pyftdi

What it is and what it does

PyFtdi is a pure-Python driver for FTDI USB devices that bridges hardware communication protocols without requiring platform-specific binary drivers. It supports UART/serial conversion up to 12 Mbps, GPIO bit-banging, SPI master mode, I2C master mode, basic JTAG, and EEPROM access on a range of FTDI chips (FT232R, FT2232H, FT4232H, and others). The package depends on pyusb for USB access and pyserial for serial protocol handling.

Typical use cases include embedded development, hardware testing, and IoT prototyping where direct control of FTDI devices is needed from Python. The package is actively maintained, supports Python 3.9 through 3.13, and runs on macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD. It carries no known security vulnerabilities and uses a permissive BSD-3-Clause license.

Use it for:

• Control FTDI-based USB-to-serial adapters for communicating with embedded systems and microcontrollers.
• Implement SPI or I2C master protocols to interface with sensors, memory chips, and other peripherals via FTDI hardware.
• Perform GPIO bit-banging operations for custom protocol implementations or hardware debugging.
• Access EEPROM parameters on FTDI devices for configuration and identification.
• Build hardware test and automation scripts that require direct USB device control without OS-level driver installation.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

PyFtdi provides a pure-Python user-space driver for FTDI USB devices, enabling serial, SPI, I2C, GPIO, and JTAG communication without requiring platform-specific binary drivers.

Yes. PyFtdi is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and offers permissive licensing. It is the standard choice for Python developers needing to control FTDI USB devices. Install it if you work with FTDI hardware; the only caveat is that libusb must be available on your system, and Windows support is not officially guaranteed.

Install

pyftdi on PyPI

pip install pyftdi

uv add pyftdi

poetry add pyftdi

Installing pyftdi

Before you install

Low friction: pure Python wheel with only two runtime dependencies (pyusb and pyserial). Actively maintained with a release 73 days ago and ongoing commits; last commit 2026-06-03.

License in practice

BSD-3-Clause is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects provided you retain the license notice.

Quickstart

pip install pyftdi

from pyftdi.ftdi import Ftdi

ftdi = Ftdi()
ftdi.open(0)  # Open first FTDI device
ftdi.set_bitmode(0xff, Ftdi.BITMODE_SYNCBB)  # Configure GPIO

Requires libusb (system library) to be installed; FTDI hardware must be connected and recognized by the OS.

Verify before relying

• Whether all supported FTDI device models (FT232R, FT2232H, FT4232H, etc.) are equally well-tested in current releases.
• Performance characteristics and latency guarantees for high-speed SPI/I2C operations.
• Windows support status, given the fact sheet notes it is 'not officially supported'.

Package facts

Evidence: pyftdi-0.57.2-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: driver, ftdi, usb, serial, spi, i2c, twi, rs232, gpio, bit-bang

Tags

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