hpack

Pure-Python HPACK header encoding

hpack Permissive license MIT Active ★ 80 v4.2.0 released 2026-06-23

Install

hpack on PyPI

pip

pip install hpack

uv

uv add hpack

poetry

poetry add hpack

Package facts

License	MIT (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.10)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	actively maintained — 51 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-06-23
First released	2015-04-13
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: hpack-4.2.0-py3-none-any.whl

Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming 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 :: Implementation :: CPython

About hpack

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

======================================== hpack: HTTP/2 Header Encoding for Python ========================================

.. image:: https://github.com/python-hyper/hpack/workflows/CI/badge.svg :target: https://github.com/python-hyper/hpack/actions :alt: Build Status .. image:: https://codecov.io/gh/python-hyper/hpack/branch/master/graph/badge.svg :target: https://codecov.io/gh/python-hyper/hpack :alt: Code Coverage .. image:: https://readthedocs.org/projects/hpack/badge/?version=latest :target: https://hpack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ :alt: Documentation Status .. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/chat-join_now-brightgreen.svg :target: https://gitter.im/python-hyper/community :alt: Chat community

.. image:: https://raw.github.com/python-hyper/documentation/master/source/logo/hyper-black-bg-white.png

This module contains a pure-Python HTTP/2 header encoding (HPACK) logic for use in Python programs that implement HTTP/2.

Documentation

Documentation is available at https://hpack.readthedocs.io .

Quickstart:

.. code-block:: python

from hpack import Encoder, Decoder

headers = [
    (':method', 'GET'),...

Read as markdown · JSON record · Source repository · Homepage · Docs

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

hpack provides pure-Python HTTP/2 header encoding and decoding using the HPACK compression algorithm, enabling Python programs to implement HTTP/2 protocol support.

Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies and a pure-Python wheel distribution. The package is actively maintained with a recent release (51 days old) and an active repository.

hpack is released under the MIT License, a permissive license that allows use in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.

Usage

from hpack import Encoder, Decoder

headers = [(':method', 'GET'), (':path', '/'), ('X-Header', 'value')]
e = Encoder()
encoded = e.encode(headers)
d = Decoder()
decoded = d.decode(encoded)

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verdict: hpack is a stable, actively maintained library for HTTP/2 header compression with zero dependencies, permissive licensing, and broad Python 3.10+ support. No known vulnerabilities and top-1000 popularity make it a reliable choice for HTTP/2 implementations.

HTTP/2 header encodingHPACK compressionHTTP/2 protocol implementationheader compression PythonHTTP/2 decoder encoderHPACK pure PythonHTTP/2 header serialization