ct3

Cheetah is a template engine and code generation tool

ct3 v3.4.0.post5 2.0M downloads/30d#3,370 on PyPI★ 148

Permissive license MIT Active released 2025-11-29

What it is and what it does

Cheetah3 is a template engine and code generation tool that can be used standalone or combined with other frameworks. According to its description, it is principally used for web development but is flexible enough to generate C++ game code, Java, SQL, form emails, and even Python code.

The package has no runtime dependencies and provides precompiled wheels for Python 2.7 through 3.14 across multiple architectures (x86_64, aarch64, arm64, Windows). It is actively maintained with recent repository activity and supports a broad range of Python versions.

Use it for:

Generate dynamic HTML content in web applications using template directives
Produce boilerplate code in C++, Java, or SQL from template definitions
Create templated email messages with dynamic content substitution
Generate Python code programmatically as part of build or development workflows
Build code generation pipelines for multi-language projects

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Cheetah3 is a template engine and code generation tool that processes templates to produce output in various languages including Python, C++, Java, and SQL.

Yes. Cheetah3 is a stable, actively maintained template engine with no dependencies, broad Python version support from 2.7 through 3.14, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive MIT license. It is suitable for web development, code generation, and general templating tasks.

Install

ct3 on PyPI

pip

pip install ct3

uv

uv add ct3

poetry

poetry add ct3

Installing ct3

Before you install

Medium install friction due to compiled wheels across multiple platforms and Python versions, but the package is actively maintained with recent commits as of 2026-08-08.

License in practice

MIT license is permissive, allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart

pip install ct3

import ct3
# Use ct3 to process template files for code or content generation

Verify before relying

Specific API and import paths for basic template processing workflows
Whether Python 2.7 support remains functional given the modern Python focus
Performance characteristics for large-scale code generation tasks

Package facts

License	MIT (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (!=3.0.,!=3.1.,!=3.2.,!=3.3.,>=2.7)
Install friction	medium — platform-specific wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 258 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-08-08
First released	2022-09-19
Downloads	2,001,401/month — #3,370 on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-14)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14)

Evidence: ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp27-cp27mu-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp27-cp27mu-manylinux_2_5_x86_64.manylinux1_x86_64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_5_x86_64.manylinux1_x86_64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_5_x86_64.manylinux1_x86_64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_5_x86_64.manylinux1_x86_64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp313-cp313-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_5_x86_64.manylinux1_x86_64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp313-cp313-win_amd64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp314-cp314-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; ct3-3.4.0.post5-cp314-cp314-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl

Keywords: template

Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTPTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: Dynamic ContentTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: Site ManagementTopic :: Software Development :: Code GeneratorsTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTopic :: Software Development :: User InterfacesTopic :: Text Processing