flake8-tidy-imports
A flake8 plugin that helps you write tidier imports.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The plugin is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, carries a permissive MIT license, and installs with minimal friction (one dependency). It solves a real problem—enforcing import discipline—and integrates seamlessly into existing flake8 workflows. Recommended for any project using flake8 that wants to enforce import policies.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later.
- If you define flake8's `select` setting, you must add the `I25` prefix to activate the plugin's rules.
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with only flake8 as a runtime dependency.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) places no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.
last release 2025-09-08 (340 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 74 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 461,480 downloads/mo, #6,533 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install flake8-tidy-imports
# In setup.cfg or .flake8:
[flake8]
banned-modules =
mock = Use unittest.mock.
# Then run flake8 as normal:
flake8 your_code.py- Whether the suggested rewrites for I250 (unnecessary aliases) are always syntactically correct in all edge cases.
- Performance impact when checking large codebases with many banned-modules entries or wildcard patterns.
What it is and what it does
flake8-tidy-imports is a flake8 plugin that enforces import hygiene by detecting three categories of import issues: unnecessary aliases (I250), banned imports (I251), and relative imports (I252). It integrates directly into flake8's linting workflow and reports violations with configurable messages. The plugin is configured via flake8's standard config files and allows you to define which imports should be banned, whether relative imports are allowed, and what messages to show when violations occur.
The plugin supports wildcard patterns in banned-modules, a special {python2to3} directive to ban Python 2 modules with suggested replacements, and fine-grained control over relative imports. It has been actively maintained since 2016 and is classified as Production/Stable with support for Python 3.9 to 3.14.
Use it for
- Enforce a project-wide ban on deprecated modules and suggest modern replacements during code review.
- Prevent accidental use of relative imports in a codebase that requires absolute imports for clarity.
- Automatically flag unnecessary import aliases during linting to keep imports clean.
- Configure wildcard bans on entire module hierarchies to guide developers away from old code.
- Integrate import style enforcement into CI/CD pipelines via flake8 without additional tools.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The plugin is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, carries a permissive MIT license, and installs with minimal friction (one dependency). It solves a real problem—enforcing import discipline—and integrates seamlessly into existing flake8 workflows. Recommended for any project using flake8 that wants to enforce import policies.
Install
flake8-tidy-imports on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with only flake8 as a runtime dependency. Actively maintained with last commit 2026-08-13 and latest release 2025-09-08. Supports Python 3.9 to 3.14.
Requires Python 3.9 or later. If you define flake8's `select` setting, you must add the `I25` prefix to activate the plugin's rules.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) places no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.
Quickstart
pip install flake8-tidy-imports
# In setup.cfg or .flake8:
[flake8]
banned-modules =
mock = Use unittest.mock.
# Then run flake8 as normal:
flake8 your_code.pyVerify before relying
- Whether the suggested rewrites for I250 (unnecessary aliases) are always syntactically correct in all edge cases.
- Performance impact when checking large codebases with many banned-modules entries or wildcard patterns.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packageflake8 |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 340 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 461,480 / month, #6,533 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/StableFramework :: Flake8Intended Audience :: DevelopersNatural Language :: EnglishProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Typing :: Typed |
Evidence: flake8_tidy_imports-4.12.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also flake8-import-order · flake8-isort · flake8-type-checking · flake8-requirements · flake8-pep585 · flake8-comprehensions · flake8-typing-imports · absolufy-imports · flake8-pie · flake8-use-pathlib