeply nested controller hierarchies.
- Compatibility and maturity of optional extensions (colorlog, redis, etc.) relative to their standalone equivalents.

## Package facts

- License: Copyright (c) 2009 Data Folk Labs, LLC All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are… (full text in the JSON record) (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 610.1K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

python cli framework, command line application framework, cli argument parsing, python command line tool builder, cli subcommands and plugins, application framework python, cli logging and config, cli-framework, command-line-tools, plugin-system

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