---
id: ptyprocess
version: "0.7.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# ptyprocess — Run a subprocess in a pseudo terminal

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Popularity: top 1,000 on PyPI

## Install

pip install ptyprocess
uv add ptyprocess
poetry add ptyprocess

## Description

Launch a subprocess in a pseudo terminal (pty), and interact with both the
process and its pty.

Sometimes, piping stdin and stdout is not enough. There might be a password
prompt that doesn't read from stdin, output that changes when it's going to a
pipe rather than a terminal, or curses-style interfaces that rely on a terminal.
If you need to automate these things, running the process in a pseudo terminal
(pty) is the answer.

Interface::

    p = PtyProcessUnicode.spawn(['python'])
    p.read(20)
    p.write('6+6\n')
    p.read(20)

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

Launches a subprocess in a pseudo terminal (pty) and provides read/write interaction with both the process and its terminal, enabling automation of password prompts, terminal-dependent output, and curses-style interfaces.

Verdict: ptyprocess is a stable, low-friction library for terminal automation with no dependencies, but its last release was over five years ago. Suitable for production use in established workflows, though users should verify compatibility with their Python version and be aware that maintenance is minimal.

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