---
id: spacy-legacy
version: "3.0.12"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# spacy-legacy — Legacy registered functions for spaCy backwards compatibility

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 20.7M/mo

## What it is and what it does

spacy-legacy holds outdated registered functions, model architectures, and pipeline components that have been superseded in the main library. When a configuration file references a versioned function that no longer exists in the core library, the package provides a fallback via entry points prefixed with `spacy-legacy`. The package is installed automatically as a dependency and operates transparently—direct interaction is typically unnecessary.

The design separates backwards compatibility from core library development. Instead of maintaining old function versions in the main codebase, they are moved here and exposed through entry points. This allows users with older trained models or configuration files to continue working without modification, while the core library remains focused on current versions.

Use it for:

- Loading models trained with older architectures no longer present in the current core library
- Running existing configuration files that reference deprecated function versions without modification
- Migrating to newer releases while maintaining compatibility with legacy trained models
- Supporting pipelines that must work with both legacy and current registered function versions

## Worth the install?

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

Provides legacy registered functions and model architectures for backwards compatibility with older configuration files.

Install only as an automatic dependency of its parent package—do not install directly. If using v3 with existing models or configs, this package is necessary for compatibility. However, its abandoned status since 2023-01-23 means no bug fixes or security patches will be provided. Plan to migrate legacy models to current versions when feasible.

## Install

pip install spacy-legacy
uv add spacy-legacy
poetry add spacy-legacy

## Installing spacy-legacy

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. Package is abandoned as of 2023-01-23, with 1299 days since last release, meaning no further maintenance or updates.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive, allowing commercial and private use with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

# Installed automatically as a dependency
# pip install parent-package
# No direct import needed; legacy functions are resolved automatically
# when loading models or configs that reference them

Intended as an automatic dependency, not for direct installation or use

Verify before relying:

- Whether this package is still actively required by current versions of its parent dependency
- Compatibility with Python versions beyond 3.9 (classifiers only list through 3.9)

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 20.7M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

legacy functions backwards compatibility, deprecated model architectures, config fallback resolution, versioned function registry, legacy pipeline components, old function versions, backwards-compatibility, legacy-support

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