---
id: tablib
version: "3.10.0"
license: MIT License
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# tablib — Format agnostic tabular data library (XLS, JSON, YAML, CSV, etc.)

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 4.9M/mo

## What it is and what it does

Tablib is a Python library that lets you work with tabular data in a format-agnostic way. You build a dataset once using a simple API, then export it to any of a dozen formats—Excel, JSON, YAML, CSV, HTML, LaTeX, TSV, ODS, DBF, SQL, Jira, or Pandas DataFrames—without rewriting your code for each format. It has no runtime dependencies, making it lightweight to install.

The library is designed for developers who need to move data between systems or generate reports in multiple formats. It's been in production use since its early releases, is actively maintained, and supports modern Python versions. The MIT license places no restrictions on commercial or private use.

Use it for:

- Export application data to Excel, CSV, or JSON for reporting or data analysis workflows
- Convert between tabular formats (e.g., CSV to JSON or YAML) in data pipelines
- Generate Jira or LaTeX tables from in-memory datasets for documentation or issue tracking
- Serialize tabular data to multiple formats from a single dataset object
- Build data export features into web applications without format-specific logic

## Worth the install?

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

Tablib converts tabular data between multiple formats (Excel, JSON, YAML, CSV, HTML, LaTeX, TSV, ODS, DBF, SQL, Jira, and Pandas DataFrames) without requiring format-specific code.

Yes. Tablib is a stable, actively maintained library with zero dependencies, a permissive license, no known vulnerabilities, and broad format support. Install it if you need to work with tabular data across multiple output formats or move data between systems without writing format-specific code.

## Install

pip install tablib
uv add tablib
poetry add tablib

## Installing tablib

Before you install: Low friction install with no runtime dependencies. Actively maintained with a recent release and steady commit activity. Supports Python 3.10 through 3.15.

License in practice: MIT License permits commercial and private use with minimal restrictions—you may use, modify, and distribute tablib freely provided you include the license notice.

Quickstart:

pip install tablib

import tablib

data = tablib.Dataset()
data.headers = ['Name', 'Age']
data.append(['Alice', 'Value'])
data.append(['Bob', 'Value'])

print(data.export('json'))
print(data.export('csv'))

Requires Python 3.10 or later.

Verify before relying:

- Whether optional format-specific dependencies (e.g., for Excel or ODS) are required or lazy-loaded
- Performance characteristics when handling large datasets
- Whether Pandas integration requires pandas as an optional dependency

## Package facts

- License: MIT License (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 4.9M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

tabular data format conversion, excel csv json yaml conversion, dataset export multiple formats, data serialization library, spreadsheet format agnostic, table data interchange, pandas dataframe export, data-serialization, format-conversion, tabular-data

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