pkginfo

Query metadata from sdists / bdists / installed packages.

pkginfo Permissive license MIT AGING v1.12.1.2 released 2025-02-19

Install

pkginfo on PyPI

pip

pip install pkginfo

uv

uv add pkginfo

poetry

poetry add pkginfo

Package facts

License	MIT (permissive)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.8)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	none
Maintenance	aging — 540 days since the last release
First released	2009-04-10
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: pkginfo-1.12.1.2-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: distribution, sdist, installed, metadata

Intended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python ModulesTopic :: System :: Software Distribution

About pkginfo

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

`pkginfo` README

This package provides an API for querying the distutils metadata written in the PKG-INFO file inside a source distribution (an sdist) or a binary distribution (e.g., created by running bdist_egg). It can also query the EGG-INFO directory of an installed distribution, and the *.egg-info stored in a "development checkout" (e.g, created by running setup.py develop).

Please see the pkginfo docs <http://packages.python.org/pkginfo>_ for detailed documentation.

`pkginfo` Changelog

1.12.1.2 (2025-02-19)

Fix another packaging error (more missing testcase data!). LP #2098833

1.12.1.1 (2025-02-18)

Fix packaging error which prevents running tests from the released sdist.

1.12.1 (2025-02-18)

Disuse the metadata of the installed 'pkginfo' package for testing: during creation of the various 'tox' environments, different versions of 'setuptools' will overwrite that file with different metadata (version, 'Dynamic' headers, etc). LP #2098742

1.12.0 (2024-12-02)

Declare content type of long...

Read as markdown · JSON record · Homepage

AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Extracts and queries package metadata from source distributions (sdists), binary distributions, installed packages, and development checkouts by reading PKG-INFO, EGG-INFO, or egg-info directories.

Zero runtime dependencies and a pure-Python wheel make installation frictionless. The package is aging (540 days since last release) but remains actively maintained with recent fixes; Python 3.8–3.13 and PyPy are supported.

MIT license is permissive and imposes no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source contexts.

Usage

pip install pkginfo

from pkginfo import distribution
dist = distribution.Distribution('path/to/package.tar.gz')
print(dist.name, dist.version)

Verdict: A lightweight, well-maintained utility for programmatic package metadata inspection with no dependencies, permissive licensing, and broad Python version support. Suitable for build tools, package managers, and distribution analysis workflows.

Needs verification

Whether the package is actively developed or in maintenance-only mode (last commit date and repository activity unknown).
Performance characteristics when parsing large or complex distributions.
Completeness of metadata extraction for newer PEP 639 (Metadata 2.4) and edge-case distribution formats.

query package metadataread PKG-INFO sdistextract distribution metadatainspect installed packagesparse egg-info directorybdist metadata extractiondistribution metadata API