pip-autoremove

What it is and what it does

pip-autoremove is a command-line utility that extends pip's uninstall functionality by automatically detecting and removing unused dependencies when you uninstall a package. When you uninstall a package, pip normally leaves its dependencies behind; this tool walks the dependency tree and removes only those dependencies that are not required by any other installed package. It supports listing unused dependencies without uninstalling them, listing leaf packages (packages not used by others), and batch removal of multiple packages at once.

The tool depends on pip and setuptools for its core functionality. It was last updated in 2021 and is no longer actively maintained, though it remains functional for basic use cases. The codebase supports Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.x, and PyPy according to its classifiers, though real-world compatibility with modern Python versions is unverified.

Use it for:

• Clean up a development environment after uninstalling a major package like Flask or Django that brought in many transitive dependencies.
• Identify and remove leaf packages (packages not used by any other installed package) to reduce environment bloat.
• Batch-uninstall multiple packages and their orphaned dependencies in a single command rather than manually tracking what to remove.
• List unused dependencies before uninstalling to review what would be removed without actually performing the uninstall.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

A command-line tool that uninstalls a package and automatically removes its dependencies that are no longer used by any other installed package.

Yes, with conditions. The tool is simple, has low install friction, and solves a real problem for environment cleanup. However, it is abandoned (last release 2021-09-17, no active maintenance), so use it only if you accept that bugs or compatibility issues with newer pip versions will not be fixed. For active projects requiring ongoing support, consider whether a maintained alternative or manual dependency tracking is preferable.

Install

pip-autoremove on PyPI

pip install pip-autoremove

uv add pip-autoremove

poetry add pip-autoremove

Installing pip-autoremove

Before you install

Low install friction with pip and setuptools as only runtime dependencies. However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2021-09-17 and last commit 2023-06-29, with no active maintenance despite 628 repository stars.

License in practice

Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (permissive), which allows use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it safe to use in most projects without licensing concerns.

Quickstart

$ pip install pip-autoremove
$ pip-autoremove Flask -y

This uninstalls Flask and any of its dependencies that no other installed package depends on.

Verify before relying

• Whether the tool correctly identifies shared dependencies across multiple packages in complex environments.
• Compatibility with modern pip versions and Python 3.10+ (classifiers list Python 3 but do not specify upper bounds).
• Whether the dependency-graph logic handles optional dependencies and extras correctly.

Package facts

Evidence: pip_autoremove-0.10.0-py2.py3-none-any.whl

Tags

More Utilities packages