---
id: scylla-driver
version: "3.29.11"
license: Apache-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# scylla-driver — Scylla Driver for Apache Cassandra

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 878.3K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Scylla Driver is a production-grade Python client for Scylla Open Source and Apache Cassandra that implements the Cassandra binary protocol and CQL v3. It provides both synchronous and asynchronous APIs for executing queries, with built-in connection pooling, automatic node discovery, and configurable load-balancing and retry policies. The package includes an integrated object mapper (cqlengine) for ORM-style database interaction and supports Scylla-specific features like shard awareness and tablet awareness.

The driver targets modern Python versions (3.10–3.13 with wheels, 3.14 support declared) and runs on macOS, Linux, and Windows across multiple architectures. Installation is straightforward via pip, though it requires a compiled extension. It is actively maintained, carries no known security vulnerabilities, and is licensed permissively under Apache 2.0.

Use it for:

- Building web applications that query Cassandra or Scylla clusters with synchronous or async request patterns.
- Implementing batch data ingestion pipelines using prepared statements and batch operations.
- Creating ORM-based data models with cqlengine for object-relational mapping to CQL tables.
- Developing microservices that require automatic failover and connection pooling across distributed database nodes.
- Running concurrent database operations with configurable retry and load-balancing policies.

## Worth the install?

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

A Python client library for querying and managing Scylla and Apache Cassandra databases using the binary protocol, with support for synchronous and asynchronous operations, connection pooling, and automatic node discovery.

Yes. Scylla Driver is a stable, actively maintained, permissively licensed client for a production database. It has no known vulnerabilities, supports current Python versions, and offers both simple and advanced query patterns. Install it if you need to connect Python applications to Cassandra or Scylla; the medium install friction is typical for drivers with compiled components and is not a barrier.

## Install

pip install scylla-driver
uv add scylla-driver
poetry add scylla-driver

## Installing scylla-driver

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple platforms and Python versions (3.10–3.13 prebuilt). Active maintenance with a recent release 60 days ago and ongoing repository activity; no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: Licensed under Apache License 2.0 (permissive). You may use, modify, and distribute the package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you include the license notice and state significant changes.

Quickstart:

pip install scylla-driver

import scylla_driver

cluster = scylla_driver.Cluster(['localhost'])
session = cluster.connect()
rows = session.execute('SELECT * FROM system.local')
for row in rows:
    print(row)

Requires a running Cassandra or Scylla database instance; does not support big-endian systems.

Verify before relying:

- Exact API surface and method signatures for synchronous and asynchronous execution.
- Performance characteristics and throughput limits under typical workloads.
- Compatibility matrix details between specific driver and Cassandra/Scylla versions beyond the stated 2.1+ and 2018.1.x+ ranges.
- Shard awareness and tablet awareness feature maturity and production readiness.

## Package facts

- License: Apache-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 878.3K/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

cassandra python driver, scylla database client, cql query library, cassandra async client, distributed database driver, cassandra connection pooling, cql orm mapper, cassandra, nosql, async-io

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