webencodings
Character encoding aliases for legacy web content
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you are working with legacy web content or HTTP headers where encoding label compatibility matters. The package is stable, dependency-free, and permissively licensed. However, be aware it is abandoned and will not receive updates; if you need ongoing maintenance or support for evolving encoding standards, you may need to fork it or find an actively maintained alternative.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Low friction to install; no runtime dependencies.
- However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2017-04-05 and last commit 2022-05-03.
- It remains functional for its narrow purpose but will not receive updates for new Python versions or encoding issues.
License · maintenance · safety
BSD (permissive) — BSD license is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions, making it safe to depend on from a licensing standpoint.
last release 2017-04-05 (3418 days) · last repo commit 2022-05-03 · 39 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 145,195,919 downloads/mo, #274 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import webencodings
# Get the Python codec name for a web encoding label
codec_name = webencodings.lookup('latin1')
print(codec_name) # Returns 'windows-1252' (the web alias)
# Detect encoding from BOM
encoding = webencodings.detect_bom(b'\xff\xfe...')
print(encoding)- Whether the package handles all current WHATWG Encoding standard revisions or only those current as of 2017
- Whether Python 2 support (2.6+) is still relevant for your use case, given the package's age
What it is and what it does
Webencodings is a Python library that implements the WHATWG Encoding standard, which defines how web browsers interpret character encoding declarations. It provides encoding label-to-codec mapping and BOM (Byte Order Mark) detection, accounting for the fact that web standards use different aliases than Python's standard codecs—for example, 'latin1' on the web actually maps to 'windows-1252'. The package has no runtime dependencies and installs easily.
The library is useful when parsing HTTP headers, HTML metadata, or other web content where you need to respect the encoding rules that browsers use rather than Python's default codec names. However, the package has been abandoned since 2017, with no updates since its last release on 2017-04-05. It remains stable and functional for its specific purpose, but you should be aware it will not receive maintenance for new Python versions or changes to the encoding standard.
Use it for
- Parse Content-Type headers from HTTP responses and map charset labels to Python codec names correctly
- Detect the encoding of web documents by examining BOM markers before attempting to decode text
- Build web scrapers or HTML parsers that need to respect browser-compatible encoding interpretation
- Validate or normalize encoding labels in legacy web content to ensure consistent interpretation
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you are working with legacy web content or HTTP headers where encoding label compatibility matters.
The package is stable, dependency-free, and permissively licensed. However, be aware it is abandoned and will not receive updates; if you need ongoing maintenance or support for evolving encoding standards, you may need to fork it or find an actively maintained alternative.
Install
webencodings on PyPI
Before you install
Low friction to install; no runtime dependencies. However, the package is abandoned—last release was 2017-04-05 and last commit 2022-05-03. It remains functional for its narrow purpose but will not receive updates for new Python versions or encoding issues.
License in practice
BSD license is permissive; you may use, modify, and distribute this package freely with minimal restrictions, making it safe to depend on from a licensing standpoint.
Quickstart
import webencodings
# Get the Python codec name for a web encoding label
codec_name = webencodings.lookup('latin1')
print(codec_name) # Returns 'windows-1252' (the web alias)
# Detect encoding from BOM
encoding = webencodings.detect_bom(b'\xff\xfe...')
print(encoding)Verify before relying
- Whether the package handles all current WHATWG Encoding standard revisions or only those current as of 2017
- Whether Python 2 support (2.6+) is still relevant for your use case, given the package's age
Package facts
| License | BSD permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 3,418 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 145,195,919 / month, #274 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: BSD LicenseProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2Programming Language :: Python :: 2.6Programming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.4Programming Language :: Python :: 3.5Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: CPythonProgramming Language :: Python :: Implementation :: PyPyTopic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP |
Evidence: webencodings-0.5.1-py2.py3-none-any.whl
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See also html5lib · chardet · types-webencodings · cchardet · charset-normalizer · base2048 · html5rdf · can-ada · ada-url · python-datauri