distlib
Distribution utilities
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes—if you are building packaging tooling or need low-level distribution utilities. Distlib is mature, actively maintained, widely used (by pip), has zero dependencies, and carries no security vulnerabilities. It is not a user-facing package manager; install it only if your code will call its APIs directly. For typical application development, you do not need it.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies.
- Actively maintained—last commit 2026-06-12, release 63 days ago.
- Mature project (Development Status 5 - Production/Stable) used by pip and other well-known tools.
License · maintenance · safety
PSF-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under PSF-2.0 (permissive). No restrictions on commercial or private use; attribution and license text inclusion required in distributions.
last release 2026-06-12 (63 days) · last repo commit 2026-06-12 · 65 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 323,330,233 downloads/mo, #129 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install distlib==0.4.3
from distlib.database import DistributionPath
from distlib.index import PackageIndex
# Query installed distributions
dp = DistributionPath()
for dist in dp.get_distributions():
print(dist.name, dist.version)- Whether distlib is intended for end-user applications or exclusively as a foundation for packaging tool authors.
- Performance characteristics when working with large dependency graphs or indexes.
- Specific Python 2.7 support status given the broader Python 2 end-of-life context.
What it is and what it does
Distlib is a library of low-level building blocks for Python packaging tools. It implements the core abstractions defined in PEPs 241, 314, 345, 427, 440, 508, 566, and 643—metadata formats, version specifiers, environment markers, wheel format support, and dependency graph logic. It is designed as a foundation for third-party packaging tools rather than as a user-facing package manager.
The library provides modules for querying installed distributions (distlib.database), interacting with package indexes (distlib.index), parsing and generating distribution metadata (distlib.metadata), locating packages from PyPI or local sources (distlib.locators), building and installing wheels (distlib.wheel), installing scripts with platform-specific shebang adjustment (distlib.scripts), and utilities for version handling, resource access, and manifest management. It has no runtime dependencies and is tested on Python 2.7, 3.6+, PyPy, and Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Use it for
- Building a custom package manager or distribution tool that needs to parse PEP-compliant metadata and resolve dependencies.
- Installing Python scripts with automatic shebang line adjustment and Windows launcher support.
- Querying the local environment to discover installed distributions and their metadata.
- Implementing version specifier matching and environment marker evaluation for dependency resolution.
- Uploading packages to a PyPI-like index with SSL verification and GnuPG signing support.
- Locating and downloading distributions from PyPI or custom indexes programmatically.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes—if you are building packaging tooling or need low-level distribution utilities.
Distlib is mature, actively maintained, widely used (by pip), has zero dependencies, and carries no security vulnerabilities. It is not a user-facing package manager; install it only if your code will call its APIs directly. For typical application development, you do not need it.
Install
distlib on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained—last commit 2026-06-12, release 63 days ago. Mature project (Development Status 5 - Production/Stable) used by pip and other well-known tools.
License in practice
Licensed under PSF-2.0 (permissive). No restrictions on commercial or private use; attribution and license text inclusion required in distributions.
Quickstart
pip install distlib==0.4.3
from distlib.database import DistributionPath
from distlib.index import PackageIndex
# Query installed distributions
dp = DistributionPath()
for dist in dp.get_distributions():
print(dist.name, dist.version)Verify before relying
- Whether distlib is intended for end-user applications or exclusively as a foundation for packaging tool authors.
- Performance characteristics when working with large dependency graphs or indexes.
- Specific Python 2.7 support status given the broader Python 2 end-of-life context.
Package facts
| License | PSF-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 63 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 323,330,233 / month, #129 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/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: Python Software Foundation 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 :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Software Development |
Evidence: distlib-0.4.3-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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See also installer · setuptools · packaging · twine · identify · packvers · pip · wheel · pkginfo · pypiserver