prov
A library for W3C Provenance Data Model supporting PROV-JSON, PROV-XML, PROV-O (RDF) and PROV-JSONLD
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. prov is a stable, actively maintained implementation of a W3C standard with no dependencies, permissive licensing, and broad format support. Install it if you need to work with provenance data in a standards-compliant way or integrate with systems that consume PROV documents. The recent modernization and support for current Python versions make it a reliable choice.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later.
- Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies.
- Active maintenance with a release 7 days ago and commits as recent as 2026-08-14.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) places no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.
last release 2026-08-07 (7 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 137 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 747,039 downloads/mo, #5,168 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install prov
from prov.model import ProvDocument
doc = ProvDocument()
doc.entity('ex:entity1')
doc.wasGeneratedBy('ex:entity1', 'ex:activity1')
print(doc.serialize(format='json'))- Whether graphical export (PDF, PNG, SVG) requires additional system dependencies beyond the Python package.
- Performance characteristics when working with large provenance graphs.
- Whether conversion to NetworkX MultiDiGraph is bidirectional or one-way.
What it is and what it does
prov is a Python implementation of the W3C PROV Data Model standard, a formal specification for representing provenance information—the history and origin of data, processes, and entities. It provides in-memory classes to construct provenance assertions and serialize them into multiple standardized formats: PROV-O, PROV-XML, PROV-JSON, PROV-JSONLD, and PROV-N. The library also supports converting provenance documents to and from NetworkX MultiDiGraph structures for graph-based analysis.
The package is actively maintained, recently modernized with type hints and improved test coverage, and supports current Python versions (3.10–3.14). It has no runtime dependencies, making installation straightforward. The library is used by ProvStore, a public repository for provenance documents, and is suitable for applications that need to track, document, or audit data lineage, scientific workflows, or system operations in a standards-compliant way.
Use it for
- Document data lineage in data pipelines by recording which processes generated which datasets and their dependencies.
- Audit scientific workflows by capturing the provenance of computational results and intermediate data.
- Export provenance information to standardized formats for integration with external tools and systems.
- Convert provenance data to NetworkX graphs for network analysis and visualization of entity-activity relationships.
- Build compliance and traceability systems that record the origin and transformation history of sensitive information.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
prov is a stable, actively maintained implementation of a W3C standard with no dependencies, permissive licensing, and broad format support. Install it if you need to work with provenance data in a standards-compliant way or integrate with systems that consume PROV documents. The recent modernization and support for current Python versions make it a reliable choice.
Install
prov on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Active maintenance with a release 7 days ago and commits as recent as 2026-08-14. Supports modern Python versions (3.10–3.14) and both CPython and PyPy.
Requires Python 3.10 or later.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) places no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.
Quickstart
pip install prov
from prov.model import ProvDocument
doc = ProvDocument()
doc.entity('ex:entity1')
doc.wasGeneratedBy('ex:entity1', 'ex:activity1')
print(doc.serialize(format='json'))Verify before relying
- Whether graphical export (PDF, PNG, SVG) requires additional system dependencies beyond the Python package.
- Performance characteristics when working with large provenance graphs.
- Whether conversion to NetworkX MultiDiGraph is bidirectional or one-way.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 7 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 747,039 / month, #5,168 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 :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Information AnalysisTopic :: SecurityTopic :: System :: Logging |
Evidence: prov-3.1.0-py3-none-any.whl
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See also rdflib-jsonld · rdflib · pronto · PyLD · owlrl · extruct · csvw · pyrdfa3 · pyoxigraph · spdx-python-model