flake8

the modular source code checker: pep8 pyflakes and co

flake8 Permissive license MIT Active ★ 3,813 v7.3.0 released 2025-06-20

Install

flake8 on PyPI

pip

pip install flake8

uv

uv add flake8

poetry

poetry add flake8

Package facts

License	MIT (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.9)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	3 — mccabe, pycodestyle, pyflakes
Maintenance	actively maintained — 419 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-07-14
First released	2010-08-12
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: flake8-7.3.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl

Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleFramework :: Flake8Intended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTopic :: Software Development :: Quality Assurance

About flake8

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

.. image:: https://github.com/PyCQA/flake8/workflows/main/badge.svg :target: https://github.com/PyCQA/flake8/actions?query=workflow%3Amain :alt: build status

.. image:: https://results.pre-commit.ci/badge/github/PyCQA/flake8/main.svg :target: https://results.pre-commit.ci/latest/github/PyCQA/flake8/main :alt: pre-commit.ci status

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/discord/825463413634891776.svg :target: https://discord.gg/qYxpadCgkx :alt: Discord

======== Flake8 ========

Flake8 is a wrapper around these tools:

PyFlakes
pycodestyle
Ned Batchelder's McCabe script

Flake8 runs all the tools by launching the single flake8 command. It displays the warnings in a per-file, merged output.

It also adds a few features:

files that contain this line are skipped::

flake8: noqa
lines that contain a # noqa comment at the end will not issue warnings.
you can ignore specific errors on a line with # noqa: <error>, e.g., # noqa: E234. Multiple codes can be given, separated by comma. The noqa token is case insensitive, the colon before the list of codes is required otherwise the part after noqa is ignored
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AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Flake8 is a Python code linter that combines PyFlakes, pycodestyle, and McCabe complexity checking into a single command-line tool, displaying style violations and potential errors in a unified output.

Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution and only three lightweight runtime dependencies (mccabe, pycodestyle, pyflakes). Actively maintained with recent releases and strong community engagement.

MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal obligations.

Usage

pip install flake8
flake8 myfile.py

Requires Python 3.9 or later.

Verdict: Flake8 is a stable, widely-adopted linting tool with active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, permissive licensing, and minimal dependencies. It integrates seamlessly into development workflows and CI/CD pipelines with low friction.