---
id: ct3
version: "3.4.0.post5"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# ct3 — Cheetah is a template engine and code generation tool

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 2.0M/mo

## 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 above — 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

pip install ct3
uv add ct3
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_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 2.0M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

template engine, code generation, template processing, dynamic content generation, text templating, code generator tool, template language, code-generation, templating

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/ct3) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/ct3/)