---
id: databento-dbn
version: "0.66.0"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# databento-dbn — Python bindings for encoding and decoding Databento Binary Encoding (DBN)

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.8M/mo

## What it is and what it does

databento-dbn is a low-level Python library that wraps Databento's Rust implementation of DBN, a binary encoding format for financial market data. It is designed primarily as an internal dependency of the Databento Python client library and is intended for advanced users who need direct access to DBN encoding and decoding operations.

The package provides bindings to serialize and deserialize market data in DBN format, which is optimized for compact storage and fast transmission of time-series financial information. It has no runtime dependencies and is distributed as precompiled wheels for Python 3.10, 3.11, and 3.12 across macOS, Linux, and Windows, making installation straightforward on standard platforms.

Use it for:

- Decode DBN-encoded market data received from Databento's data feeds or stored files
- Encode market data into DBN format for efficient storage or transmission
- Integrate with the Databento Python client library for advanced data handling workflows
- Build custom market data processing pipelines that require direct access to DBN serialization

## Worth the install?

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

databento-dbn provides Python bindings for encoding and decoding Databento Binary Encoding (DBN), a binary format for financial market data.

Yes, if you are using the Databento Python client library or need to work directly with DBN-encoded financial data. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers good platform coverage. Install it only if you have a specific need for DBN encoding/decoding; it is not a general-purpose library and is explicitly marked as for advanced users.

## Install

pip install databento-dbn
uv add databento-dbn
poetry add databento-dbn

## Installing databento-dbn

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled Rust bindings, but well-supported across Python 3.10+ on major platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows). Active maintenance with a recent release (3 days old) and no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and open-source projects with minimal restrictions; attribution required.

Quickstart:

pip install databento-dbn

import databento_dbn
# Decode DBN-encoded market data
data = databento_dbn.decode(encoded_bytes)

Requires Python 3.10 or later; precompiled wheels available for common platforms, but building from source requires Rust and Maturin.

Verify before relying:

- Specific API surface and method signatures beyond encoding/decoding capability
- Performance characteristics for large-scale market data processing
- Integration patterns beyond use as a Databento client dependency

## Package facts

- License: Apache-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.8M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

binary encoding financial data, databento dbn python bindings, market data serialization, dbn format decoder, financial data encoding library, databento client dependency, rust python bindings market data, financial-data, rust-bindings, binary-encoding

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