litestar
Litestar - A production-ready, highly performant, extensible ASGI API Framework
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Litestar is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and is licensed permissively under MIT. It is well-suited for developers building REST APIs who value strict typing, automatic validation, and built-in ORM support. The framework's opinionated design and rich feature set (dependency injection, middleware, OpenAPI generation) reduce boilerplate. Install it if you are building an ASGI API and want these conveniences; skip it if you prefer minimal frameworks or are not building REST APIs.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.8 or later; async/await syntax required for route handlers.
- Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution.
- Active maintenance with recent releases; repository shows 8393 stars and current development activity.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects without licensing concerns.
last release 2026-06-11 (64 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 8,393 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 2,031,207 downloads/mo, #3,351 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install litestar
from litestar import Litestar, get
@get("/")
async def hello_world() -> dict[str, str]:
return {"hello": "world"}
app = Litestar(route_handlers=[hello_world])- Performance benchmarks against other ASGI frameworks to validate 'high-performance' claims.
- Specific SQLAlchemy integration version compatibility and feature set.
- Whether all 16 runtime dependencies are required or if some are optional extras.
What it is and what it does
Litestar is a production-ready ASGI framework designed specifically for building REST APIs. It provides structured tooling for common API concerns: automatic request/response validation using type hints, dependency injection for managing request-scoped and application-scoped resources, middleware support, and automatic OpenAPI 3.1 schema generation. The framework supports both function-based and class-based route handlers, integrates with SQLAlchemy for ORM use, and includes a plugin system for extending serialization and other behaviors.
The framework emphasizes strict typing—it requires type annotations on route handlers and uses them to drive validation, serialization, and documentation. It bundles msgspec for fast data parsing and supports multiple data model formats (dataclasses, TypedDict, Pydantic v1 and v2, attrs). Its 16 runtime dependencies include anyio for async compatibility, httpx for HTTP client support, and rich for CLI output. Installation is straightforward; the base package is pure Python, and an optional 'standard' extra adds uvicorn and the CLI.
Use it for
- Build REST APIs with automatic request validation and OpenAPI documentation from Python type hints.
- Create microservices with dependency injection and middleware layering for cross-cutting concerns.
- Integrate SQLAlchemy models directly into route handlers for ORM-backed endpoints.
- Generate interactive API documentation (Swagger, Redoc, RapiDoc, Scalar, Stoplight Elements) automatically.
- Develop async-first applications using class-based controllers for organized route grouping.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Litestar is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and is licensed permissively under MIT. It is well-suited for developers building REST APIs who value strict typing, automatic validation, and built-in ORM support. The framework's opinionated design and rich feature set (dependency injection, middleware, OpenAPI generation) reduce boilerplate. Install it if you are building an ASGI API and want these conveniences; skip it if you prefer minimal frameworks or are not building REST APIs.
Install
litestar on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution. Active maintenance with recent releases; repository shows 8393 stars and current development activity.
Requires Python 3.8 or later; async/await syntax required for route handlers.
License in practice
MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects without licensing concerns.
Quickstart
pip install litestar
from litestar import Litestar, get
@get("/")
async def hello_world() -> dict[str, str]:
return {"hello": "world"}
app = Litestar(route_handlers=[hello_world])Verify before relying
- Performance benchmarks against other ASGI frameworks to validate 'high-performance' claims.
- Specific SQLAlchemy integration version compatibility and feature set.
- Whether all 16 runtime dependencies are required or if some are optional extras.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <4.0,>=3.8 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 16 packagesanyioclickexceptiongrouphttpximportlib-metadataimportlib-resourceslitestar-htmxmsgspecmultidictmultipartpolyfactorypyyamlrich-clickrichsniffiotyping-extensions |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 64 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 2,031,207 / month, #3,351 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/StableEnvironment :: Web EnvironmentIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: InternetTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTPTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: HTTP ServersTopic :: Software DevelopmentTopic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Application FrameworksTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTyping :: Typed |
Evidence: litestar-2.24.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also advanced-alchemy · litestar-htmx · flask-openapi3 · piccolo-api · APIFlask · quart-schema · flask-openapi3-scalar · flask-openapi3-swagger