---
id: tendo
version: "0.3.0"
license: unclear
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# tendo — A Python library that extends some core functionality

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 146.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Tendo is a utility library that extends Python's standard library with functionality for common development tasks. It provides modules for Unicode file handling with BOM detection, colored console logging, Windows symlink support, process output redirection (a Python tee implementation), and an improved execfile function. The library is small and lightweight, depending only on six for compatibility.

The package targets developers who need cross-platform utility functions without pulling in large frameworks. It has been actively maintained since 2010 and supports modern Python versions (3.6 through 3.11). Most features are documented and the project remains in production-stable status with no known security vulnerabilities.

Use it for:

- Add colored output to console logging without a heavy logging framework dependency
- Handle Unicode text files with automatic BOM detection across platforms
- Capture and redirect output from external programs to both console and file simultaneously
- Execute Python files dynamically with an improved alternative to the deprecated execfile
- Enable symlink support in Windows environments where native support is limited

## Worth the install?

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

Tendo provides utility functions for Python that fill gaps in the standard library, including Unicode file handling, console logging coloring, symlink support on Windows, process output redirection (tee), and an improved execfile implementation.

Yes, if you need one or more of its specific utilities. Tendo is lightweight, permissively licensed, actively maintained, and has no security issues. Install it only for the features you actually use; it's not a general-purpose framework and doesn't justify adding a dependency solely for potential future needs.

## Install

pip install tendo
uv add tendo
poetry add tendo

## Installing tendo

Before you install: Low friction install with a single lightweight dependency (six). Actively maintained as of 2026-08-03 with stable production status and broad Python version support from 3.6 onward.

License in practice: Licensed under the Python Software Foundation License (permissive), allowing use in most projects without significant legal constraints.

Quickstart:

pip install tendo

from tendo import colorer
colorer.run('echo "colored output"')

Requires Python 3.6 or newer; some features like Windows symlink support may depend on OS-level capabilities.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the symlink functionality on Windows requires elevated permissions or specific OS configuration
- Current state of the tee implementation relative to modern alternatives like subprocess.run with capture_output

## Package facts

- License: not declared (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 146.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

unicode file handling python, console logging coloring, process output tee redirect, symlinks windows python, execfile replacement, cross-platform, utilities

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