---
id: pyqwest
version: "0.9.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pyqwest — A modern, high-performance HTTP client for Python and Rust.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 2.7M/mo

## What it is and what it does

pyqwest is a Python HTTP client that delegates core HTTP functionality to the Rust reqwest library (which uses hyper), while exposing a fully-typed, Pythonic API. It supports both async (Client) and sync (SyncClient) usage patterns, and covers the full HTTP feature set including HTTP/2, HTTP/3, bidirectional streaming, and trailers. The package is built as a Rust extension, giving it the performance and stability characteristics of the Rust HTTP stack without requiring developers to write Rust code.

The package targets modern Python versions (3.10–3.14) and publishes prebuilt wheels for macOS, Linux, and Windows. It has a single runtime dependency on opentelemetry-api. The project is actively maintained and has no known security vulnerabilities. It is positioned as an alternative to pure-Python HTTP clients like httpx and aiohttp, with preliminary benchmarks suggesting competitive or superior performance in async scenarios.

Use it for:

- Building async web scrapers or API clients that need HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 support without managing protocol complexity.
- Migrating from httpx to a faster HTTP client while keeping the same application logic via the HTTPX adapter.
- Applications requiring bidirectional streaming or HTTP trailers for advanced server communication patterns.
- Projects where HTTP client performance is a measurable bottleneck and pure-Python implementations are insufficient.
- Sync applications needing modern HTTP features with the performance of a compiled HTTP stack.

## Worth the install?

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

A Python HTTP client wrapping the Rust reqwest library, providing async and sync interfaces with support for HTTP/2, HTTP/3, bidirectional streaming, and trailers.

Yes, with conditions. Install if you need modern HTTP features (HTTP/2, HTTP/3, streaming) and are willing to accept medium install friction (Rust build requirement on some platforms). The package is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, and offers permissive licensing. Not recommended if you require a pure-Python HTTP client or are restricted to Python versions below 3.10.

## Install

pip install pyqwest
uv add pyqwest
poetry add pyqwest

## Installing pyqwest

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled Rust components, but wheels are published for Python 3.10–3.14 across macOS, Linux (x86_64 and aarch64), and Windows. The package is actively maintained with a recent release (4 days old) and no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: Licensed under MIT (permissive), allowing free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

import pyqwest

client = pyqwest.Client()
response = await client.get("https://example.com")
print(len(response.content))

Requires Python 3.10 or later. For platforms without prebuilt wheels, Rust must be installed to build from source.

Verify before relying:

- Whether opentelemetry-api is a required runtime dependency or an optional instrumentation feature.
- Full API surface and whether all HTTP/3 features are production-ready or still experimental.
- Stability guarantees given the Beta development status (Development Status :: 4).

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 2.7M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

http client python async, rust-backed http library, http/2 http/3 client, bidirectional streaming http, high-performance http requests, reqwest python binding, modern http client, rust-backed, async-first, http-protocol

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