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

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

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 458.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

standard-telnetlib is a redistribution of Python's telnetlib module, which was removed from the standard library as part of PEP 594's "dead batteries" initiative. It provides a pure-Python implementation of the Telnet protocol client, allowing legacy code and projects that depend on telnetlib to continue working on modern Python versions where the module is no longer included.

The package is part of a broader archival effort to preserve removed standard library modules on PyPI. It requires no external runtime dependencies and installs with low friction. The project is intentionally dormant and minimal—it exists to maintain compatibility with existing code rather than to add features or actively develop the Telnet protocol support.

Use it for:

- Restore telnetlib imports in legacy projects migrating to newer Python versions where the module was removed
- Maintain backward compatibility in applications that use Telnet for remote device management or network diagnostics
- Provide a fallback for code that conditionally imports telnetlib when the standard library version is unavailable

## Worth the install?

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

Provides the telnetlib module removed from Python's standard library, allowing projects to maintain compatibility with code that depends on Telnet protocol client functionality.

Yes, if your project depends on telnetlib and targets Python versions where it has been removed from the standard library. The package is permissively licensed, has no external dependencies, and installs cleanly. Dormant maintenance is appropriate for an archival redistribution. Install only if you actually need Telnet protocol support; do not add it speculatively.

## Install

pip install standard-telnetlib
uv add standard-telnetlib
poetry add standard-telnetlib

## Installing standard-telnetlib

Before you install: Low friction installation with no runtime dependencies. Maintenance is dormant (653 days since last release), but the package is archived preservation work rather than active development, which is appropriate for a standard library redistribution.

License in practice: Licensed under PSF-2.0 (Python Software Foundation License), a permissive license that poses no restrictions on use or redistribution in most contexts.

Quickstart:

pip install standard-telnetlib

import telnetlib
tn = telnetlib.Telnet('example.com')

Verify before relying:

- Whether the redistributed telnetlib maintains full API compatibility with the removed standard library version
- Compatibility scope across Python versions beyond what the fact sheet specifies
- Whether telnetlib functionality works as expected in practice on modern Python versions

## Package facts

- License: PSF-2.0 (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 458.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

telnet client library, removed standard library module, python dead batteries, telnetlib redistribution, legacy telnet support, stdlib-backport, telnet

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