python-frontmatter
Parse and manage posts with YAML (or other) frontmatter
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Low install friction, no security vulnerabilities, MIT license, active maintenance, and a single stable dependency make this a safe choice. Install it if you work with front-matter-delimited documents (Jekyll posts, static site content, or similar). Skip it only if your workflow doesn't involve parsing metadata-prefixed text files.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (pyyaml).
- Active maintenance with a recent release (86 days ago) and 427 repository stars.
License · maintenance · safety
MIT (permissive) — MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with only attribution required—no restrictions on commercial or proprietary use.
last release 2026-05-20 (86 days) · last repo commit 2026-05-20 · 427 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 19,580,081 downloads/mo, #1,060 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import frontmatter
post = frontmatter.load('document.txt')
print(post['title']) # access metadata
print(post.content) # access body content
# Or parse from text:
metadata, content = frontmatter.parse(text)- Whether JSON, TOML, and other front matter formats are equally well-supported or if YAML is the primary use case
- Performance characteristics when processing large files or batch operations
What it is and what it does
Python Frontmatter is a lightweight parser for documents that combine structured metadata (front matter) with body content, separated by delimiters. It reads files or text containing YAML (or other format) metadata blocks followed by content, and exposes them as separate, easily accessible objects—metadata as a dictionary and content as a string. The package handles common workflows: loading from files or file-like objects, parsing raw text, accessing metadata fields as dictionary keys, modifying metadata, and writing the combined document back to text or file format.
It's built for static site generators, documentation systems, and any workflow where you need to attach structured metadata to plain-text documents. The single runtime dependency is pyyaml, and it supports Python 3.10 and later. The package is actively maintained and has been stable since its early releases.
Use it for
- Parse Jekyll or Hugo blog posts that use YAML front matter for metadata like title, date, and tags
- Extract and modify document metadata in static site generators or documentation pipelines
- Build content management workflows where metadata and body are stored together in plain text
- Process Markdown files with structured headers for automation or indexing
- Strip and rewrite front matter in batch document transformations
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Low install friction, no security vulnerabilities, MIT license, active maintenance, and a single stable dependency make this a safe choice. Install it if you work with front-matter-delimited documents (Jekyll posts, static site content, or similar). Skip it only if your workflow doesn't involve parsing metadata-prefixed text files.
Install
python-frontmatter on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with a single runtime dependency (pyyaml). Active maintenance with a recent release (86 days ago) and 427 repository stars.
License in practice
MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with only attribution required—no restrictions on commercial or proprietary use.
Quickstart
import frontmatter
post = frontmatter.load('document.txt')
print(post['title']) # access metadata
print(post.content) # access body content
# Or parse from text:
metadata, content = frontmatter.parse(text)Verify before relying
- Whether JSON, TOML, and other front matter formats are equally well-supported or if YAML is the primary use case
- Performance characteristics when processing large files or batch operations
Package facts
| License | MIT permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagepyyaml |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 86 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 19,580,081 / month, #1,060 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersNatural Language :: EnglishProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13 |
Evidence: python_frontmatter-1.3.0-py3-none-any.whl
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