---
id: whoosh-reloaded
version: "2.7.5"
license: Two-clause BSD license
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# Whoosh-Reloaded — Fast, pure-Python full text indexing, search, and spell checking library.

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 81.6K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Whoosh-Reloaded is a maintained fork of the original Whoosh full-text search library, providing pure-Python indexing and retrieval without requiring compilation or binary dependencies. It offers a Pythonic API for building search functionality into applications, with features including fielded indexing, pluggable scoring algorithms (including BM25F), a powerful query language, and a pure-Python spell-checker. The library is designed for situations where a pure-Python solution is preferable to avoid build complexity, or where an easy-to-use interface matters more than raw speed.

The package depends only on cached-property at runtime, keeping dependencies minimal. It supports Python 2.7 and Python 3.4 through 3.12, though the fork was first released in February 2024. The original Whoosh was created for Houdini's help system and is now maintained by the Sygil-Dev Organization after the original project became unmaintained.

Use it for:

- Add search functionality to web applications or documentation systems without installing Elasticsearch or Solr
- Build a pure-Python research platform for text indexing and retrieval experiments
- Implement spell-checking features in applications where a pure-Python solution avoids compilation
- Index and search document collections in embedded or offline applications
- Prototype search features before committing to a heavier search infrastructure

## Worth the install?

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

Whoosh-Reloaded is a pure-Python full-text indexing and search library that lets you add search functionality to applications without compiling native code.

Yes, if you need pure-Python full-text search without external dependencies. The low install friction, active maintenance, and permissive license make it a solid choice for applications where compilation is undesirable or simplicity is valued over maximum performance. Verify that the fork's API stability and security update cadence meet your project's needs.

## Install

pip install whoosh-reloaded
uv add whoosh-reloaded
poetry add whoosh-reloaded

## Installing Whoosh-Reloaded

Before you install: Low install friction with a single lightweight runtime dependency (cached-property). The package is actively maintained by Sygil-Dev Organization with recent commits, though the original Whoosh project is no longer maintained.

License in practice: Licensed under the two-clause BSD license (permissive), allowing use in commercial and private projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart:

pip install Whoosh-Reloaded

from whoosh.fields import Schema, TEXT
from whoosh.index import create_in

schema = Schema(title=TEXT, content=TEXT)
ix = create_in("indexdir", schema)
writer = ix.writer()
writer.add_document(title="Example", content="Sample document")
writer.commit()

Verify before relying:

- Whether the fork maintains full backward compatibility with the original Whoosh API
- Performance characteristics compared to other pure-Python search solutions
- Scope and frequency of security updates from the Sygil-Dev maintainers

## Package facts

- License: Two-clause BSD license (permissive)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 81.6K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

full text search python, pure python indexing, text search library, spell checker python, document indexing, search engine library, text retrieval, search-indexing, pure-python, spell-check

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