---
id: pysentry-rs
version: "0.4.9"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# pysentry-rs — Security vulnerability auditing tool for Python packages

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 99.2K/mo

## What it is and what it does

PySentry is a command-line vulnerability scanner for Python projects built on a Rust core. It reads your dependency manifest or lock file (supporting formats like uv.lock, poetry.lock, Pipfile.lock, pyproject.toml, requirements.txt, and others), resolves the full dependency tree, and checks every package against three vulnerability databases concurrently. It then reports what is affected, how severe it is, and what upgrade fixes it.

The tool is designed for CI pipelines and local development. It distinguishes direct from transitive dependencies, flags archived or deprecated packages, and supports multiple output formats (human-readable, JSON, SARIF, Markdown). You can set exit thresholds by severity, forbid known malicious packages, and integrate it into pre-commit hooks or GitHub Actions. It has no runtime Python dependencies and comes with pre-built binaries for common platforms.

Use it for:

- Audit a Python project in CI before deployment to catch known vulnerabilities early and fail the build if critical issues are found
- Scan a requirements.txt or pyproject.toml file locally to identify outdated or vulnerable dependencies before committing
- Generate a SARIF report for GitHub Code Scanning to track vulnerabilities alongside other code quality checks
- Integrate into a pre-commit hook to prevent commits that introduce known vulnerable packages
- Reject packages flagged as malicious or quarantined by using --forbid-quarantined in your build pipeline

## Worth the install?

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

PySentry scans Python projects for known security vulnerabilities by reading dependency manifests and lock files, checking them against multiple vulnerability databases, and reporting findings with severity levels and upgrade paths.

Yes. PySentry is actively maintained, has no runtime dependencies, supports modern Python versions (3.9–3.14), and addresses a real security need with a straightforward CLI. The MIT license is permissive. Medium install friction is acceptable given the pre-built wheels and active development. Use it if you want a fast, multi-database vulnerability scanner for Python dependencies.

## Install

pip install pysentry-rs
uv add pysentry-rs
poetry add pysentry-rs

## Installing pysentry-rs

Before you install: Medium install friction due to pre-built wheels for multiple Python versions (3.9–3.14) and platforms. Active maintenance with a release 15 days ago and regular commits. No runtime dependencies simplifies deployment.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.

Quickstart:

pip install pysentry-rs
pysentry-rs
# or scan a specific project:
pysentry-rs /path/to/project
# report only high and critical findings:
pysentry-rs --severity high

Requires Python 3.9 or later. For scanning manifests without a lock file (requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, Pipfile), uv or pip-tools must be installed separately.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the three databases (PyPA Advisory, PyPI JSON API, OSV.dev) are queried with equal coverage or if one is more complete than others
- Performance characteristics on projects with very large dependency trees
- How frequently the local cache is refreshed and whether it can be manually cleared

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 99.2K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

python dependency vulnerability scanner, security audit python packages, CVE detection for python projects, dependency vulnerability checker, python security scanning tool, lock file vulnerability audit, python package security auditor, vulnerability-scanning, ci-integration, dependency-audit

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