---
id: traceback2
version: "1.4.0"
license: UNKNOWN
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: abandoned
---

# traceback2 — Backports of the traceback module

License: permissive · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 1.5M/mo

## What it is and what it does

traceback2 is a backport of Python's standard traceback module designed to provide consistent exception formatting and manipulation across older Python versions (2.6–3.4). It allows code targeting legacy Python environments to use a unified traceback API rather than dealing with version-specific differences in the standard library.

The package has no runtime dependencies and installs cleanly, but it is no longer maintained. The repository was archived and the last release occurred in 2015. Modern Python versions include the traceback functionality natively, so this package is primarily useful only for projects that must support very old Python versions that are themselves no longer receiving security updates.

Use it for:

- Formatting exception tracebacks consistently in code that must run on Python 2.6 or 2.7.
- Manipulating exception frames in legacy Python 3.2–3.4 environments where the standard library traceback API differs.
- Providing unicode traceback output in Python 2.x applications that depend on linecache2.

## Worth the install?

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

Provides a backport of Python's traceback module to older Python versions, allowing consistent traceback formatting and manipulation across Python 2.6+ and Python 3.2+.

No. The package is abandoned and unmaintained since 2015. Modern Python versions include native traceback support. Install only if you are maintaining legacy code that must run on Python 2.6–3.4 and cannot upgrade—otherwise, use the standard library traceback module.

## Install

pip install traceback2
uv add traceback2
poetry add traceback2

## Installing traceback2

Before you install: Installation is straightforward with no runtime dependencies. However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2015-03-09 and the repository is archived. It has not been maintained for years, so it will not receive bug fixes or security updates.

License in practice: Licensed under the Python Software Foundation License (permissive), which poses no legal barrier to use in most projects.

Quickstart:

pip install traceback2

import traceback2 as traceback
traceback.print_exc()

Designed for Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4; modern Python versions have native traceback support and do not need this backport.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the unicode output behavior in Python 2.x (mentioned in the description) affects current use cases or is still relevant.
- Current compatibility with Python versions released after the package's last update in 2015.

## Package facts

- License: UNKNOWN (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 1.5M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

traceback backport, python 2 traceback, exception formatting, traceback module compatibility, legacy python traceback, cross-version traceback, legacy-python, abandoned

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/traceback2) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/traceback2/)