---
id: ssm-parameter-store
version: "19.11.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# ssm-parameter-store — Simple Python wrapper for getting values from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 145.1K/mo

## What it is and what it does

This package wraps boto3 to simplify fetching parameters from AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store. Instead of writing boto3 client code directly, you instantiate EC2ParameterStore and call methods like get_parameter(), get_parameters(), or get_parameters_by_path() to retrieve values as dictionaries. It handles credential lookup via boto3's standard mechanisms and supports optional decryption of SecureString parameters.

The package is designed for applications that store configuration and secrets in AWS Parameter Store and need a lightweight Python interface. It can populate environment variables for integration with libraries like django-environ, making it useful for Django deployments or any app that reads config from os.environ. However, the package has been abandoned since late 2019 with no updates since, so it carries maintenance risk if boto3 or AWS APIs change significantly.

Use it for:

- Fetch Django configuration secrets from AWS Parameter Store and populate environment variables for django-environ.
- Retrieve database credentials and connection strings organized by path hierarchy (e.g., /prod/db/) for application startup.
- Load all parameters under a path prefix (e.g., /dev/) to populate a config dictionary at runtime.
- Decrypt SecureString parameters from Parameter Store in a Python application running on EC2 or Lambda.
- Centralize environment-specific configuration (dev, staging, prod) in Parameter Store and fetch it by path.

## Worth the install?

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

Wrapper for AWS Systems Manager Parameter Store that retrieves configuration values and secrets as Python dictionaries, supporting single parameters, multiple parameters, or path-based queries.

Yes, if you need a lightweight wrapper for Parameter Store and can tolerate abandoned status. The package has low install friction and no known vulnerabilities, but expect no maintenance or updates. If you require active support or are starting a new project, consider using boto3 directly or evaluating actively maintained alternatives. For existing codebases already using it, the risk is low as long as boto3 remains compatible.

## Install

pip install ssm-parameter-store
uv add ssm-parameter-store
poetry add ssm-parameter-store

## Installing ssm-parameter-store

Before you install: Low install friction with a single runtime dependency (boto3). Package is abandoned as of 2019-11-06 with no commits since 2023-05-04, so expect no maintenance or security updates.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive; you can use this package freely in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install ssm-parameter-store

from ssm_parameter_store import EC2ParameterStore

store = EC2ParameterStore(region_name='us-west-2')
parameter = store.get_parameter('param1', decrypt=True)

AWS credentials must be configured (via environment variables, IAM role, or explicit parameters); boto3 will use standard AWS credential lookup.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions beyond 3.7, given classifiers list only up to 3.7.
- Current compatibility with recent boto3 versions and whether any breaking changes in boto3 affect this wrapper.
- Whether the abandoned status and lack of maintenance pose practical risks for production use cases.

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 145.1K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

aws parameter store python, ssm parameter retrieval, aws secrets management, boto3 parameter wrapper, configuration store client, aws systems manager python, environment variable from ssm, aws-integration, configuration-management, secrets-retrieval

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