---
id: rsa
version: "4.9.1"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# rsa — Pure-Python RSA implementation

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Popularity: top 1,000 on PyPI

## Install

pip install rsa
uv add rsa
poetry add rsa

## Description

# Python-RSA has been archived

Hi folks,

I'm Sybren, one of the original authors and the maintainer of this project.
Unfortunately I don't have the time and brain space left to properly maintain
Python-RSA. As you can see from the lack of activity on the open issues, and the
lack of commits, that has been the case for a while now.

As Python-RSA is included as a dependency in quite a few high-profile projects,
I don't feel comfortable handing over the project to someone else. It's just too
big of a risk.

Thanks for having used this little library for so long, and in so many projects.
I truely didn't expect that when I started working on it. Also big thanks to all
the people helping out and improving the project.

There are improvements that haven't made it into a new release. As I said, I
don't have the time and the brain space to really investigate and oversee the
security impact of all those changes. It's not a decision I've made lightly.

So that's it. If you want to keep the project alive, please fork it. Give it the
love it deserves, investigate those yet-unreleased improvements, and have a
project that's then already better than how I left this...

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

Pure-Python RSA implementation supporting encryption, decryption, signing, and key generation according to PKCS#1 version 1.5, usable as a library and command-line tool.

Verdict: A stable, widely-used pure-Python RSA library suitable for non-critical cryptographic tasks, but now archived with no active maintenance. The maintainer explicitly declined to hand over the project due to security risk, and unreviewed improvements remain unreleased. Consider alternatives if you need active security oversight; use rsa only where the lack of ongoing maintenance is acceptable.

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