cssselect2
CSS selectors for Python ElementTree
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need CSS selector matching against ElementTree-parsed markup. The package is stable, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and permissive licensing. The aging maintenance status (183 days since last release) is a minor concern for a mature library, but the recent repository activity and production-stable classifier suggest it is not abandoned. Install it when CSS selector support is a core requirement for your document processing.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later.
- Low install friction—pure Python wheel with only two lightweight runtime dependencies (tinycss2 and webencodings).
- Maintenance is aging: last release was 183 days ago, though the repository remains active with a recent commit on 2026-02-12.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — BSD permissive license means you can use, modify, and distribute this package with minimal restrictions, suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.
last release 2026-02-12 (183 days) · last repo commit 2026-02-12 · 35 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 52,710,104 downloads/mo, #558 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install cssselect2
from cssselect2 import compile_selector_list
selectors = compile_selector_list('div.content > p')
for selector in selectors:
print(selector)- Whether cssselect2 handles CSS4 selector features comprehensively or has known limitations compared to browser implementations.
- Performance characteristics when matching large numbers of selectors or complex documents.
- How well it integrates with specific ElementTree implementations beyond the documented examples.
What it is and what it does
cssselect2 is a CSS4 selector parser and matcher for Python that works with ElementTree-like parsers (including lxml, html5lib, and the standard library's ElementTree). It translates CSS selector strings into objects that can be matched against markup documents to find and select elements. The package is production-stable, supports Python 3.10 through 3.14 on both CPython and PyPy, and has minimal dependencies—only tinycss2 for CSS tokenization and webencodings for character encoding handling.
The library is maintained by CourtBouillon and is part of a broader ecosystem for web document processing in Python. It's particularly useful when you need to apply CSS-based element selection logic to parsed markup without a full DOM implementation, and when you want to work with ElementTree's lightweight parsing model rather than heavier alternatives.
Use it for
- Extract specific elements from HTML or XML documents using CSS selectors in web scraping scripts.
- Build CSS-based filtering logic into document processing pipelines that use ElementTree parsers.
- Implement stylesheet-like element selection in tools that generate or transform markup.
- Match elements in markup documents when integrating with lxml or html5lib parsers.
- Create CSS selector-based rules for document analysis or validation workflows.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need CSS selector matching against ElementTree-parsed markup.
The package is stable, has no known vulnerabilities, low install friction, and permissive licensing. The aging maintenance status (183 days since last release) is a minor concern for a mature library, but the recent repository activity and production-stable classifier suggest it is not abandoned. Install it when CSS selector support is a core requirement for your document processing.
Install
cssselect2 on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction—pure Python wheel with only two lightweight runtime dependencies (tinycss2 and webencodings). Maintenance is aging: last release was 183 days ago, though the repository remains active with a recent commit on 2026-02-12.
Requires Python 3.10 or later.
License in practice
BSD permissive license means you can use, modify, and distribute this package with minimal restrictions, suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.
Quickstart
pip install cssselect2
from cssselect2 import compile_selector_list
selectors = compile_selector_list('div.content > p')
for selector in selectors:
print(selector)Verify before relying
- Whether cssselect2 handles CSS4 selector features comprehensively or has known limitations compared to browser implementations.
- Performance characteristics when matching large numbers of selectors or complex documents.
- How well it integrates with specific ElementTree implementations beyond the documented examples.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagestinycss2webencodings |
| Maintenance | Aging 183 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 52,710,104 / month, #558 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP |
Evidence: cssselect2-0.9.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also soupsieve · tinycss2 · cssselect · selectolax · parsel · selectors2 · lxml · tinyhtml5 · elementpath · pyquery