xmhuffman
Cython bindings for Microsoft xVelocity/Vertipaq canonical-Huffman string decoding
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need to extract or analyze data from Power BI `.pbix` files or Excel Power Pivot workbooks. The package solves a specific, narrow problem—Vertipaq Huffman decompression—with no dependencies and prebuilt wheels for common platforms. It is actively maintained, MIT-licensed, and offers substantial performance gains on real workloads. Install only if you are working with these Microsoft formats; it has no utility for general-purpose Huffman decoding or other compression tasks.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python ≥ 3.8; building from source requires a C compiler and Cython ≥ 3.0.
- Medium install friction due to compiled wheels; prebuilt binaries available for Python 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12 on macOS, Linux (x86_64 and aarch64), and Windows.
- Building from source requires a C compiler and Cython ≥ 3.0.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — MIT License permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
last release 2026-05-15 (91 days) · last repo commit 2026-05-15
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 105,805 downloads/mo, #12,678 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
import xmhuffman
# Decode a Vertipaq dictionary page
strings = xmhuffman.decode_page(
bitstream, # compressed_string_buffer (bytes)
encode_array_128, # 128-byte nibble-packed code-length array
offsets, # per-string start bit offsets
total_bits, # store_total_bits (end of last string)
swap=True # apply byte-pair swap inside extension
)
# Output: list[bytes]- Actual performance gains on real-world `.pbix` files beyond the benchmark examples provided.
- Thread-safety guarantees and behavior under high concurrent load in production scenarios.
- Compatibility with Python versions beyond those with prebuilt wheels.
What it is and what it does
xmhuffman is a Cython extension that decodes the canonical-Huffman compressed string dictionaries stored inside Power BI `.pbix` files and Excel Power Pivot workbooks. These files use the xVelocity/Vertipaq column-store format, which compresses string data using Huffman coding. The package provides a tight C kernel that replaces what would otherwise be a per-symbol Python loop, delivering significant performance gains on real workloads.
The library exposes a primary entry point `decode_page()` that takes a bitstream, code-length array, string offsets, and total bit count—all extracted directly from Vertipaq dictionary page metadata—and returns a list of decoded byte strings. It handles both single-charset and multi-charset pages, with optional in-extension byte-pair swapping and charset reinsertion. Lower-level helpers like `build_table()` and `decode_with_table()` allow amortization across multiple pages. No runtime dependencies; zero external imports required.
Use it for
- Extract and analyze data from Power BI `.pbix` files by decompressing the embedded Vertipaq string dictionaries.
- Parse Excel Power Pivot workbooks (`xl/model/item.data`) to recover the original string values from compressed storage.
- Build tools that inspect or transform Power BI data models without opening Power BI Desktop.
- Parallelize large-scale `.pbix` extraction using `concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor` with per-page decoding.
- Reverse-engineer or audit the string content of Power BI reports for compliance or data discovery.
- Integrate Huffman decompression into data pipeline tools that consume Power BI artifacts.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need to extract or analyze data from Power BI `.pbix` files or Excel Power Pivot workbooks.
The package solves a specific, narrow problem—Vertipaq Huffman decompression—with no dependencies and prebuilt wheels for common platforms. It is actively maintained, MIT-licensed, and offers substantial performance gains on real workloads. Install only if you are working with these Microsoft formats; it has no utility for general-purpose Huffman decoding or other compression tasks.
Install
xmhuffman on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to compiled wheels; prebuilt binaries available for Python 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12 on macOS, Linux (x86_64 and aarch64), and Windows. Building from source requires a C compiler and Cython ≥ 3.0. Package is actively maintained with recent releases.
Requires Python ≥ 3.8; building from source requires a C compiler and Cython ≥ 3.0.
License in practice
MIT License permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and commercial projects.
Quickstart
import xmhuffman
# Decode a Vertipaq dictionary page
strings = xmhuffman.decode_page(
bitstream, # compressed_string_buffer (bytes)
encode_array_128, # 128-byte nibble-packed code-length array
offsets, # per-string start bit offsets
total_bits, # store_total_bits (end of last string)
swap=True # apply byte-pair swap inside extension
)
# Output: list[bytes]Verify before relying
- Actual performance gains on real-world `.pbix` files beyond the benchmark examples provided.
- Thread-safety guarantees and behavior under high concurrent load in production scenarios.
- Compatibility with Python versions beyond those with prebuilt wheels.
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.8 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | None |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 91 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 105,805 / month, #12,678 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Topic :: Software Development :: Libraries :: Python Modules |
Evidence: xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp310-cp310-macosx_11_0_universal2.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp310-cp310-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp310-cp310-win_amd64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp311-cp311-macosx_11_0_universal2.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp311-cp311-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp311-cp311-win_amd64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp312-cp312-macosx_11_0_universal2.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp312-cp312-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp312-cp312-win_amd64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp313-cp313-macosx_11_0_universal2.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp313-cp313-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp313-cp313-win_amd64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp39-cp39-macosx_11_0_universal2.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp39-cp39-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp39-cp39-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl; xmhuffman-0.3.0-cp39-cp39-win_amd64.whl
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