pythonvCard4

What it is and what it does

pythonvCard4 is a vCard 4.0 parser and generator that implements RFC 6350, letting you create, read, and modify contact information in the standard .vcf file format. It wraps vCard data—names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, URLs, photos, and custom fields—into Python Contact objects, and serializes them back to compliant vCard text. The library handles inline image embedding with Base64 encoding, extension properties via custom fields, and claims full round-trip fidelity including proper folding and escaping per the RFC.

The package has no runtime dependencies and installs as a pure Python wheel, making it lightweight to add to any project. However, it is very new (first released 2025-04-26 with no updates since) and has minimal adoption signal, so production use should account for the possibility of undiscovered bugs or missing edge-case handling.

Use it for:

• Build contact management tools that import and export vCard files for interoperability with email clients and address books
• Parse existing .vcf files to extract and manipulate contact data programmatically within Python
• Generate vCard files from a database or web form to share contact information in a portable, standards-compliant format
• Embed photos in vCard files by specifying a path and letting the library handle Base64 encoding automatically

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Parse and generate RFC 6350-compliant vCard 4.0 files, converting between Contact objects and .vcf text with support for names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, photos, and custom fields.

Yes, if you need RFC 6350 vCard 4.0 support and can tolerate early-stage software. The package is permissively licensed, has no dependencies, and covers the core vCard use cases. However, verify that it handles your specific vCard features and edge cases before relying on it in production, given its minimal history and adoption.

Install

pythonvcard4 on PyPI

pip install pythonvcard4

uv add pythonvcard4

poetry add pythonvcard4

Installing pythonvCard4

Before you install

Low friction—pure Python wheel with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance status is aging: the package was first released on 2025-04-26 and has not been updated since, with only 3 repository stars and minimal community signal.

License in practice

MIT License permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions, making it suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.

Quickstart

pip install pythonvCard4

from datetime import date
from pythonvCard4.vcard import Contact

c = Contact(
    fn="Jane Doe",
    n=["Doe","Jane","","",""],
    email=[{"value": "jane@example.com", "type": ["work"]}],
    tel=[{"value": "+1234567890", "type": ["cell"]}],
    bday=date(1990, 5, 15)
)
vcf_text = c.to_vcard()
print(vcf_text)

Verify before relying

• Whether round-trip fidelity and RFC 6350 compliance have been tested against real-world vCard files and edge cases
• Whether photo embedding and Base64 encoding work reliably with various image formats and sizes
• Community adoption and bug-fix responsiveness given the minimal star count and recent-only release history

Package facts

Evidence: pythonvcard4-0.2.0-py3-none-any.whl

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