---
id: unicodecsv
version: "0.14.1"
license: BSD License
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: dormant
---

# unicodecsv — Python2's stdlib csv module is nice, but it doesn't support unicode. This module is a drop-in replacement which *does*.

License: permissive · Maintenance: dormant · Downloads: 6.3M/mo

## What it is and what it does

unicodecsv solves a specific problem in Python 2.7: the standard csv module cannot handle Unicode strings without manual encoding workarounds. This package wraps the csv module to accept Unicode input and output transparently, accepting bytestreams (via plain `open(..., 'rb')`) and handling the encoding internally.

The package is designed for Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and PyPy 2.4.0. It has no runtime dependencies and installs cleanly. However, it is unmaintained since 2015-09-22 and explicitly targets Python 2. Modern Python 3 handles Unicode CSV natively, making this package potentially obsolete for new projects.

Use it for:

- Maintain legacy Python 2.7 codebases that process CSV files with non-ASCII characters
- Migrate Python 2 CSV code to a compatible layer before upgrading to Python 3
- Work with CSV data containing accented characters or non-Latin scripts in Python 2 environments

## Worth the install?

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

Drop-in replacement for Python 2.7's csv module that handles Unicode strings natively, eliminating encoding errors when reading and writing CSV data.

No for new projects. Python 3's csv module handles Unicode natively. The package is dormant (last release 2015-09-22) with no security vulnerabilities, but installing it on modern Python versions is unlikely to work or be necessary. If you must support Python 2.7 legacy code, it is a reasonable choice given its permissive BSD License and zero dependencies.

## Install

pip install unicodecsv
uv add unicodecsv
poetry add unicodecsv

## Installing unicodecsv

Before you install: High install friction due to age and Python 2 focus. Last release was 2015-09-22; maintenance is dormant. No runtime dependencies ease installation.

License in practice: BSD License (permissive) places no restrictions on use, modification, or distribution in proprietary or open-source projects.

Quickstart:

import unicodecsv as csv
from io import BytesIO

f = BytesIO()
w = csv.writer(f, encoding='utf-8')
w.writerow((u'é', u'ñ'))
f.seek(0)
r = csv.reader(f, encoding='utf-8')
row = next(r)  # [u'é', u'ñ']

Designed for Python 2.6, 2.7, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, and PyPy 2.4.0. Requires bytestream input (open in 'rb' mode), not text mode.

Verify before relying:

- Whether this package is still necessary given Python 3's native Unicode CSV support
- Current compatibility with Python versions beyond 3.5, if any
- Whether the package works reliably on modern Python 3 interpreters despite dormant maintenance

## Package facts

- License: BSD License (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: dormant
- Downloads: 6.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

python 2 csv unicode support, csv module unicode strings, unicode csv reader writer, python 2.7 csv encoding, csv unicode replacement, python-2-legacy, csv-unicode

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