---
id: pylev
version: "1.4.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# pylev — A pure Python Levenshtein implementation that's not freaking GPL'd.

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 1.9M/mo

## What it is and what it does

pylev is a pure Python implementation of the Levenshtein distance algorithm, which measures how different two strings are by counting the minimum edits (insertions, deletions, substitutions) needed to transform one into the other. It has no external dependencies and works across Python versions. The package is straightforward: you import it, call the levenshtein() function with two strings, and get back an integer distance.

The library is useful for fuzzy matching, spell-checking, and similarity scoring in text processing pipelines. The current version (1.4.0) was released in 2021-05-30. The project is no longer actively maintained, but the algorithm itself is deterministic and unlikely to break.

Use it for:

- Fuzzy string matching in search or autocomplete features to find similar terms despite typos
- Spell-checking and correction by ranking candidate words by their edit distance from a misspelled input
- Duplicate detection in datasets by comparing record fields and flagging near-identical entries
- Name matching across databases where entries may have minor variations in spelling or formatting

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Computes the Levenshtein distance between two strings—the minimum number of single-character edits needed to transform one string into another.

Yes, if you need a lightweight, dependency-free Levenshtein implementation. The package is stable, permissively licensed, and carries no known vulnerabilities. The abandoned maintenance status is not a blocker for a mature algorithm, but consider alternatives if you need active support or performance-critical use.

## Install

pip install pylev
uv add pylev
poetry add pylev

## Installing pylev

Before you install: Low friction: pure Python with no runtime dependencies and a wheel distribution. Maintenance is abandoned (last commit 2023-04-04, no releases since 2021-05-30), but the package is stable and unlikely to require updates for basic use.

License in practice: Licensed under BSD (permissive), which allows free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.

Quickstart:

import pylev
distance = pylev.levenshtein('kitten', 'sitting')
assert distance == 3

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package receives security updates despite the abandoned status
- Performance characteristics compared to alternative Levenshtein implementations

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 1.9M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

levenshtein distance, string similarity, edit distance, string matching, text similarity metric, fuzzy string comparison, character edit distance, string-algorithms, text-similarity

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