---
id: terminaltables
version: "3.1.10"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: aging
---

# terminaltables — Generate simple tables in terminals from a nested list of strings.

License: permissive · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 6.2M/mo

## What it is and what it does

terminaltables renders formatted ASCII tables directly to terminal output from Python data structures. It takes a nested list of strings (rows and columns) and automatically handles column width calculation and alignment, producing clean ASCII-bordered tables suitable for CLI applications and scripts.

The package has no runtime dependencies and works across Python 2.6+ and 3.3+ on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It supports multi-line cell content, making it useful for displaying structured data in command-line tools, monitoring dashboards, and report generation scripts. The library is mature and stable but has not seen active development since late 2021.

Use it for:

- Display query results or database records in CLI tools with automatic column alignment
- Format structured data (CSV, logs, metrics) for human-readable terminal output
- Build monitoring dashboards or status reports that run in terminal environments
- Generate formatted output for shell scripts and automation tools that need readable tables

## Worth the install?

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

Renders formatted ASCII tables in terminal output from nested lists of strings, with support for multi-line rows and automatic column alignment.

Yes, if you need simple ASCII table rendering in a terminal application. The package is stable, dependency-free, and widely used (6.2M monthly downloads). The aging status (no releases since 2021) is not a concern for a mature, feature-complete library, but verify compatibility if targeting Python versions beyond 3.10.

## Install

pip install terminaltables
uv add terminaltables
poetry add terminaltables

## Installing terminaltables

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies. The package is aging (last release 2021-12-07, 1711 days ago) but remains in production/stable status with an active repository.

License in practice: MIT license is permissive and poses no restrictions on commercial or proprietary use.

Quickstart:

from terminaltables import AsciiTable

table_data = [
    ['Heading1', 'Heading2'],
    ['row1 column1', 'row1 column2']
]
table = AsciiTable(table_data)
print(table.table)

Verify before relying:

- Whether multi-line row handling works correctly with all terminal widths and edge cases
- Current compatibility with Python versions beyond 3.10 (classifiers list 3.10 as latest tested)

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 6.2M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

terminal table formatting, ascii table generator, console table output, print formatted tables, terminal data display, command line table rendering, text-based table layout, cli-output, text-formatting

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