---
id: pythena
version: "1.6.0"
license: Mozilla Public License Version 2.0
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: abandoned
---

# pythena — A simple athena wrapper leveraging boto3 to execute queries and return results while only requiring a database and a query string.

License: copyleft · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 151.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Pythena is a thin wrapper around boto3 that simplifies querying AWS Athena by handling the boilerplate of setting up clients, managing S3 result storage, and parsing query responses into pandas DataFrames. You provide a database name and SQL query; the package executes it against Athena and returns results as a DataFrame, optionally managing S3 cleanup or running queries asynchronously.

The package depends on pandas for DataFrame output, boto3 and botocore for AWS API access, and retrying for automatic retry logic. It requires AWS credentials to be configured beforehand (typically via aws cli). The main trade-off is simplicity: it handles the common case well but is no longer maintained, so it may not support newer Athena features or handle API changes introduced after 2020.

Use it for:

- Execute Athena queries from a Python script and receive results as a pandas DataFrame for immediate analysis.
- Run Athena queries asynchronously and poll for results later using execution IDs.
- List all databases and tables in your Glue catalog without writing raw boto3 code.
- Save Athena query results to a specific S3 location instead of relying on default temporary storage.

## Worth the install?

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

Pythena wraps AWS Athena queries in a Python interface that returns results as pandas DataFrames, requiring only a database name and SQL query string.

No. While pythena has low install friction and no known vulnerabilities, it is abandoned (last release 2020-09-15, last commit 2020-10-22). AWS Athena and boto3 have evolved since then, and the package will not receive updates for breaking changes or new features. For new projects, use boto3 directly or a maintained Athena wrapper; for existing projects already using pythena, consider migrating to avoid future compatibility issues.

## Install

pip install pythena
uv add pythena
poetry add pythena

## Installing pythena

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel and four common dependencies (pandas, boto3, botocore, retrying). However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2020-09-15 and last commit 2020-10-22—so it will not receive bug fixes or updates for modern AWS API changes.

License in practice: Licensed under Mozilla Public License Version 2.0 (copyleft). You may use and modify the code, but any modifications must be released under the same license if distributed.

Quickstart:

pip install pythena

import pythena
athena_client = pythena.Athena("mydatabase")
df = athena_client.execute("select * from mytable")

AWS credentials must be configured via aws cli (aws configure) or boto3 session before use.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works with current AWS Athena API versions given its 2020 last update.
- Python version compatibility—requires_python is unspecified in the fact sheet.
- Whether dependencies (boto3, botocore) have breaking changes since the package's last release.

## Package facts

- License: Mozilla Public License Version 2.0 (copyleft)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 151.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

aws athena python wrapper, query athena from python, athena to pandas dataframe, boto3 athena client, aws athena sql interface, aws-integration, abandoned

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