---
id: commonmark
version: "0.9.2"
license: BSD-3-Clause
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# commonmark — Python parser for the CommonMark Markdown spec

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 6.0M/mo

## What it is and what it does

commonmark.py is a pure Python implementation of the CommonMark Markdown specification, ported from the original JavaScript commonmark.js. It parses Markdown text into an abstract syntax tree and can render that tree to HTML, JSON, or formatted AST output. The package includes both a Python API and a command-line tool (cmark) for processing Markdown files.

The package depends only on future for Python 2/3 compatibility. However, it is now deprecated and abandoned—the repository is archived with no active maintenance. The maintainers recommend using an alternative for new projects.

Use it for:

- Convert Markdown files to HTML in a legacy codebase that already uses commonmark.py
- Parse Markdown to inspect or manipulate the abstract syntax tree programmatically
- Render Markdown to JSON for downstream processing or analysis
- Use the cmark command-line tool to batch-convert Markdown documentation to HTML

## Worth the install?

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

Parses Markdown text according to the CommonMark specification and renders it to HTML, JSON, or an abstract syntax tree using pure Python.

No. The package is abandoned with no active maintenance and the repository is archived. While it has no known security vulnerabilities and low install friction, the lack of maintenance makes it unsuitable for new projects. Install only if you are maintaining legacy code that already depends on it.

## Install

pip install commonmark
uv add commonmark
poetry add commonmark

## Installing commonmark

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with low friction. However, the package is now abandoned—the repository is archived and the last commit was 2026-05-29. No active maintenance is occurring.

License in practice: Licensed under BSD-3-Clause (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, requiring only that the license and copyright notice be included.

Quickstart:

pip install commonmark

import commonmark
parser = commonmark.Parser()
ast = parser.parse("Hello *World*")
renderer = commonmark.HtmlRenderer()
html = renderer.render(ast)

Verify before relying:

- Whether the CommonMark spec version supported by 0.9.2 remains adequate for current use cases
- Migration path and compatibility with recommended alternatives

## Package facts

- License: BSD-3-Clause (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 6.0M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

commonmark markdown parser, markdown to html conversion, commonmark spec implementation, markdown ast parser, markdown renderer python, deprecated, markdown-parser

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