pyprojroot
Project-oriented workflow in Python
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you work in data science or research with Jupyter notebooks and project-oriented workflows. The package is small, stable, and solves a real pain point. However, the abandoned maintenance status means you should treat it as a utility you own—no updates will arrive if Python or your environment changes significantly. For new projects, verify that the root-detection markers (like .git) align with your project structure.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.7 or later.
- Project root detection relies on finding markers like .git, .here, or pyproject.toml in a parent directory.
- Low friction install with a single runtime dependency (typing-extensions).
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT license (permissive) means you can use this freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
last release 2023-03-13 (1250 days) · last repo commit 2023-03-23 · 166 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 348,381 downloads/mo, #7,340 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install pyprojroot
from pyprojroot.here import here
path = here('data/myfile.csv')- Whether the package correctly detects project roots in monorepo or nested project structures.
- Performance impact when called repeatedly in tight loops or on deeply nested directory trees.
- Compatibility with modern Python versions (3.11+) given the abandoned maintenance status.
What it is and what it does
pyprojroot solves the working-directory problem in data science and research workflows: when you run scripts from different directories or use Jupyter notebooks (which change the working directory to the notebook's location), relative file paths break. This package finds your project root by looking for markers like .git, .here, or pyproject.toml, then provides a `here()` function that returns a pathlib.Path object for any file relative to that root. You call `here('data/myfile.csv')` instead of `../data/myfile.csv`, and the path stays valid no matter where you run the code from.
The package has two interfaces: an interactive `here()` function (inspired by the R `here` package) for quick use in notebooks, and a programmatic `find_root()` API (inspired by R's `rprojroot`) for more control over how the root is detected. It depends only on typing-extensions and installs with minimal friction. However, the project is abandoned—last updated in March 2023—so it receives no new features or maintenance, though the core functionality is stable.
Use it for
- Access data files in Jupyter notebooks without rewriting paths when you move notebooks between folders.
- Write scripts that work correctly whether called from the project root or from a subdirectory.
- Build reproducible workflows where file paths are absolute from project root, not relative to script location.
- Manage projects with nested folder structures (data/, notebooks/, src/) without hardcoding relative paths.
- Avoid path-related bugs when refactoring project structure—only data location changes require path updates.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you work in data science or research with Jupyter notebooks and project-oriented workflows.
The package is small, stable, and solves a real pain point. However, the abandoned maintenance status means you should treat it as a utility you own—no updates will arrive if Python or your environment changes significantly. For new projects, verify that the root-detection markers (like .git) align with your project structure.
Install
pyprojroot on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with a single runtime dependency (typing-extensions). Maintenance is abandoned—last release was 2023-03-13, over 1250 days ago—so expect no bug fixes or updates, though the package is stable for its narrow scope.
Requires Python 3.7 or later. Project root detection relies on finding markers like .git, .here, or pyproject.toml in a parent directory.
License in practice
MIT license (permissive) means you can use this freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install pyprojroot
from pyprojroot.here import here
path = here('data/myfile.csv')Verify before relying
- Whether the package correctly detects project roots in monorepo or nested project structures.
- Performance impact when called repeatedly in tight loops or on deeply nested directory trees.
- Compatibility with modern Python versions (3.11+) given the abandoned maintenance status.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.7 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagetyping-extensions |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 1,250 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 348,381 / month, #7,340 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 |
Evidence: pyprojroot-0.3.0-py3-none-any.whl
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 › “relative paths from project root”
- pyprojrootFinds your project's root directory and provides a `here()` function…
- rootutilsFinds your project root directory and configures Python path, working…
- pyrootutilsFinds your project root directory and configures Python paths,…
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 nbsphinx-link · ipynb · xdg-base-dirs · ipynbname · pyrootutils · xdg · rootutils · importnb · PyPowerStore · locate