---
id: dpath
version: "2.2.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# dpath — Filesystem-like pathing and searching for dictionaries

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 11.3M/mo

## What it is and what it does

dpath is a Python library that treats nested dictionaries as if they were filesystems, letting you navigate and query them using slash-separated paths and glob patterns. Instead of writing nested bracket notation like `x['a']['b']['43']`, you write `dpath.get(x, '/a/b/43')`. It supports glob syntax (e.g., `[cd]` to match keys 'c' or 'd', or `*` to match any key at a level) for bulk operations like searching, setting, or deleting multiple values at once.

The library provides functions to get single values, search for all matches (returning a filtered dictionary or yielding path-value tuples), extract just the values, set or create new paths (with automatic intermediate key creation), delete matching paths, and merge dictionaries deeply. It has no external dependencies and works with modern Python versions (3.7 through 3.12), making it a lightweight utility for working with configuration files, JSON data, or any nested dict structure where path-based access is clearer than nested indexing.

Use it for:

- Query configuration files or JSON documents using glob patterns to find all matching keys without nested loops.
- Bulk update or delete values in deeply nested dictionaries by specifying a path glob instead of iterating manually.
- Create new nested paths in a dictionary automatically (like `mkdir -p`) without manually creating intermediate dicts.
- Extract a subset of a large nested structure by searching for keys matching a pattern and returning only the matching branches.
- Merge two configuration dictionaries deeply, combining lists and nested objects instead of shallow replacement.

## Worth the install?

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

dpath lets you access, search, and modify nested dictionaries using glob-style path syntax (e.g., `/a/b/[cd]`), similar to filesystem navigation or XPath queries.

Yes. dpath is a stable, dependency-free utility for a common task—navigating nested dicts with path syntax. It has no known vulnerabilities, permissive licensing, and broad Python version support. The dormant maintenance status is not a blocker for a mature, focused library with no active dependencies to break. Install it if you work frequently with nested dictionaries or configuration structures.

## Install

pip install dpath
uv add dpath
poetry add dpath

## Installing dpath

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies. The package is dormant (last release 2024-06-12, last commit 2024-07-09), but it is marked Production/Stable and has been actively maintained since its initial 2013-05-11 release.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive, allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions—you may use, modify, and distribute dpath freely provided you include the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install dpath

import dpath

x = {"a": {"b": {"43": 30}}}
result = dpath.get(x, '/a/b/43')  # Returns 30
matches = dpath.search(x, 'a/b/*')  # Search with glob patterns

Requires Python 3.7 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package is actively maintained going forward or if dormancy signals end-of-life intent.
- Performance characteristics on very large or deeply nested dictionaries.
- Compatibility with non-string dictionary keys beyond what the description shows.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 11.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

nested dictionary access, glob path dictionary queries, xpath-like dict navigation, search nested dicts, dictionary path globbing, deep dict manipulation, filesystem-style dict paths, dict-navigation, data-querying, configuration-management

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