huggingface-hub
Client library to download and publish models, datasets and other repos on the huggingface.co hub
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, uses a permissive license, and is ranked in the top 100 PyPI packages by downloads. Install friction is low, dependencies are stable and widely used, and it is the official client for a major ML platform. Install it if you work with Hugging Face Hub models or datasets.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later.
- Low friction install with a wheel distribution.
- Active maintenance with a release 7 days ago and last commit on 2026-08-13.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and state significant changes.
last release 2026-08-07 (7 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 3,799 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 442,399,796 downloads/mo, #93 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install huggingface_hub
from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download
hf_hub_download(repo_id="zai-org/GLM-5.2", filename="config.json")- Whether optional dependencies (e.g., mcp) are required for specific use cases beyond the core install.
- Performance characteristics for very large file downloads or uploads.
- Caching behavior and disk space requirements for downloaded models.
What it is and what it does
huggingface_hub is the official Python client and command-line interface for the Hugging Face Hub, a platform hosting open-source machine learning models, datasets, and applications. It provides two interfaces—a Python library and an `hf` CLI—that let you download pre-trained models and datasets, upload your own repositories, manage model cards and documentation, run inference on deployed models, and execute jobs on Hugging Face infrastructure. The library is designed to work with both human users and AI agents, adapting its output format accordingly.
The package wraps HTTP interactions with the Hub via httpx, manages local caching with filelock and fsspec, and provides command-line utilities through click. It handles authentication via tokens, supports repository operations (create, upload, download, sync), and integrates with the Hub's Xet storage backend for efficient large-file versioning. Installation is straightforward with pip, and the package maintains broad Python version support from 3.10 onward.
Use it for
- Download pre-trained models or datasets from the Hub for use in your ML pipeline or research.
- Upload trained models and datasets to your own Hub repository for sharing and versioning.
- Manage model repositories programmatically—create repos, update files, and handle metadata.
- Run inference on models deployed to the Hub without managing your own inference infrastructure.
- Execute training or evaluation jobs on Hugging Face cloud infrastructure from your local environment.
- Search and discover models, datasets, and community projects hosted on the Hub.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, uses a permissive license, and is ranked in the top 100 PyPI packages by downloads. Install friction is low, dependencies are stable and widely used, and it is the official client for a major ML platform. Install it if you work with Hugging Face Hub models or datasets.
Install
huggingface-hub on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with a wheel distribution. Active maintenance with a release 7 days ago and last commit on 2026-08-13. Supports Python 3.10 through 3.14. Nine runtime dependencies are all common utilities (click, httpx, fsspec, pyyaml, tqdm, packaging, filelock, typing-extensions, hf-xet).
Requires Python 3.10 or later.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 permissive license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and state significant changes.
Quickstart
pip install huggingface_hub
from huggingface_hub import hf_hub_download
hf_hub_download(repo_id="zai-org/GLM-5.2", filename="config.json")Verify before relying
- Whether optional dependencies (e.g., mcp) are required for specific use cases beyond the core install.
- Performance characteristics for very large file downloads or uploads.
- Caching behavior and disk space requirements for downloaded models.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10.0 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 9 packagesclickfilelockfsspechf-xethttpxpackagingpyyamltqdmtyping-extensions |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 7 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 442,399,796 / month, #93 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Intended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: EducationIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchLicense :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming 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 :: 3.14Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Artificial Intelligence |
Evidence: huggingface_hub-1.27.0-py3-none-any.whl
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