collective.checkdocs
Distutils command to view and validate restructured text in package's long_description
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
No. This package is abandoned (last release 2014-06-06) and built on deprecated distutils. Modern alternatives using contemporary build tools are far more reliable and actively maintained. The GPL copyleft license also adds friction for proprietary projects. Install only if you are maintaining legacy code that already depends on it.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires distutils; classifiers indicate support only through Python 3.4.
- High install friction: distributed as a .zip file and abandoned since 2014.
- Last commit was in 2021 but no releases since June 2014.
License · maintenance · safety
GPL (copyleft) — Licensed under GPL (copyleft). Use in proprietary projects requires careful license compatibility review; derivative works and distributions must also be GPL.
last release 2014-06-06 (4452 days) · last repo commit 2021-09-29 · 10 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 79,588 downloads/mo, #14,348 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install collective.checkdocs
Then in your setup.py directory:
python setup.py checkdocs
python setup.py showdocs- Whether this package works with Python versions beyond those listed in classifiers (2.6, 2.7, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4)
- Whether the showdocs web server on port 6969 still functions or has security implications on modern systems
- Compatibility with modern setuptools and pip given the distutils foundation
What it is and what it does
collective.checkdocs is a distutils plugin that adds two commands to your setup.py: checkdocs validates your package's long_description field as reStructuredText and reports syntax errors before publishing, while showdocs renders the description as HTML and serves it locally in a web browser for preview. It was designed to catch formatting errors early and avoid broken package pages on PyPI.
The package has been abandoned since its last release on 2014-06-06 and is not maintained for modern Python or packaging ecosystems. It relies on distutils, which is deprecated. No runtime dependencies are listed, but the high install friction and lack of updates make it a poor fit for contemporary development workflows.
Use it for
- Validate reStructuredText syntax in a package's long_description before uploading to PyPI to catch formatting errors early.
- Preview how your package's README will render as HTML on PyPI without actually publishing it.
- Integrate documentation validation into a legacy distutils-based build pipeline that has not migrated to modern tools.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
No.
This package is abandoned (last release 2014-06-06) and built on deprecated distutils. Modern alternatives using contemporary build tools are far more reliable and actively maintained. The GPL copyleft license also adds friction for proprietary projects. Install only if you are maintaining legacy code that already depends on it.
Install
collective-checkdocs on PyPI
Before you install
High install friction: distributed as a .zip file and abandoned since 2014. Last commit was in 2021 but no releases since June 2014. Unlikely to work with modern Python versions or current packaging tooling.
Requires distutils; classifiers indicate support only through Python 3.4.
License in practice
Licensed under GPL (copyleft). Use in proprietary projects requires careful license compatibility review; derivative works and distributions must also be GPL.
Quickstart
pip install collective.checkdocs
Then in your setup.py directory:
python setup.py checkdocs
python setup.py showdocsVerify before relying
- Whether this package works with Python versions beyond those listed in classifiers (2.6, 2.7, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4)
- Whether the showdocs web server on port 6969 still functions or has security implications on modern systems
- Compatibility with modern setuptools and pip given the distutils foundation
Package facts
| License | GPL copyleft |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 4,452 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 79,588 / month, #14,348 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Programming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2.6Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.2Programming Language :: Python :: 3.3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: collective.checkdocs-0.2.zip
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