modal
Python client library for Modal
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need serverless Python execution and are willing to adopt Modal's platform. The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, uses a permissive license, and ranks in the top 1000 PyPI packages. The main trade-off is platform lock-in to Modal's service and the need to understand its authentication model before production use.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later; requires a Modal account and authentication via `modal setup`.
- Low friction installation; the package is actively maintained with a recent release and a stable repository.
- Requires Python 3.10 or later.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), so you can use it freely in commercial and open-source projects without significant legal constraints.
last release 2026-08-12 (2 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-13 · 501 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 58,661,696 downloads/mo, #513 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install modal
python3 -m modal setup
from modal import App
app = App()
@app.function()
def hello():
return "Hello from Modal"
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(hello.remote())- Whether the 13 runtime dependencies introduce any transitive security concerns beyond what OSV currently tracks.
- Specific performance characteristics or cost implications of using Modal's serverless platform.
- Whether the package requires active Modal account setup and authentication to be useful in practice.
What it is and what it does
Modal is a Python client library that bridges your local development environment to Modal's serverless cloud compute platform. It lets you decorate Python functions to run them on-demand in the cloud, handling all the infrastructure details—containerization, scaling, networking, and resource allocation—behind a simple Python API. You write code locally, use Modal's decorators and client methods to specify what should run remotely, and the SDK manages the rest.
The package is built on modern async foundations (aiohttp, grpclib, protobuf) and integrates with your local development workflow via the command line and Python imports. It's actively maintained and sits in the top 1000 most-downloaded PyPI packages, indicating real-world adoption. The primary use case is running compute-intensive or long-running tasks without managing servers yourself.
Use it for
- Run long-running data processing or machine learning tasks from a local script without provisioning servers.
- Deploy scheduled jobs or background tasks that need to run on-demand in the cloud.
- Build serverless APIs or webhooks that scale automatically without managing containers or orchestration.
- Execute parallel or distributed computations across cloud resources from a simple Python function.
- Prototype and test cloud-native applications locally before committing to infrastructure.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need serverless Python execution and are willing to adopt Modal's platform.
The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, uses a permissive license, and ranks in the top 1000 PyPI packages. The main trade-off is platform lock-in to Modal's service and the need to understand its authentication model before production use.
Install
modal on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation; the package is actively maintained with a recent release and a stable repository. Requires Python 3.10 or later.
Requires Python 3.10 or later; requires a Modal account and authentication via `modal setup`.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive), so you can use it freely in commercial and open-source projects without significant legal constraints.
Quickstart
pip install modal
python3 -m modal setup
from modal import App
app = App()
@app.function()
def hello():
return "Hello from Modal"
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(hello.remote())Verify before relying
- Whether the 13 runtime dependencies introduce any transitive security concerns beyond what OSV currently tracks.
- Specific performance characteristics or cost implications of using Modal's serverless platform.
- Whether the package requires active Modal account setup and authentication to be useful in practice.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <3.15,>=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 13 packagesaiohttpcbor2certificlickgrpclibprotobufrichsynchronicitytomltypes-certifitypes-tomlwatchfilestyping_extensions |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 2 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 58,661,696 / month, #513 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Operating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Topic :: System :: Distributed Computing |
Evidence: modal-1.5.4-py3-none-any.whl
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