---
id: pickleshare
version: "0.7.5"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# pickleshare — Tiny 'shelve'-like database with concurrency support

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 15.2M/mo

## What it is and what it does

PickleShare is a lightweight, file-based datastore designed for low-load scenarios where multiple processes need to share data. Unlike the standard shelve module, it stores each key-value pair in a separate file within a directory, allowing true concurrent access—changes made by one process are immediately visible to others. The API mimics a Python dictionary, making it familiar to use.

The package is intended for non-mission-critical applications where simplicity and small code size matter more than the advanced features of a full object database. It uses pickle for serialization and relies on the filesystem for concurrency control, making it suitable for scenarios like inter-process communication or simple shared state in development and testing environments.

Use it for:

- Sharing configuration or state between multiple worker processes in a simple application
- Storing temporary results or caches that need to be accessible across process boundaries
- Prototyping a multi-process system before committing to a more complex database solution
- Passing data between independent scripts or services in a low-concurrency environment
- Debugging and testing scenarios where you need quick, process-safe data persistence

## Worth the install?

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

PickleShare provides a dictionary-like datastore where multiple processes can read and write concurrently by storing each key-value pair in a separate file within a directory.

Yes, if you need simple inter-process data sharing in a low-load scenario and want to avoid external database dependencies. The permissive MIT license, low install friction, and stable codebase make it a reasonable choice for development, testing, or lightweight production use. However, the dormant maintenance status (no releases since 2018) means you should verify compatibility with your Python version and filesystem before relying on it for new projects.

## Install

pip install pickleshare
uv add pickleshare
poetry add pickleshare

## Installing pickleshare

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with low friction; the package is dormant (last release 2018-09-25, last commit 2023-11-15) but remains stable and carries only one lightweight runtime dependency (pathlib2).

License in practice: MIT license permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; you may use, modify, and distribute the package freely as long as you retain the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install pickleshare

from pickleshare import PickleShareDB
db = PickleShareDB('~/testpickleshare')
db['hello'] = 15
print(db['hello'])

Verify before relying:

- Whether pathlib2 is required on modern Python versions or only for Python 2 compatibility
- Current performance characteristics under concurrent load compared to alternatives
- Whether the package works reliably on Windows and other non-POSIX filesystems

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 15.2M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

concurrent file-based datastore, multi-process dictionary storage, pickle-based key-value database, shelve alternative with concurrency, inter-process data sharing, lightweight persistent dictionary, file-per-key storage, inter-process-communication, file-based-storage, concurrency

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