portend
TCP port monitoring and discovery
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Portend solves a common, specific problem (TCP port state checking) with a minimal dependency footprint, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive license. It's well-suited for test automation, service orchestration, and deployment workflows. Install it if you need to wait for ports or discover available ones in Python or shell scripts.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.9 or later.
- Low install friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (tempora).
- Actively maintained with recent commits; last release was 2025-05-29 and the repository shows ongoing activity.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license is permissive and places no significant restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in commercial or private projects.
last release 2025-05-29 (442 days) · last repo commit 2026-04-13 · 9 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 889,978 downloads/mo, #4,806 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install portend
import portend
# Wait for a port to be occupied (with 3 second timeout)
portend.occupied('www.google.com', 80, timeout=3)
# Or find an available local port
port = portend.find_available_local_port()
print(port, "is available for binding")- Whether the package handles IPv6 addresses reliably (the description mentions '::1' but does not detail IPv6 support scope)
- Performance characteristics when monitoring many ports concurrently or in rapid succession
What it is and what it does
Portend is a lightweight TCP port monitoring library that lets you wait for a port to become occupied (bound by a listener) or free (unbound), with configurable timeouts. It's commonly used in test setup, service orchestration, and deployment scripts where you need to verify that a service has started or that a port is available before binding to it.
The package provides a simple API with two main functions—`occupied()` and `free()`—plus utilities like `find_available_local_port()` to discover an unused port and a lower-level `Checker` class for more direct control. It can also be invoked as a command-line tool via `python -m portend`, making it useful in shell scripts and CI/CD pipelines. The only runtime dependency is tempora, keeping the installation footprint minimal.
Use it for
- Wait for a service to start up in integration tests before running test suites that depend on it
- Find an available local port to bind a test server without port conflicts
- Verify port availability in deployment or orchestration scripts before starting a service
- Monitor a remote port (e.g., a database or API server) to detect when it becomes available after a restart
- Implement health checks in CI/CD pipelines that need to confirm a service is listening before proceeding
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Portend solves a common, specific problem (TCP port state checking) with a minimal dependency footprint, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities, and a permissive license. It's well-suited for test automation, service orchestration, and deployment workflows. Install it if you need to wait for ports or discover available ones in Python or shell scripts.
Install
portend on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (tempora). Actively maintained with recent commits; last release was 2025-05-29 and the repository shows ongoing activity.
Requires Python 3.9 or later.
License in practice
MIT license is permissive and places no significant restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in commercial or private projects.
Quickstart
pip install portend
import portend
# Wait for a port to be occupied (with 3 second timeout)
portend.occupied('www.google.com', 80, timeout=3)
# Or find an available local port
port = portend.find_available_local_port()
print(port, "is available for binding")Verify before relying
- Whether the package handles IPv6 addresses reliably (the description mentions '::1' but does not detail IPv6 support scope)
- Performance characteristics when monitoring many ports concurrently or in rapid succession
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.9 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagetempora |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 442 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 889,978 / month, #4,806 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: Only |
Evidence: portend-3.2.1-py3-none-any.whl
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See also wait-for-it · port-for · ephemeral-port-reserve · portpicker · websockify · pydivert · pmd-net-proto · waiting · polling2 · tox-docker