fillpdf
A Library to fill and flatten pdfs
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need straightforward PDF form filling and your use case matches the library's scope. Install friction is low and the MIT license is permissive. However, maintenance is dormant—no active development since 2024-05-03—so be prepared to fork or patch if you hit bugs. The dependency on pdfrw2 (a fork) adds uncertainty about long-term support. Suitable for stable, well-defined workflows; avoid if you need active maintenance or support for edge cases.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Flattening with as_images=True requires poppler to be installed on your system; standard flattening does not.
- Low friction install with a pure-Python wheel.
- Maintenance is dormant—last release was 2024-05-03 and last commit 2024-08-06—so expect no active bug fixes or feature development.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2024-05-03 (833 days) · last repo commit 2024-08-06 · 154 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 238,016 downloads/mo, #8,950 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install fillpdf
from fillpdf import fillpdfs
fields = fillpdfs.get_form_fields('form.pdf')
data = {'Address1 Text Box': '500 West Main Street', 'Driving License Check Box': 'Yes'}
fillpdfs.write_fillable_pdf('form.pdf', 'filled.pdf', data)- Whether pdfrw2 (the forked pdfrw dependency) is actively maintained or has known issues.
- Compatibility of pdf2image and pymupdf dependencies with recent Python versions beyond 3.6.
- Whether the package handles complex PDF structures (nested forms, encrypted PDFs, etc.).
What it is and what it does
fillpdf is a wrapper around PDF manipulation libraries that simplifies reading form fields from PDFs, filling them with data, and flattening the result into a non-editable document. It builds on pdfrw2 and adds convenience functions for common tasks: extracting field names and values, writing data to form fields (text boxes, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns), rotating pages, and inserting images and text at specific coordinates.
The package is aimed at automating PDF form workflows—scenarios where you have a template PDF with fillable fields and need to programmatically populate them with data, then lock the result. It depends on pdfrw2, pdf2image, Pillow, and pymupdf, giving it multiple backends for different operations. The library is straightforward and practical but dormant; it has not been actively developed since its latest release.
Use it for
- Batch-fill hundreds of application forms or invoices from a database or spreadsheet.
- Automate document generation workflows where you have a PDF template with named form fields.
- Lock completed PDF forms to prevent further editing after data entry.
- Extract and inspect form field names and structure from an existing PDF template.
- Insert signatures, images, or additional text into PDFs at precise coordinates.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need straightforward PDF form filling and your use case matches the library's scope.
Install friction is low and the MIT license is permissive. However, maintenance is dormant—no active development since 2024-05-03—so be prepared to fork or patch if you hit bugs. The dependency on pdfrw2 (a fork) adds uncertainty about long-term support. Suitable for stable, well-defined workflows; avoid if you need active maintenance or support for edge cases.
Install
fillpdf on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with a pure-Python wheel. Maintenance is dormant—last release was 2024-05-03 and last commit 2024-08-06—so expect no active bug fixes or feature development.
Flattening with as_images=True requires poppler to be installed on your system; standard flattening does not.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install fillpdf
from fillpdf import fillpdfs
fields = fillpdfs.get_form_fields('form.pdf')
data = {'Address1 Text Box': '500 West Main Street', 'Driving License Check Box': 'Yes'}
fillpdfs.write_fillable_pdf('form.pdf', 'filled.pdf', data)Verify before relying
- Whether pdfrw2 (the forked pdfrw dependency) is actively maintained or has known issues.
- Compatibility of pdf2image and pymupdf dependencies with recent Python versions beyond 3.6.
- Whether the package handles complex PDF structures (nested forms, encrypted PDFs, etc.).
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.6 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 4 packagespdfrw2pdf2imagePillowpymupdf |
| Maintenance | Dormant 833 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 238,016 / month, #8,950 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 |
Evidence: fillpdf-0.7.3-py3-none-any.whl
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See also pypdftk · pdfrw2 · PyPDFForm · pdfrw · unPDF · playa-pdf · streamlit-pdf-viewer · streamlit-pdf · pikepdf · pdfplumber