pypdftk
Python wrapper for PDFTK
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes-with-conditions. Install only if you already have pdftk running on your system and need straightforward Python bindings to its core functions. Do not install if you need active maintenance, bug fixes, or support for edge cases—the package is abandoned and has not been updated since 2021. Consider alternatives if you require modern PDF handling or plan to rely on this for production systems.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- pdftk binary must be installed on the system separately; pypdftk is only a Python wrapper and will not function without it.
- High install friction: requires the pdftk binary to be installed separately on the system.
- Package itself has not been updated since 2021 and is marked abandoned, with no recent maintenance activity.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — Licensed under BSD (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.
last release 2021-04-11 (1951 days) · last repo commit 2023-04-06 · 150 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 216,971 downloads/mo, #9,369 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pypdftk
import pypdftk
# Fill a PDF form
output = pypdftk.fill_form('template.pdf', {'field_name': 'value'})
# Merge PDFs
output = pypdftk.concat(['file1.pdf', 'file2.pdf'])- Whether pdftk binary is still actively maintained or available for all target operating systems.
- Compatibility with modern Python versions and current pdftk releases.
- Whether the package works reliably with contemporary PDF standards and encryption.
What it is and what it does
pypdftk is a Python wrapper around the pdftk command-line tool, exposing its PDF manipulation capabilities through a Python API. It lets you fill PDF forms with data, merge multiple PDFs, extract or rearrange pages, split documents into individual pages, apply stamps, and perform compression operations—all by calling Python functions rather than invoking pdftk directly.
The package has no Python runtime dependencies and relies entirely on pdftk being available as a system binary. It was last updated in 2021 and is now abandoned, meaning no active maintenance or bug fixes are happening. While it still works if pdftk is installed, the lack of updates means it may not handle edge cases in modern PDFs or adapt to changes in pdftk itself.
Use it for
- Batch-fill PDF forms with data from a database or spreadsheet in a web application.
- Merge generated report PDFs into a single document for distribution.
- Extract specific pages from large PDF files for selective processing or archival.
- Split a multi-page PDF into individual page files for downstream processing.
- Apply watermarks or stamps to PDFs as part of a document workflow.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes-with-conditions.
Install only if you already have pdftk running on your system and need straightforward Python bindings to its core functions. Do not install if you need active maintenance, bug fixes, or support for edge cases—the package is abandoned and has not been updated since 2021. Consider alternatives if you require modern PDF handling or plan to rely on this for production systems.
Install
pypdftk on PyPI
Before you install
High install friction: requires the pdftk binary to be installed separately on the system. Package itself has not been updated since 2021 and is marked abandoned, with no recent maintenance activity.
pdftk binary must be installed on the system separately; pypdftk is only a Python wrapper and will not function without it.
License in practice
Licensed under BSD (permissive), which allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install pypdftk
import pypdftk
# Fill a PDF form
output = pypdftk.fill_form('template.pdf', {'field_name': 'value'})
# Merge PDFs
output = pypdftk.concat(['file1.pdf', 'file2.pdf'])Verify before relying
- Whether pdftk binary is still actively maintained or available for all target operating systems.
- Compatibility with modern Python versions and current pdftk releases.
- Whether the package works reliably with contemporary PDF standards and encryption.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | High. Source build required |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 1,951 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 216,971 / month, #9,369 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaEnvironment :: Web EnvironmentIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: pypdftk-0.5.tar.gz
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “merge pdf files”
- pypdftkPython wrapper that drives the pdftk binary to fill PDF forms, merge…
- PyPDF4PyPDF4 is a pure-Python PDF toolkit for extracting document metadata,…
- PyPDF3PyPDF3 is a pure-Python PDF toolkit for extracting document…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Utilities packages
Converts domain names between Unicode and ASCII-compatible encoding (Punycode) according to IDNA 2008 and Unicode Technical Standard 46, with security validation and broader script coverage than the standard library.
Install it if you work with internationalized domain names, need to validate domains, or use HTTP clients that depend on it transitively.
Detects and normalizes text encoding from unknown or ambiguous sources, supporting all IANA character sets that Python's core library provides codecs for, with the ability to register custom codecs.
Setuptools is a Python build backend and package management tool that handles building, distributing, and installing Python packages, including support for C/C++ extension modules.
Pluggy provides a plugin system that lets you define hook specifications and register implementations to be called in sequence, enabling extensible Python applications without tight coupling.
Install it if you're building an extensible application or framework.
Pygments is a syntax highlighter that colorizes source code and text in over 500 languages and formats, outputting to HTML, LaTeX, RTF, SVG, images, or ANSI terminal sequences.
Install it if you need to display or transform source code.
Six provides utility functions to write Python code that runs on both Python 2.7 and Python 3.3+, smoothing over language differences between the two versions.
See also fillpdf · PyPDFForm · pdfrw · PyPDF3 · PyPDF4 · pdfrw2 · pdftext · pikepdf · python-documentcloud · PyPDF2