pynng
Networking made simply using nng
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need inter-process or network messaging with multiple patterns and async support. The MIT license, active maintenance, and prebuilt wheels for common platforms make it low-friction. The Alpha status and medium install friction are acceptable trade-offs for projects that fit its messaging model. Not suitable if you require stable 1.0+ APIs or need support for platforms without prebuilt wheels.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- CMake required for 32-bit Linux and macOS builds from source; prebuilt wheels available for common platforms.
- Medium install friction due to compiled dependencies; prebuilt wheels available for Python 3.10 and 3.11 on Windows, macOS, and Linux, but 32-bit Linux and macOS require CMake.
- Repository is active with recent commits and no archived status.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) allows unrestricted use, modification, and distribution. No copyleft obligations or commercial restrictions.
last release 2026-02-04 (191 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-11 · 328 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 225,680 downloads/mo, #9,215 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pynng
from pynng import Pair0
with Pair0(listen='tcp://127.0.0.1:54321') as s1, \
Pair0(dial='tcp://127.0.0.1:54321') as s2:
s1.send(b'hello')
print(s2.recv())- Whether Python 3.6–3.9 support is actively maintained or only documented in classifiers
- Performance characteristics and latency guarantees compared to other messaging libraries
- Stability timeline from Alpha development status to Beta or stable release
What it is and what it does
pynng wraps the nng C library to provide ergonomic Python bindings for inter-process and network communication. It supports multiple messaging patterns—Pair (bidirectional), Pub/Sub, Request/Response, Push/Pull, and Surveyor/Respondent—making it suitable for building distributed systems, service discovery, and message aggregation. The library works as a context manager and integrates with async frameworks including asyncio, trio, and curio, allowing both synchronous and asynchronous send/receive operations.
The package depends on cffi and sniffio for FFI bindings and async runtime detection. It is classified as Alpha development status but maintains an active repository with recent commits. Prebuilt wheels are available for modern Python versions on Windows, macOS, and Linux, though source builds on 32-bit systems or older macOS require CMake.
Use it for
- Build request-response microservices where clients send queries and servers respond with results.
- Implement publish-subscribe systems to broadcast messages to multiple subscribers.
- Aggregate messages from multiple producers using Push/Pull sockets with load balancing.
- Perform service discovery by broadcasting surveys to respondents and collecting their replies.
- Create async inter-process communication pipelines using trio or asyncio for concurrent message handling.
- Replace ZeroMQ in applications requiring simpler, more ergonomic messaging APIs.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need inter-process or network messaging with multiple patterns and async support.
The MIT license, active maintenance, and prebuilt wheels for common platforms make it low-friction. The Alpha status and medium install friction are acceptable trade-offs for projects that fit its messaging model. Not suitable if you require stable 1.0+ APIs or need support for platforms without prebuilt wheels.
Install
pynng on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to compiled dependencies; prebuilt wheels available for Python 3.10 and 3.11 on Windows, macOS, and Linux, but 32-bit Linux and macOS require CMake. Repository is active with recent commits and no archived status.
CMake required for 32-bit Linux and macOS builds from source; prebuilt wheels available for common platforms.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) allows unrestricted use, modification, and distribution. No copyleft obligations or commercial restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install pynng
from pynng import Pair0
with Pair0(listen='tcp://127.0.0.1:54321') as s1, \
Pair0(dial='tcp://127.0.0.1:54321') as s2:
s1.send(b'hello')
print(s2.recv())Verify before relying
- Whether Python 3.6–3.9 support is actively maintained or only documented in classifiers
- Performance characteristics and latency guarantees compared to other messaging libraries
- Stability timeline from Alpha development status to Beta or stable release
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagescffisniffio |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 191 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 225,680 / month, #9,215 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 3 - AlphaFramework :: AsyncIOFramework :: TrioLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: System :: Networking |
Evidence: pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_10_9_universal2.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_26_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_26_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-win32.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp310-cp310-win_arm64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_10_9_universal2.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_26_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_26_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-musllinux_1_2_x86_64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-win32.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp311-cp311-win_arm64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp312-cp312-macosx_10_13_universal2.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_26_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_26_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl; pynng-0.9.0-cp312-cp312-musllinux_1_2_aarch64.whl
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