---
id: snakemake-interface-common
version: "1.23.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: unclear
maintenance: active
---

# snakemake-interface-common — Common functions and classes for Snakemake and its plugins

License: unclear · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.2M/mo

## What it is and what it does

snakemake-interface-common is a support library that defines the contract between Snakemake and its plugin ecosystem. It exports shared interfaces, utility functions, and data structures that plugins use to integrate with the Snakemake workflow engine. Rather than a tool you use directly, it is a foundation layer that plugin developers depend on to ensure their extensions work correctly with Snakemake.

The package is lightweight—it pulls in only three common runtime dependencies (argparse-dataclass, ConfigArgParse, packaging)—and is distributed as a pure Python wheel. It supports Python 3.8 and later, and has been actively maintained through March 2026. The package is part of the broader Snakemake ecosystem and sits in the top 5000 PyPI packages by download volume.

Use it for:

- Developing a Snakemake plugin that needs to conform to the standard plugin interface contract.
- Building custom executors, storage backends, or other Snakemake extensions that require shared utility classes.
- Ensuring compatibility between your plugin code and the Snakemake workflow engine's expected interfaces.

## Worth the install?

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

Provides shared interfaces, utilities, and data structures for Snakemake and its plugin ecosystem, enabling consistent communication between the workflow engine and third-party extensions.

Yes, if you are developing a Snakemake plugin or extension. If you are a Snakemake end user, you do not need to install this directly—it will be pulled in as a transitive dependency. Before adopting it in a proprietary project, verify the actual license, as the metadata does not declare one.

## Install

pip install snakemake-interface-common
uv add snakemake-interface-common
poetry add snakemake-interface-common

## Installing snakemake-interface-common

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Actively maintained as of March 2026, with three lightweight runtime dependencies (argparse-dataclass, ConfigArgParse, packaging) that are themselves widely used.

License in practice: License status is unclear—no SPDX identifier or raw license text is available in the package metadata. Verify the actual license terms before adopting this package in proprietary or restricted-license projects.

Quickstart:

pip install snakemake-interface-common

from snakemake_interface_common import <interface_or_utility>
# Use shared classes or functions for plugin development

Requires Python 3.8 or later; intended primarily for Snakemake plugin developers rather than end users.

Verify before relying:

- What specific interfaces, classes, or utilities does this package export for plugin developers?
- Is this package intended for direct use or only as a dependency of Snakemake plugins?
- What is the actual license under which this package is distributed?

## Package facts

- License: not declared (unclear)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.2M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

snakemake plugin interface, snakemake common utilities, workflow engine plugin framework, snakemake extension api, shared snakemake interfaces, snakemake-ecosystem, plugin-framework

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/snakemake-interface-common) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/snakemake-interface-common/)