pubcontrol
EPCP library
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
No. The package is abandoned (last release 2023-07-05, no activity for 1136 days) and tightly coupled to Fanout's infrastructure. Unless you are maintaining legacy code that depends on it or actively use Fanout's services, the lack of maintenance and unclear Python version support make it a poor choice for new projects. High install friction for ZMQ support and no clear upgrade path.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- ZMQ publishing requires pyzmq and tnetstring (or tnetstring3 for Python 3) to be installed separately.
- High install friction: no runtime dependencies listed, but ZMQ publishing requires optional system packages (pyzmq, tnetstring).
- Package is abandoned—last release 2023-07-05, no commits since then, and 1136 days without activity.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions.
last release 2023-07-05 (1136 days) · last repo commit 2023-07-05 · 8 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 79,768 downloads/mo, #14,333 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pubcontrol
from pubcontrol import PubControl, Item, Format
class HttpResponseFormat(Format):
def __init__(self, body):
self.body = body
def name(self):
return 'http-response'
def export(self):
return {'body': self.body}
pub = PubControl({'uri': 'https://api.fanout.io/realm/'})
pub.publish('channel', Item(HttpResponseFormat('Test message')))- Whether the package works with current Python versions (python_support is unspecified).
- Whether the EPCP protocol and Fanout API endpoints are still actively maintained and compatible.
- Whether the 79,768 monthly downloads reflect active use or legacy/automated installations.
What it is and what it does
PyPubControl is a Python library for publishing messages to multiple endpoints using the EPCP (Fanout's message protocol). It wraps HTTP and ZMQ transports, allowing you to send formatted messages to subscribers across configured endpoints with optional JWT or basic authentication. The library tracks subscriber presence when configured to do so, preventing messages from being sent to channels with no active subscribers.
You initialize a PubControl instance with endpoint URIs and credentials, then call publish() to send messages. It supports both synchronous and asynchronous publishing with callbacks. The package is designed for real-time message distribution in systems using Fanout's infrastructure or compatible ZMQ-based pub-sub setups.
Use it for
- Publish real-time updates to web clients through Fanout's HTTP API endpoints.
- Send messages to ZMQ subscribers via PUSH or XPUB sockets with automatic socket discovery.
- Distribute notifications across multiple endpoints from a single publish call.
- Track active subscribers on channels to avoid publishing to empty channels.
- Integrate with Pushpin or other EPCP-compatible servers for live data delivery.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
No.
The package is abandoned (last release 2023-07-05, no activity for 1136 days) and tightly coupled to Fanout's infrastructure. Unless you are maintaining legacy code that depends on it or actively use Fanout's services, the lack of maintenance and unclear Python version support make it a poor choice for new projects. High install friction for ZMQ support and no clear upgrade path.
Install
pubcontrol on PyPI
Before you install
High install friction: no runtime dependencies listed, but ZMQ publishing requires optional system packages (pyzmq, tnetstring). Package is abandoned—last release 2023-07-05, no commits since then, and 1136 days without activity.
ZMQ publishing requires pyzmq and tnetstring (or tnetstring3 for Python 3) to be installed separately.
License in practice
MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install pubcontrol
from pubcontrol import PubControl, Item, Format
class HttpResponseFormat(Format):
def __init__(self, body):
self.body = body
def name(self):
return 'http-response'
def export(self):
return {'body': self.body}
pub = PubControl({'uri': 'https://api.fanout.io/realm/'})
pub.publish('channel', Item(HttpResponseFormat('Test message')))Verify before relying
- Whether the package works with current Python versions (python_support is unspecified).
- Whether the EPCP protocol and Fanout API endpoints are still actively maintained and compatible.
- Whether the 79,768 monthly downloads reflect active use or legacy/automated installations.
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 1,136 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 79,768 / month, #14,333 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: pubcontrol-3.5.0.tar.gz
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