---
id: glob2
version: "0.7"
license: BSD
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# glob2 — Version of the glob module that can capture patterns and supports recursive wildcards

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 1.1M/mo

## What it is and what it does

glob2 is an extended version of Python's standard glob module that adds three main capabilities: the ability to capture matched text from glob patterns and return them alongside filenames, recursive ** wildcard syntax for matching across directory trees, and support for custom virtual filesystem implementations. It was based on Python 3.3.1's glob code and is compatible with both Python 2 and 3.

The package has no runtime dependencies and is designed as a drop-in enhancement to the standard library. However, it is distributed as source code only and has been abandoned since 2021, with the last release in 2019. While the repository remains public, there has been no maintenance activity for several years, which may affect compatibility with modern Python versions.

Use it for:

- Find all files matching a pattern recursively across nested directories using ** syntax.
- Extract version numbers or other captured groups from filenames while globbing.
- Implement custom globbing logic over virtual or remote filesystems by subclassing Globber.
- Migrate code from bash globstar patterns to Python with compatible ** recursive syntax.

## Worth the install?

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

glob2 extends Python's built-in glob module with recursive ** wildcard syntax, pattern capture groups, and support for custom virtual filesystems.

No. The package is abandoned with no maintenance since 2021 and last tested on Python 3.3. Modern Python versions (3.10+) have incorporated recursive glob support natively via pathlib and the standard glob module. High install friction and lack of active maintenance make this a poor choice for new projects; use the standard library instead.

## Install

pip install glob2
uv add glob2
poetry add glob2

## Installing glob2

Before you install: High install friction due to source-only distribution. Package is abandoned as of 2021 with no maintenance activity for several years, though the repository remains public and the last commit is from 2021-08-01.

License in practice: BSD license is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

import glob2

# Recursive glob
header_files = glob2.glob('src/**/*.h')

# Glob with pattern capture
for filename, (version,) in glob2.iglob('./binaries/project-*.zip', with_matches=True):
    print(version)

Package is source-only (tar.gz); requires a build environment and may need compilation depending on your Python setup.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions beyond 3.3 (last tested version mentioned in description).
- Whether the abandoned status and lack of maintenance since 2021 poses compatibility risks with current Python releases.

## Package facts

- License: BSD (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 1.1M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

recursive glob pattern matching, glob with capture groups, python glob ** wildcard, virtual filesystem globbing, extended glob module, glob pattern extraction, abandoned, legacy-glob

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/glob2) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/glob2/)