pdbufr
Pandas reader for the BUFR format using ecCodes.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. If you work with BUFR meteorological data, this is the standard Python tool for reading it into Pandas. Active maintenance, permissive license, low install friction, and no known vulnerabilities make it a solid choice. The main prerequisite is having eccodes available on your system, which is documented.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- The eccodes library must be installed on your system; installation instructions are in the package documentation at https://pdbufr.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html.
- Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel.
- Maintenance is active with a recent release in February 2026 and commits through August 2026.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache License Version 2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (permissive). You can use, modify, and distribute the package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you include the license notice and state any changes.
last release 2026-02-26 (169 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-07 · 28 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 76,718 downloads/mo, #14,596 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pdbufr
import pdbufr
import pandas as pd
df = pdbufr.read_bufr('file.bufr')- Whether eccodes installation is straightforward on all major operating systems (Linux, macOS, Windows).
- Performance characteristics when reading large BUFR files or many files in sequence.
- Specific BUFR message types and meteorological variables the package handles reliably.
What it is and what it does
pdbufr is a Python bridge between BUFR meteorological data files and Pandas DataFrames. It wraps the ecCodes library (ECMWF's standard BUFR decoder) to parse BUFR-format files—a binary format widely used in weather and climate data distribution—and load them into tabular form for analysis and manipulation in Pandas.
The package is designed for scientists, meteorologists, and data engineers working with atmospheric observations and forecasts. It handles the complexity of BUFR decoding internally, exposing a simple read function. The main runtime dependencies are attrs, eccodes, pandas, and pint (for unit handling). It supports Python 3.9 through 3.13 and is in active maintenance with recent releases.
Use it for
- Load weather station observations or satellite data stored in BUFR format into a Pandas DataFrame for statistical analysis.
- Convert BUFR meteorological datasets to CSV or other tabular formats for downstream processing.
- Integrate BUFR data ingestion into a data pipeline alongside other Pandas-based transformations.
- Explore and validate BUFR file contents by reading them into a familiar tabular structure.
- Combine multiple BUFR files into a single DataFrame for cross-dataset analysis.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
If you work with BUFR meteorological data, this is the standard Python tool for reading it into Pandas. Active maintenance, permissive license, low install friction, and no known vulnerabilities make it a solid choice. The main prerequisite is having eccodes available on your system, which is documented.
Install
pdbufr on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Maintenance is active with a recent release in February 2026 and commits through August 2026. The package depends on eccodes, a compiled library for BUFR decoding, which must be available on your system—installation details are documented.
The eccodes library must be installed on your system; installation instructions are in the package documentation at https://pdbufr.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (permissive). You can use, modify, and distribute the package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you include the license notice and state any changes.
Quickstart
pip install pdbufr
import pdbufr
import pandas as pd
df = pdbufr.read_bufr('file.bufr')Verify before relying
- Whether eccodes installation is straightforward on all major operating systems (Linux, macOS, Windows).
- Performance characteristics when reading large BUFR files or many files in sequence.
- Specific BUFR message types and meteorological variables the package handles reliably.
Package facts
| License | Apache License Version 2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 4 packagesattrseccodespandaspint |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 169 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 76,718 / month, #14,596 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPython |
Evidence: pdbufr-0.14.2-py3-none-any.whl
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See also eccodes · eccodeslib · liac-arff · cfgrib · pygrib · metar · xradar · ecmwf-api-client · earthkit-data · cdsapi