---
id: sttable
version: "0.0.1"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# sttable — Parser of string representation tables

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 439.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

sttable is a lightweight parser that converts ASCII-style string tables into structured Python data. It accepts pipe-delimited text with headers and rows, then exposes the parsed content as a list of dictionaries (one per row) or as a dictionary of lists (one per column). The package has no runtime dependencies and installs cleanly on Python 3.7 and later.

The primary use case is converting human-readable table text—such as documentation examples, test fixtures, or CLI output—into machine-readable form. It is designed for simple, well-formed tables. Given that the project is abandoned with no updates since 2022-12-08, it should be treated as a stable but unmaintained utility.

Use it for:

- Convert documentation examples or README tables into test data without manual dict construction
- Parse tabular CLI output or log output into structured records for analysis
- Build fixtures for unit tests that need to validate table-like data structures
- Extract data from simple ASCII art tables in configuration files or reports

## Worth the install?

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

Parses string-formatted tables (with pipe-delimited columns and headers) into Python dictionaries accessible by row or by column.

Yes, if you need a simple, zero-dependency table parser for small, well-formed ASCII tables in a non-critical context. The permissive MIT license and low install friction make it low-risk. However, the abandoned maintenance status means no bug fixes or Python version updates will arrive—install only if you can tolerate a static dependency.

## Install

pip install sttable
uv add sttable
poetry add sttable

## Installing sttable

Before you install: Low install friction with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is abandoned—last commit was 2022-12-08 and no releases since 2019-11-23.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive and poses no restrictions on commercial or private use, modification, or redistribution.

Quickstart:

pip install sttable

from sttable import parse_table

table_text = "header_1st_col | header_2nd_col |\nrow_1_of_1st_col | row_1_of_2nd_col |"
rows = parse_table(table_text)  # Returns list of dicts by row

Verify before relying:

- Whether the parser handles edge cases like escaped pipes, multi-line cell content, or varying column widths
- Performance characteristics with large tables
- Actual compatibility with Python versions beyond 3.8 despite 'supports_current' classifier

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 439.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

parse string tables, pipe-delimited table parser, text table to dict, table string parsing, column row extraction, ascii table parser, text-parsing, table-extraction

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