---
id: mercurial
version: "7.2.4"
license: GPL-2.0-or-later
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: active
---

# mercurial — Fast scalable distributed SCM (revision control, version control) system

License: copyleft · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 403.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Mercurial is a mature, distributed revision control system designed for software developers and system administrators to track code changes across teams and repositories. It operates as both a command-line tool (hg) and a Python library, allowing developers to manage version history, branching, merging, and collaboration without a central server dependency.

The package includes pre-built wheels across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms, with no external runtime dependencies. It ships with an embedded copy of python-zstandard for compression support and is actively maintained with current Python version support. The tool is intended for integration into development workflows and can be used standalone or embedded in other applications.

Use it for:

- Track code changes and maintain version history in a distributed team environment without requiring a central server
- Manage branching and merging workflows for parallel development on multiple features or releases
- Integrate version control operations into Python applications via the mercurial library API
- Migrate from or work alongside other version control systems in heterogeneous development environments
- Audit and review historical changes to source code across a project's lifetime

## Worth the install?

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

Mercurial is a distributed version control system that tracks and manages changes to source code across multiple developers and repositories.

Yes, if you need a distributed version control system and prefer Mercurial's workflow or are maintaining existing Mercurial repositories. The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and supports current Python versions. However, consider your team's existing tooling; install Mercurial only if you have a specific reason to use it.

## Install

pip install mercurial
uv add mercurial
poetry add mercurial

## Installing mercurial

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled components across multiple platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux variants). Active maintenance with a release 3 days old and support for current Python versions. No runtime dependencies to manage.

License in practice: Licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later (copyleft). Derivative works and distributions must comply with GPL terms, including source code disclosure obligations.

Quickstart:

pip install mercurial
import mercurial
# Or use the command-line tool: hg init, hg add, hg commit

Requires Python 3.9 or later. System C compiler may be needed if pre-built wheels are unavailable for your platform.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the bundled python-zstandard copy can be safely updated or must remain as-is for production stability
- Performance characteristics compared to other distributed VCS tools in typical workflows

## Package facts

- License: GPL-2.0-or-later (copyleft)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 403.3K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

distributed version control, revision control system, source code management, mercurial scm, hg version control, decentralized vcs, software repository tracking, version-control, distributed-scm, cli-tool

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/mercurial) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/mercurial/)