---
id: ibmcloudant
version: "0.11.10"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# ibmcloudant — Python client library for IBM Cloudant

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 4.5M/mo

## What it is and what it does

The IBM Cloudant Python SDK is an official client library that abstracts HTTP interactions with IBM Cloudant and Apache CouchDB databases. It handles authentication, automatic retries, request timeouts, and provides both object-oriented and byte-stream interfaces for document operations. The library is marked production-ready but remains at version 0.x, meaning the API may change before reaching 1.0.

Developers use it to perform standard database tasks—creating, reading, updating, and deleting documents—without manually constructing HTTP requests. It includes built-in support for pagination, changes feed following, and thread-safe client instances. The SDK integrates with IBM Cloud's authentication ecosystem and supports both IAM API keys and CouchDB session authentication.

Use it for:

- Build applications that store and retrieve JSON documents in IBM Cloudant or Apache CouchDB without writing raw HTTP code.
- Implement real-time data synchronization using the built-in changes feed follower to track database mutations.
- Perform bulk document operations and stream large responses as byte content to avoid memory overhead.
- Integrate Cloudant into microservices on IBM Cloud with automatic credential management and retry logic.
- Query and paginate through large result sets with built-in pagination support.

## Worth the install?

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

Python client library for IBM Cloudant and Apache CouchDB that wraps HTTP APIs to enable programmatic database operations including document CRUD, querying, and authentication handling.

Yes, with conditions. Install if you are building on IBM Cloudant or CouchDB and can accept a 0.x API surface that may change before 1.0. Pin your version to avoid surprises. The library is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and low install friction. Avoid if you need a stable 1.0+ contract or are evaluating multiple database clients.

## Install

pip install ibmcloudant
uv add ibmcloudant
poetry add ibmcloudant

## Installing ibmcloudant

Before you install: Low friction installation with a pure-Python wheel. Actively maintained with a release 4 days old and recent commits. Supports current Python versions (3.10–3.14). Standard IBM Cloud SDK dependencies keep the footprint manageable.

License in practice: Permissive Apache license allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions, typical for IBM Cloud SDKs.

Quickstart:

pip install ibmcloudant

from ibmcloudant.cloudant_v1 import CloudantV1

service = CloudantV1.new_instance()
response = service.get_all_dbs().get_result()
print(response)

Requires Cloudant service credentials (URL and API key or username/password) set via environment variables or programmatic configuration before authentication will succeed.

Verify before relying:

- Specific limitations and breaking changes planned before 1.0 release are not detailed in the excerpt.
- Performance characteristics and scalability limits for large document sets or high-throughput scenarios.
- Whether all Cloudant Gen 2 endpoints are fully supported or if workarounds are needed.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 4.5M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

cloudant python client, ibm cloudant sdk, couchdb python library, nosql database client, cloudant api wrapper, document database python, ibm cloud database sdk, nosql-database, ibm-cloud, official-sdk

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