---
id: conda-package-streaming
version: "0.13.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# conda-package-streaming — An efficient library to read from new and old format .conda and .tar.bz2 conda packages.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 326.8K/mo

## What it is and what it does

conda-package-streaming is a library for reading conda package archives (.conda and .tar.bz2 formats) without downloading entire files. It uses efficient HTTP range requests (typically 2–3 requests) to fetch only the metadata or specific components you need, and streams tar.bz2 files to avoid loading them into memory. The library exposes a simple API that yields (tarfile, member) tuples, letting you stop reading as soon as you have what you need.

It supports multiple data sources: URLs (HTTP/HTTPS), S3 buckets, local files, and file-like objects. This makes it useful for conda tools, package managers, and CI/CD systems that need to inspect package metadata or extract specific files without the overhead of downloading and decompressing entire packages.

Use it for:

- Inspect conda package metadata (dependencies, version info) from a remote repository without downloading the full package.
- Extract specific files from conda packages in CI/CD pipelines to validate or process package contents.
- Stream package information from S3 or HTTP sources in cloud-based conda tooling.
- Build conda package indexing or search tools that need fast metadata access.
- Validate package integrity or contents before deciding whether to download the full archive.

## Worth the install?

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

Reads conda package metadata and contents from .conda and .tar.bz2 files without downloading entire packages, using efficient range requests or streaming to fetch only what you need.

Yes. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with minimal friction, and solves a real problem for anyone working with conda packages at scale. The permissive BSD license poses no restriction. Install it if you need efficient metadata extraction from conda packages.

## Install

pip install conda-package-streaming
uv add conda-package-streaming
poetry add conda-package-streaming

## Installing conda-package-streaming

Before you install: Low friction: pure Python wheel with only two runtime dependencies (requests and backports.zstd). Active maintenance with a recent release 67 days ago and ongoing commits.

License in practice: BSD License (permissive): you can use this in commercial or proprietary projects with minimal restrictions, provided you include the license notice.

Quickstart:

from conda_package_streaming.url import stream_conda_info
import json

for tar, member in stream_conda_info(url):
    if member.name == "info/index.json":
        index_json = json.load(tar.extractfile(member))
        break

Requires Python 3.10 or later; for .conda format, the file object must be seekable.

Verify before relying:

- Whether backports.zstd is available on all target platforms or requires system zstd libraries.
- Performance characteristics when streaming large packages or over high-latency connections.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 326.8K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

conda package metadata extraction, read .conda files efficiently, stream conda packages, lazy conda package reading, conda tar.bz2 streaming, extract conda metadata without download, efficient conda package parsing, conda-ecosystem, package-management, streaming-io

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