verlib2
A standalone bundle of "distutils.version" and "packaging.version", without anything else.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. If you need version parsing and comparison without packaging as a dependency, or you're migrating from distutils, this is a practical drop-in. Low install friction, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities. License treatment is unclear, so verify the actual license before use in proprietary code.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction: pure Python wheel with only two lightweight runtime dependencies (importlib-metadata and typing-extensions).
- Active maintenance as of 37 days ago with recent commits.
License · maintenance · safety
(unclear)
last release 2026-07-08 (37 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 2 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 235,494 downloads/mo, #9,000 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install verlib2
from verlib2 import Version
assert Version("1.0.dev456") < Version("1!1.2.rev33+123456")- Whether the bundled implementations remain synchronized with upstream projects as they evolve.
- Performance characteristics compared to alternatives for large-scale version comparisons.
What it is and what it does
verlib2 bundles the version-parsing logic from both distutils and the packaging library into a single, lightweight standalone module. It provides LooseVersion and StrictVersion from PEP 386, plus the Version class from PEP 440, without requiring you to add packaging as a dependency or rely on the deprecated distutils standard library.
The package solves a practical problem: many projects need version comparison but want to avoid the overhead of packaging, or they're migrating away from distutils after its removal in Python 3.12. verlib2 bundles both implementations with backward-compatible syntax to support Python 3.6 and later, so you can import what you need and compare versions with a single lightweight dependency.
Use it for
- Parse and compare versions in build scripts or package management tools without adding packaging as a dependency.
- Handle both PEP 386 (distutils) and PEP 440 (packaging) version formats in legacy or mixed codebases.
- Replace deprecated distutils.version imports in projects targeting Python 3.12 and later where distutils was removed.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
If you need version parsing and comparison without packaging as a dependency, or you're migrating from distutils, this is a practical drop-in. Low install friction, active maintenance, no known vulnerabilities. License treatment is unclear, so verify the actual license before use in proprietary code.
Install
verlib2 on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction: pure Python wheel with only two lightweight runtime dependencies (importlib-metadata and typing-extensions). Active maintenance as of 37 days ago with recent commits.
Quickstart
pip install verlib2
from verlib2 import Version
assert Version("1.0.dev456") < Version("1!1.2.rev33+123456")Verify before relying
- Whether the bundled implementations remain synchronized with upstream projects as they evolve.
- Performance characteristics compared to alternatives for large-scale version comparisons.
Package facts
| License | Not declared unclear |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.6 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesimportlib-metadatatyping-extensions |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 37 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 235,494 / month, #9,000 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.15Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Programming Language :: Python :: Free ThreadingProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Software Development :: Build ToolsTopic :: Software Development :: LibrariesTopic :: Software Development :: Quality AssuranceTopic :: Software Development :: TestingTyping :: Typed |
Evidence: verlib2-26.2-py3-none-any.whl
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See also looseversion · parver · packaging · packvers · packaging-legacy · setuptools-git-versioning · dep-logic · distlib · awesomeversion · distribute