stevedore
Manage dynamic plugins for Python applications
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Stevedore is a mature, actively maintained library (Production/Stable, released 2026-07-02) with zero known vulnerabilities, no runtime dependencies, and low install friction. It is widely used (top 1000 on PyPI) and solves a real problem—plugin discovery and loading—that most applications either need or will need. The Apache-2.0 license is permissive. Install it if your application needs to support dynamic extensions or if you are building a framework intended for third-party plugins.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.11 or later.
- Plugins must be registered as setuptools entry points in the calling application's setup.py or pyproject.toml.
- Low friction install with no runtime dependencies.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 (permissive) allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects.
last release 2026-07-02 (43 days)
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 38,594,183 downloads/mo, #713 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install stevedore
from stevedore import driver
mgr = driver.DriverManager(
namespace='myapp.plugins',
name='my_plugin',
invoke_on_load=True,
)- Whether stevedore's manager classes cover all common plugin patterns or require custom logic for specialized use cases.
- Performance characteristics when loading large numbers of plugins or in resource-constrained environments.
What it is and what it does
Stevedore is a plugin management library that abstracts away the boilerplate of working with setuptools entry points. Instead of writing repetitive code to discover, import, and instantiate plugins, you use stevedore's manager classes—such as DriverManager, NamedExtensionManager, or ExtensionManager—to handle the discovery and loading lifecycle. It sits on top of setuptools' entry point mechanism, so plugins are declared declaratively in your package metadata rather than hardcoded.
The library is designed for applications that need to be extended at runtime by third-party or user-provided code. Common use cases include CLI tools that load subcommands, frameworks that support pluggable backends, and systems where behavior is configured through installed packages. Stevedore reduces the friction of implementing a plugin system by providing well-tested patterns and a clean API, avoiding the need to reinvent entry-point handling in every project.
Use it for
- Build a CLI tool where subcommands are discovered and loaded from installed packages via entry points.
- Implement a web framework or service that loads pluggable backends (e.g., database drivers, authentication handlers) at startup.
- Create an application where users can extend functionality by installing third-party packages without modifying core code.
- Manage multiple implementations of an interface and select one at runtime based on configuration or availability.
- Develop a testing framework that auto-discovers and loads test plugins from the environment.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Stevedore is a mature, actively maintained library (Production/Stable, released 2026-07-02) with zero known vulnerabilities, no runtime dependencies, and low install friction. It is widely used (top 1000 on PyPI) and solves a real problem—plugin discovery and loading—that most applications either need or will need. The Apache-2.0 license is permissive. Install it if your application needs to support dynamic extensions or if you are building a framework intended for third-party plugins.
Install
stevedore on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction install with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained as of 43 days ago and marked Production/Stable. Supports current Python versions (3.11–3.14) with type hints.
Requires Python 3.11 or later. Plugins must be registered as setuptools entry points in the calling application's setup.py or pyproject.toml.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 (permissive) allows commercial and private use with minimal restrictions; suitable for most projects.
Quickstart
pip install stevedore
from stevedore import driver
mgr = driver.DriverManager(
namespace='myapp.plugins',
name='my_plugin',
invoke_on_load=True,
)Verify before relying
- Whether stevedore's manager classes cover all common plugin patterns or require custom logic for specialized use cases.
- Performance characteristics when loading large numbers of plugins or in resource-constrained environments.
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.11 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 43 days since the last release |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 38,594,183 / month, #713 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Typing :: Typed |
Evidence: stevedore-5.9.0-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “dynamic plugin loading”
- stevedoreStevedore manages dynamic plugin loading for Python applications by…
- lmllml provides a lazy plugin management system that discovers and loads…
- pluginbasePluginBase provides a framework for building plugin systems in…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Application Frameworks packages
FastAPI is a Python web framework for building REST APIs using type hints, with automatic request validation, serialization, and interactive API documentation.
Provides a way to document function parameters, class attributes, return types, and variables inline using Python's `Annotated` type hint syntax instead of traditional docstrings.
Textual is a Python framework for building cross-platform user interfaces that run in the terminal or web browser using a modern, component-based API.
Install it if you're developing CLI tools, dashboards, or interactive terminal applications.
Typer builds command-line applications from Python functions using type hints, automatically generating help text, argument parsing, and shell completion.
Install it if you are building CLIs in Python.
Build and connect to Model Context Protocol servers that expose tools, resources, and prompts to LLM applications over stdio, HTTP, or SSE transports.
Install it if you need to build or connect to servers.
Werkzeug is a WSGI utility library providing request/response objects, URL routing, an interactive debugger, HTTP utilities, and a development server for building web applications.
See also cliff · entrypoints · lml · plux · pluginlib · pluginbase · click-plugins · phx-class-registry · napari-plugin-engine · plugincode