---
id: human-readable
version: "2.0.3"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# human-readable — Human Readable

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 150.2K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Human Readable is a pure-Python library that converts common data types—numbers, dates, times, file sizes, and lists—into natural language strings. It handles both simple formatting (e.g., "1.0 MB" for file sizes, "12,345" for comma-separated integers) and more complex conversions (e.g., "2 months" from a timedelta, "123.5 million" from large numbers). The library includes precise time-delta formatting with configurable units and suppression, scientific notation display, and fractional number representation.

The package supports internationalization across 20+ locales, allowing you to activate different language translations at runtime. It also provides a special abbreviated English locale (en_ABBR) that renders compact output like "3s" instead of "3 seconds ago". With no external runtime dependencies, it installs cleanly and works on Python 3.9 and later. The codebase is actively maintained and marked production-stable.

Use it for:

- Display file sizes in user-facing interfaces (e.g., "976.6 KiB" for binary or "976.6K" for GNU format).
- Show relative time in logs or dashboards (e.g., "2 minutes ago" or "one minute to seven hours").
- Format large numbers for reports or analytics (e.g., "12.3 billion" instead of 12345591313).
- Localize date/time/number output for international applications using 20+ supported locales.
- Join lists with custom separators and conjunctions (e.g., "Alpha; Bravo or Charlie").
- Render precise time intervals with microsecond-level detail and suppression of unwanted units.

## Worth the install?

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

Converts numbers, dates, times, file sizes, and lists into human-readable strings with support for 20+ locales including English, Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and others.

Yes. This is a lightweight, dependency-free utility with active maintenance, production-stable status, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive MIT license. Install it if you need to display numbers, dates, times, or file sizes in human-friendly formats, especially if you need multi-locale support. The low friction and broad feature set make it a practical choice for user-facing output.

## Install

pip install human-readable
uv add human-readable
poetry add human-readable

## Installing human-readable

Before you install: Low friction: pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with last commit on 2026-08-03 and production-stable status. Supports Python 3.9 through 3.13.

License in practice: MIT license (permissive): you can use this freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions—just include the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install human-readable

import human_readable
import datetime as dt

# Time delta
print(human_readable.time_delta(dt.timedelta(days=65)))
# Output: "2 months"

# File size
print(human_readable.file_size(1000000))
# Output: "1.0 MB"

# Numbers
print(human_readable.int_word(123455913))
# Output: "123.5 million"

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 150.2K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

humanize numbers and dates, file size formatting, time delta to readable text, localized number formatting, human readable time strings, list formatting and joining, scientific notation display, fractional number display, i18n, formatting, text-processing

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