---
id: standard-aifc
version: "3.13.0"
license: PSF-2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# standard-aifc — Standard library aifc redistribution. "dead battery".

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 3.9M/mo

## What it is and what it does

standard-aifc is a pure-Python redistribution of the aifc module that Python removed from its standard library as part of PEP 594's "dead batteries" initiative. The aifc module reads and writes audio interchange files, a format used primarily in legacy audio workflows. It depends on standard-chunk and audioop-lts, both also removed standard library modules now available as redistributions.

This package is intended for projects that still depend on aifc after its removal from the standard library. The repository explicitly states it provides only minimal compatibility support and is not actively developed—it serves as an archive of the removed code rather than an actively maintained audio library. If you need aifc for legacy code migration or maintaining older projects, this provides a path forward; for new audio work, you should consider actively maintained alternatives.

Use it for:

- Migrating legacy Python code that imports aifc after upgrading to Python 3.13 or later.
- Maintaining older projects that read or write AIFF audio files without rewriting audio handling logic.
- Providing aifc as a dependency when you cannot modify upstream code that relies on the standard library version.

## Worth the install?

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

Provides the aifc module, a pure-Python redistribution of Python's removed standard library for reading and writing audio interchange files.

Yes, if you have legacy code that depends on aifc and you cannot refactor it to use an alternative audio library. Install it as a drop-in replacement for the removed standard library module. No, if you are starting new audio work—seek actively maintained audio libraries instead. The package is stable but dormant, so expect no new features or active maintenance.

## Install

pip install standard-aifc
uv add standard-aifc
poetry add standard-aifc

## Installing standard-aifc

Before you install: Low install friction with a wheel distribution. Maintenance is dormant—the latest release was 2024-10-30 and the repository remains unarchived. This is intentional: the package is designed as a minimal archive of removed standard library code with very limited compatibility support.

License in practice: Licensed under PSF-2.0 (Python Software Foundation License), a permissive license. No restrictions on use, modification, or distribution for your own projects.

Quickstart:

pip install standard-aifc

import aifc

with aifc.open('file.aiff', 'rb') as f:
    frames = f.readframes(f.getnframes())

Verify before relying:

- Whether aifc works correctly on Python 3.13 (the package version targets 3.13.0 but no recent test results are documented).
- Compatibility with modern audio formats and whether this module meets current use cases or is primarily for legacy code migration.

## Package facts

- License: PSF-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 3.9M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

aifc audio file format, python removed stdlib, dead battery redistribution, audio interchange file, pep 594 standard library, aifc module python, legacy audio support, legacy-stdlib, audio-format

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