future

Clean single-source support for Python 3 and 2

future Permissive license MIT Active ★ 1,189 v1.0.0 released 2024-02-21

Install

future on PyPI

pip

pip install future

uv

uv add future

poetry

poetry add future

Package facts

License	MIT (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=2.6, !=3.0., !=3.1., !=3.2.*)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 904 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-07-24
First released	2013-07-14
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: future-1.0.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: future, past, python3, migration, futurize, backport, six, 2to3, modernize, pasteurize, 3to2

Development Status :: 6 - MatureIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI ApprovedLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2Programming Language :: Python :: 2.6Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9

About future

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

future: Easy, safe support for Python 2/3 compatibility

future is the missing compatibility layer between Python 2 and Python 3. It allows you to use a single, clean Python 3.x-compatible codebase to support both Python 2 and Python 3 with minimal overhead.

It is designed to be used as follows::

from __future__ import (absolute_import, division,
                        print_function, unicode_literals)
from builtins import (
         bytes, dict, int, list, object, range, str,
         ascii, chr, hex, input, next, oct, open,
         pow, round, super,
         filter, map, zip)

followed by predominantly standard, idiomatic Python 3 code that then runs similarly on Python 2.6/2.7 and Python 3.3+.

The imports have no effect on Python 3. On Python 2, they shadow the corresponding builtins, which normally have different semantics on Python 3 versus 2, to provide their Python 3 semantics.

Standard library reorganization ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

future supports the standard library reorganization (PEP 3108) through the following Py3 interfaces:

&gt;&gt;&gt; # Top-level packages...

Read as markdown · JSON record · Source repository · Homepage

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

Provides Python 3 compatibility shims and backported builtins to write single-source code that runs on both Python 2 and Python 3, plus a conversion tool (futurize) to aid migration.

Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies and active maintenance (last commit 2026-07-24). Mature status reflects stable, widely-adopted codebase.

MIT license (permissive) allows unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal obligations.

Usage

pip install future==1.0.0

from __future__ import absolute_import, division, print_function, unicode_literals
from builtins import bytes, dict, int, list, str, range
# Write Python 3 code that runs on both Python 2.6+ and Python 3.3+

Python 2.6+ or Python 3.3+ required; Python 3.0–3.2 not supported (per requires_python).

Verdict: Stable, actively maintained compatibility layer with zero security vulnerabilities and no install friction. Suitable for projects needing to support both Python 2 and 3 from a single codebase, though Python 2 itself is end-of-life and this package is primarily valuable for legacy codebases or gradual migration scenarios.

Needs verification

Whether Python 2 support remains practically necessary for new projects (Python 2 EOL was 2020).
Performance overhead of compatibility shims compared to native Python 3 code.

python 2 3 compatibilitypython 2 to 3 migrationcross-version python codepython 3 backportsfuturize code conversionpython 2 7 support layerunified python codebase