---
id: pylint-plugin-utils
version: "0.9.0"
license: GPL-2.0-or-later
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: active
---

# pylint-plugin-utils — Utilities and helpers for writing Pylint plugins

License: copyleft · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 4.0M/mo

## What it is and what it does

pylint-plugin-utils is a toolkit for developers building custom Pylint plugins. Rather than being a plugin itself, it provides reusable utilities and helpers that abstract away common patterns and boilerplate needed when extending Pylint's linting capabilities. The package is used as a foundation by established plugins like pylint-django and pylint-celery, making it a reference implementation for plugin development patterns.

The package requires Pylint as its sole runtime dependency and supports Python 3.9 through 3.13. It is actively maintained and marked production-stable, with a long history dating back to 2013. Installation is straightforward with no compiled dependencies or system-level requirements.

Use it for:

- Building a custom Pylint plugin to enforce domain-specific linting rules in your codebase
- Extending Pylint with framework-specific checks (similar to how pylint-django adds Django support)
- Reducing boilerplate when writing multiple related Pylint plugins
- Learning Pylint plugin architecture by studying an established utilities library

## Worth the install?

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

Provides utilities and helper functions for building Pylint plugins, abstracting common patterns used by plugins like pylint-django and pylint-celery.

Yes, if you are writing a Pylint plugin. It is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and provides a stable foundation used by established plugins. The GPL v2+ license requires your plugin code to be GPL-compatible. If you are only using Pylint as an end user, you do not need this package directly.

## Install

pip install pylint-plugin-utils
uv add pylint-plugin-utils
poetry add pylint-plugin-utils

## Installing pylint-plugin-utils

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure Python wheel. Actively maintained with recent commits and production-stable status. Single runtime dependency on pylint itself.

License in practice: Licensed under GPLv2 or later (copyleft). Use is restricted to projects compatible with GPL v2+ terms; derivative works must be released under the same license.

Quickstart:

pip install pylint-plugin-utils

from pylint_plugin_utils import BaseChecker
# Use utilities in your custom plugin implementation

Requires Pylint to be installed; intended for plugin developers, not end-user linting.

Verify before relying:

- What specific utilities and helper functions are included in the API surface
- Whether this package provides base classes, decorators, or other plugin patterns
- Compatibility guarantees with different Pylint versions

## Package facts

- License: GPL-2.0-or-later (copyleft)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 4.0M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

pylint plugin development, pylint plugin utilities, pylint plugin helpers, write pylint plugins, pylint extension framework, pylint plugin base tools, pylint-plugin-development, code-quality-tooling

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