---
id: colcon-metadata
version: "0.2.5"
license: Apache License, Version 2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# colcon-metadata — Extension for colcon to read package metadata from files.

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 182.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

colcon-metadata is a plugin for the colcon build system that extends colcon-core to read and manage package metadata stored in remote repositories. It allows build systems to fetch structured information about packages—such as build configuration, dependencies, or other metadata—from centralized metadata repositories rather than deriving it solely from package source code.

The package is designed for teams using colcon as their build orchestration tool who need to maintain and distribute metadata separately from source repositories. It depends on colcon-core for the plugin framework and PyYAML for parsing metadata files. Development status is marked as Alpha, and the project has been dormant since August 2020, meaning it receives no active maintenance or updates.

Use it for:

- Centralize package metadata for large colcon-based monorepos to avoid duplicating build configuration across many repositories.
- Fetch build metadata from a shared repository during CI/CD pipelines to configure builds without modifying source code.
- Manage cross-project dependencies and metadata in organizations using colcon as their primary build system.

## Worth the install?

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

Extends colcon-core to fetch and manage package metadata from remote repositories, enabling build systems to access structured package information during builds.

Yes, if you are actively using colcon and need to manage package metadata from a centralized repository. No, if you are not already using colcon or if you need active maintenance and support—the package has been dormant since 2020 and may not be compatible with recent colcon-core versions without verification.

## Install

pip install colcon-metadata
uv add colcon-metadata
poetry add colcon-metadata

## Installing colcon-metadata

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Maintenance is dormant: the latest release was 2020-08-10, over five years ago, though the repository remains active. Depends on colcon-core and PyYAML, both stable.

License in practice: Apache License 2.0 is permissive and poses no restrictions on commercial or private use; you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely.

Quickstart:

pip install colcon-metadata

Once installed, colcon-metadata integrates as a plugin into colcon-core and is invoked through the colcon command-line interface rather than direct Python imports.

Requires colcon-core to be installed and a colcon-compatible build environment; this is a plugin, not a standalone library.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works with current colcon-core versions given its last release in 2020.
- What specific metadata formats or repository structures are supported beyond the example in colcon-metadata-repository.

## Package facts

- License: Apache License, Version 2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 182.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

colcon metadata extension, package metadata management, colcon repository metadata, build system metadata fetching, colcon plugin, colcon-plugin, build-metadata

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/colcon-metadata) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/colcon-metadata/)