---
id: python-xmp-toolkit
version: "2.1.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# python-xmp-toolkit — XMP I/O wrapping Exempi

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 97.7K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Python XMP Toolkit is a ctypes wrapper around Exempi, a C/C++ library for working with XMP metadata. It allows you to read and write XMP metadata embedded in various file formats. The library is developed by ESA/Hubble, ESO, and CRS4, and it ties Python code to Adobe's XMP standard through Exempi, ensuring that XMP standard updates can be incorporated with minimal effort.

The package depends only on pytz at runtime and installs as a pure Python wheel, but it requires the Exempi C library to be present on your system to function. The codebase has been stable since its first release in 2012, though releases are infrequent; the repository remains active and the package is marked as production-stable.

Use it for:

- Extract metadata from image files in batch processing workflows.
- Embed or update XMP tags in photos during digital asset management operations.
- Read custom XMP properties from documents to integrate metadata into cataloging systems.
- Automate metadata synchronization between XMP-aware applications and external systems.
- Validate XMP metadata in media archives or publishing workflows.

## Worth the install?

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

Read and write XMP metadata in image and document files by wrapping the Exempi C library through ctypes.

Yes, if you need XMP metadata access and Exempi is available on your system. The package is stable, permissively licensed, and has low install friction. However, the aging maintenance status (261 days since last release) and the hard dependency on a native C library mean you should verify Exempi availability in your deployment environment and confirm Python version compatibility before committing to it in production.

## Install

pip install python-xmp-toolkit
uv add python-xmp-toolkit
poetry add python-xmp-toolkit

## Installing python-xmp-toolkit

Before you install: Low friction installation with a single runtime dependency (pytz). The package is marked as aging—last release was 261 days ago—but the repository remains active with a recent commit on 2025-11-26, suggesting maintenance is sporadic rather than abandoned.

License in practice: Licensed under a permissive BSD license, allowing use in both open-source and proprietary projects without copyleft obligations.

Quickstart:

pip install python-xmp-toolkit

import python_xmp_toolkit
# See documentation at python-xmp-toolkit.readthedocs.org for usage examples

Requires Exempi (a C/C++ library) to be installed on the system; the Python package is a ctypes wrapper and cannot function without the underlying native library.

Verify before relying:

- Which file formats are supported for XMP metadata reading and writing.
- Whether the package works with modern Python versions (requires_python is unspecified).
- Current test coverage and whether the test suite passes on recent Python releases.
- Specific API methods and usage patterns for reading and writing metadata.

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 97.7K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

XMP metadata reader writer, image metadata extraction, XMP toolkit python, read write XMP tags, multimedia metadata handling, exempi python wrapper, photo metadata library, metadata-extraction, ctypes-wrapper, xmp-standard

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/python-xmp-toolkit) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/python-xmp-toolkit/)