---
id: petl
version: "1.7.23"
license: MIT License
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# petl — A Python package for extracting, transforming and loading tables of data.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.2M/mo

## What it is and what it does

petl is a Python library for building data pipelines using a declarative, chainable API. It lets you extract data from various sources, apply transformations (filtering, joining, aggregating, reshaping), and load results into different destinations. The library emphasizes composability: you build pipelines by chaining method calls, making complex transformations readable and maintainable.

The package works across Python 2.7 and Python 3.6 through 3.13. With no runtime dependencies, it installs cleanly and integrates easily into existing projects. It is actively maintained with recent releases and a stable community, making it suitable for ETL workflows where you need flexibility without the overhead of heavier frameworks.

Use it for:

- Build data pipelines that read from files, filter and reshape rows, then write to a database
- Join and aggregate data from multiple sources for reporting or analytics
- Clean and normalize tabular data before feeding it into downstream workflows
- Extract and transform subsets of large tables without loading everything into memory
- Automate recurring data import and transformation tasks in batch jobs

## Worth the install?

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

petl extracts, transforms, and loads tables of data using a declarative, composable API that works with multiple data sources and formats.

Yes. petl is a solid, actively maintained library with zero dependencies, permissive licensing, and no known vulnerabilities. It fills a niche for straightforward ETL tasks, data cleaning, and pipeline automation. Install it if you need composable, readable data transformations without framework overhead.

## Install

pip install petl
uv add petl
poetry add petl

## Installing petl

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with a recent release 9 days ago and steady community engagement (1315 GitHub stars).

License in practice: MIT License permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and commercial projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install petl

import petl as etl

table = [{'id': 1, 'name': 'Alice'}, {'id': 2, 'name': 'Bob'}]
result = etl.wrap(table).cut('name').convert('name', str.upper)

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package supports streaming or lazy evaluation for very large datasets
- Performance characteristics and typical use-case boundaries
- Complete list of supported data sources and formats beyond those in the excerpt

## Package facts

- License: MIT License (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.2M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

etl python, extract transform load, data pipeline, table transformation, data loading, csv json database etl, data extraction tool, etl, data-pipeline, table-processing

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