maybe-else

What it is and what it does

maybe-else provides a `Maybe` wrapper class that lets you chain operations on values without repeatedly checking for None. Instead of writing `var if var is not None else handle_none(var)`, you wrap the value in `Maybe()`, chain attribute access, item access, or method calls, and call `.else_()` at the end with a fallback value. If the wrapped value is None or any operation raises `IndexError`, `KeyError`, `AttributeError`, or `TypeError`, the fallback is returned; otherwise the result of the chain is returned.

The package has no runtime dependencies and installs with low friction. However, it has been abandoned since late 2019 and is marked as Alpha. It was only tested against Python 3.7, so use on newer Python versions is unsupported and untested. The core idea is sound for reducing boilerplate in null-safe code, but the lack of maintenance means you should evaluate whether the behavior matches your needs before relying on it in production.

Use it for:

• Safely access nested dictionary or object attributes without intermediate None checks: `Maybe(obj).attr.nested["key"].else_(default_value)`.
• Call methods on values that might be None without raising AttributeError: `Maybe(string_or_none).upper().else_("UNKNOWN")`.
• Chain arithmetic or bitwise operations and return a fallback if they fail: `(Maybe(value) / divisor).else_(0)`.
• Simplify conditional fallback logic in data transformation pipelines where intermediate steps may return None.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Wraps values in a `Maybe` class to handle None checks and chained operations gracefully, returning a fallback value via `.else_()` when None or an error occurs.

No. The package is abandoned (last commit 2021-03-10, no releases since 2019-11-14) and officially supports only Python 3.7. While the core idea is useful and the MIT license is permissive, the lack of maintenance and narrow version support make it risky for new projects. Modern Python offers better alternatives (e.g., `operator.attrgetter` with exception handling, or type-aware libraries like `pydantic`). Install only if you are maintaining legacy code that already depends on it.

Install

maybe-else on PyPI

pip install maybe-else

uv add maybe-else

poetry add maybe-else

Installing maybe-else

Before you install

Installation is frictionless with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is abandoned—last commit was 2021-03-10 and no releases since 2019-11-14. It is marked as Alpha status and officially supports only Python 3.7.

License in practice

Licensed under MIT (permissive), so you may use, modify, and distribute it freely with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart

pip install maybe-else

from maybe_else import Maybe

result = Maybe(None).else_("fallback")  # "fallback"
result = Maybe({"key": "value"})["key"].else_("default")  # "value"

Package is abandoned and only officially tested on Python 3.7; compatibility with newer Python versions is not guaranteed.

Verify before relying

• Whether the package works reliably on Python versions newer than 3.7 despite being abandoned.
• Whether the exception-catching behavior (IndexError, KeyError, AttributeError, TypeError) is comprehensive enough for real-world chaining scenarios.
• Current test coverage and whether the codebase has known edge cases or limitations beyond those documented.

Package facts

Evidence: maybe_else-0.2.1-py3-none-any.whl

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