parse
parse() is the opposite of format()
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Parse is lightweight, dependency-free, actively maintained, MIT-licensed, and solves a real problem—extracting data from formatted strings is more readable with parse() than with regex for many common cases. No known vulnerabilities. Install it if you need to reverse format() operations or prefer format-string patterns over regex for text extraction.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Installs cleanly with no runtime dependencies and maintains active status with recent releases.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary projects.
last release 2026-05-26 (80 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-01 · 1,790 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 18,038,649 downloads/mo, #1,088 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
from parse import parse, compile
# Simple extraction
result = parse("It's {}, I love it!", "It's spam, I love it!")
print(result[0]) # 'spam'
# Typed extraction
result = parse('Age: {:d}', 'Age: 42')
print(result[0]) # 42
# Compiled pattern for reuse
p = compile("The {} who {}")
result = p.parse("The knights who say Ni!")
print(result.fixed) # ('knights', 'say')- Whether the package supports Python 2 despite the wheel name suggesting it (parse-1.22.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl vs requires_python unspecified)
What it is and what it does
Parse is a string-parsing library that inverts Python's format() function: instead of inserting values into a template, it extracts values from a formatted string using the same template syntax. You define a pattern with placeholders like `{}` or named fields like `{name}`, and parse() returns the matched values as a Result object with both positional and named access.
The library supports format specifications for type conversion (integers, floats, dates, hex, binary, and regex character classes), alignment and width handling, and both case-sensitive and case-insensitive matching. It has no external dependencies and is lightweight enough for embedded use in data extraction pipelines, log parsing, or configuration file parsing.
Use it for
- Extract fields from log lines or structured text output without regex
- Parse configuration files or reports with consistent formatting
- Convert formatted strings back to typed Python objects (dates, numbers, etc.)
- Build data extraction pipelines where format patterns are more readable than regex
- Match and capture groups from text using Python's familiar format syntax
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Parse is lightweight, dependency-free, actively maintained, MIT-licensed, and solves a real problem—extracting data from formatted strings is more readable with parse() than with regex for many common cases. No known vulnerabilities. Install it if you need to reverse format() operations or prefer format-string patterns over regex for text extraction.
Install
parse on PyPI
Before you install
Installs cleanly with no runtime dependencies and maintains active status with recent releases.
License in practice
MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary projects.
Quickstart
from parse import parse, compile
# Simple extraction
result = parse("It's {}, I love it!", "It's spam, I love it!")
print(result[0]) # 'spam'
# Typed extraction
result = parse('Age: {:d}', 'Age: 42')
print(result[0]) # 42
# Compiled pattern for reuse
p = compile("The {} who {}")
result = p.parse("The knights who say Ni!")
print(result.fixed) # ('knights', 'say')Verify before relying
- Whether the package supports Python 2 despite the wheel name suggesting it (parse-1.22.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl vs requires_python unspecified)
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 80 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 18,038,649 / month, #1,088 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Environment :: Web EnvironmentIntended Audience :: DevelopersProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Topic :: Software Development :: Code GeneratorsTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: parse-1.22.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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