pydotplus
Python interface to Graphviz's Dot language
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
No. The package is abandoned (last release 2014-12-09, 4266 days ago) with no maintenance, no declared runtime dependencies despite requiring pyparsing and GraphViz, and no evidence of compatibility with modern Python or Graphviz versions. If you need Graphviz integration, consider actively maintained alternatives.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- GraphViz must be installed separately on your system (not a Python package); pyparsing is required as a dependency.
- Installation friction is high: the package has been abandoned for over 4266 days since its last release (2014-12-09), with no recent maintenance or updates.
- It depends on external system libraries (GraphViz) that must be installed separately.
License · maintenance · safety
UNKNOWN (permissive) — Licensed under MIT (permissive), so you can use, modify, and distribute it freely; however, the license metadata is marked UNKNOWN in the package record, which may indicate incomplete or unclear licensing documentation.
last release 2014-12-09 (4266 days)
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 386,822 downloads/mo, #7,048 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pydotplus
import pydotplus
graph = pydotplus.Dot(graph_type='graph')
graph.add_node(pydotplus.Node('A'))
graph.add_edge(pydotplus.Edge('A', 'B'))- Whether pyparsing is declared as a formal runtime dependency in package metadata, given description mentions it but deps.runtime is empty.
- Current compatibility with modern Python versions beyond 3.4, given the 4266-day gap since last release.
- Whether the package still works with current versions of GraphViz and its output formats.
What it is and what it does
PyDotPlus is a Python wrapper around Graphviz's Dot language that lets you build and manipulate graph structures programmatically, then render them to various image and document formats. It parses Dot files and bridges Python code to Graphviz's rendering engine, making it useful for generating diagrams, flowcharts, and network visualizations from Python without writing Dot syntax by hand.
The package is positioned as an improved fork of the older pydot project, claiming better PyParsing compatibility and Python 2.7–3 support. However, it has been abandoned since 2014-12-09 with no maintenance activity since then, meaning it has not been updated for modern Python versions, security patches, or changes in Graphviz itself.
Use it for
- Generate flowcharts and diagrams programmatically from Python data structures.
- Parse existing Dot files and modify them before re-rendering with Graphviz.
- Create network topology visualizations or dependency graphs in automated reporting tools.
- Build documentation that includes auto-generated graph diagrams from code metadata.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
No.
The package is abandoned (last release 2014-12-09, 4266 days ago) with no maintenance, no declared runtime dependencies despite requiring pyparsing and GraphViz, and no evidence of compatibility with modern Python or Graphviz versions. If you need Graphviz integration, consider actively maintained alternatives.
Install
pydotplus on PyPI
Before you install
Installation friction is high: the package has been abandoned for over 4266 days since its last release (2014-12-09), with no recent maintenance or updates. It depends on external system libraries (GraphViz) that must be installed separately.
GraphViz must be installed separately on your system (not a Python package); pyparsing is required as a dependency.
License in practice
Licensed under MIT (permissive), so you can use, modify, and distribute it freely; however, the license metadata is marked UNKNOWN in the package record, which may indicate incomplete or unclear licensing documentation.
Quickstart
pip install pydotplus
import pydotplus
graph = pydotplus.Dot(graph_type='graph')
graph.add_node(pydotplus.Node('A'))
graph.add_edge(pydotplus.Edge('A', 'B'))Verify before relying
- Whether pyparsing is declared as a formal runtime dependency in package metadata, given description mentions it but deps.runtime is empty.
- Current compatibility with modern Python versions beyond 3.4, given the 4266-day gap since last release.
- Whether the package still works with current versions of GraphViz and its output formats.
Package facts
| License | UNKNOWN permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 4,266 days since the last release |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 386,822 / month, #7,048 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: VisualizationTopic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: pydotplus-2.0.2.tar.gz
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “create graphviz diagrams programmatically”
- pydotplusPyDotPlus provides a Python interface to Graphviz's Dot language,…
- GvGenGvGen generates Graphviz dot files programmatically, letting you…
- graphvizGenerates DOT language source code for graph structures and renders…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Python Modules packages
Converts domain names between Unicode and ASCII-compatible encoding (Punycode) according to IDNA 2008 and Unicode Technical Standard 46, with security validation and broader script coverage than the standard library.
Install it if you work with internationalized domain names, need to validate domains, or use HTTP clients that depend on it transitively.
Setuptools is a Python build backend and package management tool that handles building, distributing, and installing Python packages, including support for C/C++ extension modules.
PyYAML parses and emits YAML 1.1 data format, enabling serialization and deserialization of configuration files and Python objects to and from human-readable YAML text.
Pydantic validates Python data structures against type hints, coercing and checking input at runtime to ensure it matches a declared schema.
Provides reusable metadata objects for use with PEP-593 `typing.Annotated` to express common constraints like bounds, collection sizes, and predicates on types.
Install it if you use or build libraries that need to express type constraints in a standardized, inspectable way—or if you want to annotate your own types with…
Provides runtime tools to inspect and introspect Python type annotations, enabling programmatic examination of type hints at execution time.
See also graphviz · pydot · pydot-ng · GvGen · pygraphviz · pyvis · gprof2dot · markdown-graphviz-inline · torchviz · markdown-inline-graphviz-extension