deflate
Python wrapper for libdeflate.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need faster compression/decompression than the standard library and are comfortable with a compiled dependency. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers pre-compiled wheels for most platforms. Install friction is medium but manageable. Not necessary if standard library zlib meets your performance needs.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later.
- Pre-compiled wheels available; building from source requires a C compiler and optionally LIBDEFLATE_PREFIX environment variable if linking to system libdeflate.
- Pre-compiled wheels available for common platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows, multiple architectures).
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license (permissive); you can use this freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2025-07-18 (392 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-01 · 33 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 331,744 downloads/mo, #7,512 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install deflate
import deflate
compressed = deflate.gzip_compress(b"hello world!" * 1000, level=6)
original = deflate.gzip_decompress(compressed)- Performance comparison with standard library zlib or other compression libraries to justify adoption.
- Whether the compression level range (1-12 for libdeflate) offers practical benefits over standard zlib (1-9).
- API stability and backward compatibility guarantees across future releases.
What it is and what it does
deflate is a thin Python binding to Eric Biggers' libdeflate C library, exposing compression and decompression for gzip, raw DEFLATE, and zlib formats. It also provides CRC32 and Adler-32 checksum functions. The package is built as a compiled extension with pre-compiled wheels for common platforms, so installation typically requires no build step.
You use it when you need faster compression than Python's built-in zlib module, or when you want to work with raw DEFLATE or zlib data streams where the original decompressed size must be tracked separately. The API is minimal: functions like gzip_compress, deflate_decompress, and crc32 take byte strings and optional parameters (compression level, initial checksum state) and return the result directly.
Use it for
- Compress large text or binary payloads for network transmission or storage when speed matters more than standard library zlib.
- Decompress gzip or zlib data received from external sources with a simpler API than the standard library.
- Compute rolling CRC32 or Adler-32 checksums across multiple data chunks for integrity verification.
- Work with raw DEFLATE streams where you manage the original size separately, as required by some protocols.
- Replace zlib in performance-critical paths where libdeflate's faster implementation reduces CPU overhead.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need faster compression/decompression than the standard library and are comfortable with a compiled dependency.
The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers pre-compiled wheels for most platforms. Install friction is medium but manageable. Not necessary if standard library zlib meets your performance needs.
Install
deflate on PyPI
Before you install
Pre-compiled wheels available for common platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows, multiple architectures). Medium install friction due to compiled C extension, but wheels reduce build overhead. Active maintenance with last commit 2026-08-01.
Requires Python 3.9 or later. Pre-compiled wheels available; building from source requires a C compiler and optionally LIBDEFLATE_PREFIX environment variable if linking to system libdeflate.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive); you can use this freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install deflate
import deflate
compressed = deflate.gzip_compress(b"hello world!" * 1000, level=6)
original = deflate.gzip_decompress(compressed)Verify before relying
- Performance comparison with standard library zlib or other compression libraries to justify adoption.
- Whether the compression level range (1-12 for libdeflate) offers practical benefits over standard zlib (1-9).
- API stability and backward compatibility guarantees across future releases.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 392 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 331,744 / month, #7,512 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: MacOS :: MacOS XOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: System :: Archiving :: Compression |
Evidence: deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-win32.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-macosx_10_9_x86_64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-manylinux_2_5_i686.manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_17_i686.manylinux2014_i686.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-musllinux_1_2_i686.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-win32.whl; deflate-0.8.1-cp311-abi3-win_amd64.whl
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