pylint

python code static checker

pylint Copyleft license GPL-2.0-or-later Active ★ 5,712 v4.0.7 released 2026-08-09

Install

pylint on PyPI

pip

pip install pylint

uv

uv add pylint

poetry

poetry add pylint

Package facts

License	GPL-2.0-or-later (copyleft)
Python support	supports the current Python release (>=3.10.0)
Install friction	low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies	9 — astroid, colorama, dill, isort, mccabe, platformdirs, tomli, tomlkit, typing-extensions
Maintenance	actively maintained — 4 days since the last release
Last repo commit	2026-08-13
First released	2009-01-27
Popularity	one of the top 1,000 most-downloaded packages on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-13)
Known vulnerabilities	none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-13)

Evidence: pylint-4.0.7-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: lint, linter, python, static code analysis

Development Status :: 6 - MatureEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: DebuggersTopic :: Software Development :: Quality AssuranceTopic :: Software Development :: TestingTyping :: Typed

About pylint

from the package's own PyPI description — quoted content, verbatim

`Pylint`_

.. _Pylint: https://pylint.readthedocs.io/

.. This is used inside the doc to recover the start of the introduction

.. image:: https://github.com/pylint-dev/pylint/actions/workflows/tests.yaml/badge.svg?branch=main :target: https://github.com/pylint-dev/pylint/actions

.. image:: https://codecov.io/gh/pylint-dev/pylint/branch/main/graph/badge.svg?token=ZETEzayrfk :target: https://codecov.io/gh/pylint-dev/pylint

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/pylint.svg :alt: PyPI Package version :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pylint

.. image:: https://readthedocs.org/projects/pylint/badge/?version=latest :target: https://pylint.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?badge=latest :alt: Documentation Status

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/code%20style-black-000000.svg :target: https://github.com/ambv/black

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/linting-pylint-yellowgreen :target: https://github.com/pylint-dev/pylint

.. image:: https://results.pre-commit.ci/badge/github/pylint-dev/pylint/main.svg :target: https://results.pre-commit.ci/latest/github/pylint-dev/pylint/main :alt: pre-commit.ci status

.. image::...

Read as markdown · JSON record · Source repository · Docs

AI interpretation — verify before relying

AI-generated interpretation of the package facts above; every digit, version, license, or vulnerability id it cites is grounded in the facts already shown on this page

Pylint is a static code analyzer for Python that checks for errors, enforces coding standards, detects code smells, and suggests refactoring opportunities without executing the code.

Low friction installation with a pure-Python wheel. Nine runtime dependencies (astroid, colorama, dill, isort, mccabe, platformdirs, tomli, tomlkit, typing-extensions) are all well-maintained. Active maintenance with a release 4 days ago and last commit on 2026-08-13.

Pylint is licensed under GPL-2.0-or-later (copyleft). This means any derivative work or distribution must also be open-source under a compatible license; proprietary projects cannot embed pylint without open-sourcing their own code.

Usage

pip install pylint
python -m pylint your_module.py

Requires Python 3.10.0 or above; the optional [spelling] extra requires the enchant C library to be installed separately.

Verdict: Pylint is a mature, actively maintained static analyzer with no known vulnerabilities and broad Python 3.10+ support. Its copyleft GPL-2.0-or-later license is a hard constraint for proprietary codebases. The 9 runtime dependencies are stable and well-established, making installation straightforward. Suitable for projects that can accept GPL licensing and value thorough, inference-based code analysis.

Needs verification

Whether the optional [spelling] extra is commonly used and what its maintenance status is.
Performance characteristics relative to other linters on typical codebases.
Adoption rate and ecosystem plugin availability for specific frameworks.

python static code analysispython lintercode quality checkerpython code style enforcerdetect python errorspython code smell detectionpython refactoring suggestions