html5rdf
HTML parser based on the WHATWG HTML specification
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need WHATWG-compliant HTML parsing specifically for RDFLib workflows. The library has low install friction, no runtime dependencies, and permissive licensing. However, the 653-day gap since last release combined with aging maintenance status suggests limited active development—suitable for stable use cases but verify that it meets your RDF integration needs before adopting in new projects.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.8 or later; lxml tree builder is not supported on PyPy due to known segfault issues.
- Low install friction with no runtime dependencies.
- Last release was 653 days ago and the repository shows aging maintenance signals, though the codebase remains archived-free and the last commit is recent.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with only attribution and liability disclaimer required—suitable for both open and proprietary projects.
last release 2024-10-30 (653 days) · last repo commit 2026-01-11 · 2 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 862,453 downloads/mo, #4,869 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import html5rdf
# Parse from file
with open("mydocument.html", "rb") as f:
document = html5rdf.parse(f)
# Or parse from string
document = html5rdf.parse("Hello World!")
# Use alternative tree builder
parser = html5rdf.HTMLParser(tree=html5rdf.getTreeBuilder("lxml"))
lxml_document = parser.parse("<html></html>")- Whether the 653-day gap since last release indicates active maintenance or dormancy despite recent commits.
- Performance characteristics compared to other HTML parsers for large documents.
- Specific RDFLib integration patterns and whether this is the standard approach for RDF extraction from HTML.
What it is and what it does
html5rdf is a Python library that parses HTML documents into tree structures suitable for use with RDFLib, the semantic web toolkit. It is a fork of html5lib designed to conform to the WHATWG HTML specification as implemented by major web browsers. The parser accepts HTML from files, strings, or HTTP responses and can output to multiple tree formats—xml.etree (default), lxml.etree, or xml.dom.minidom—allowing flexibility in how you work with the parsed structure.
The library has no runtime dependencies and supports Python 3.8 through 3.12 on both CPython and PyPy (with caveats around lxml). It is intended for developers who need to extract or transform HTML into RDF-compatible structures, particularly when working within the RDFLib ecosystem. Optional dependencies like lxml, genshi, and chardet can enhance functionality for specific use cases.
Use it for
- Extract structured data from HTML documents for conversion to RDF graphs using RDFLib.
- Parse HTML with WHATWG-compliant error recovery when building semantic web applications.
- Integrate HTML parsing into RDF data pipelines where standard HTML5 compliance is required.
- Use alternative tree builders (lxml, minidom) when specific XML processing workflows are needed.
- Handle HTTP responses with charset detection for proper encoding when fetching remote HTML.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need WHATWG-compliant HTML parsing specifically for RDFLib workflows.
The library has low install friction, no runtime dependencies, and permissive licensing. However, the 653-day gap since last release combined with aging maintenance status suggests limited active development—suitable for stable use cases but verify that it meets your RDF integration needs before adopting in new projects.
Install
html5rdf on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Last release was 653 days ago and the repository shows aging maintenance signals, though the codebase remains archived-free and the last commit is recent.
Requires Python 3.8 or later; lxml tree builder is not supported on PyPy due to known segfault issues.
License in practice
MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with only attribution and liability disclaimer required—suitable for both open and proprietary projects.
Quickstart
import html5rdf
# Parse from file
with open("mydocument.html", "rb") as f:
document = html5rdf.parse(f)
# Or parse from string
document = html5rdf.parse("Hello World!")
# Use alternative tree builder
parser = html5rdf.HTMLParser(tree=html5rdf.getTreeBuilder("lxml"))
lxml_document = parser.parse("<html></html>")Verify before relying
- Whether the 653-day gap since last release indicates active maintenance or dormancy despite recent commits.
- Performance characteristics compared to other HTML parsers for large documents.
- Specific RDFLib integration patterns and whether this is the standard approach for RDF extraction from HTML.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.8 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Aging 653 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 862,453 / month, #4,869 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/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTopic :: Text Processing :: Markup :: HTML |
Evidence: html5rdf-1.2.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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See also html5lib · tinyhtml5 · pyrdfa3 · rdflib · CFGraph · rdflib-jsonld · turbohtml · PyShEx · owlrl · pymantic