---
id: pycparser
version: "3.0"
license: BSD-3-Clause
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pycparser — C parser in Python

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Popularity: top 100 on PyPI

## Install

pip install pycparser
uv add pycparser
poetry add pycparser

## Description

===============
pycparser v3.00
===============


.. image:: https://github.com/eliben/pycparser/workflows/pycparser-tests/badge.svg
  :align: center
  :target: https://github.com/eliben/pycparser/actions

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.. contents::
    :backlinks: none

.. sectnum::

Introduction
============

What is pycparser?
------------------

**pycparser** is a parser for the C language, written in pure Python. It is a
module designed to be easily integrated into applications that need to parse
C source code.

What is it good for?
--------------------

Anything that needs C code to be parsed. The following are some uses for
**pycparser**, taken from real user reports:

* C code obfuscator
* Front-end for various specialized C compilers
* Static code checker
* Automatic unit-test discovery
* Adding specialized extensions to the C language

One of the most popular uses of **pycparser** is in the `cffi
<https://cffi.readthedocs.io/en/latest/>`_ library, which uses it to parse the
declarations of C functions and types in order to auto-generate FFIs.

**pycparser** is unique in the sense that it's written in pure Python - a very
high level language that's easy to experiment with and tweak. To people...

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

pycparser is a pure-Python parser for C code that parses C99 and some C11 syntax into an abstract syntax tree, enabling programmatic analysis and transformation of C source without external dependencies.

Verdict: A mature, dependency-free C parser in active development with strong community adoption (top 100 PyPI). No known vulnerabilities and permissive licensing make it a reliable choice for C code analysis and tooling. The main gotcha is the preprocessor requirement—not a blocker, but a necessary step for real-world C code.

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