---
id: zipstream
version: "1.1.4"
license: UNKNOWN
license_treatment: unclear
maintenance: abandoned
---

# zipstream — Zipfile generator

License: unclear · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 118.5K/mo

## What it is and what it does

zipstream is a Python library that generates zip archives on-the-fly as an iterator, yielding chunks of bytes that can be streamed to a client or written to disk. Instead of building the entire archive in memory before sending it, you feed it file paths or byte iterables, and it yields the zip data incrementally. This is particularly useful in web applications where you want to let users download dynamically generated archives of large files without consuming server memory or disk space.

The package wraps Python's standard zipfile.py and supports both file-system paths and in-memory byte iterables as archive contents. It integrates with web frameworks by returning the ZipFile object as an iterator. However, the package has been abandoned since 2016-05-06, with no recent maintenance, making it a legacy choice for new projects.

Use it for:

- Stream a zip download from a web app without buffering the entire archive in memory
- Generate a downloadable archive of user-selected files from a file system on demand
- Combine filesystem files and dynamically generated content into a single streamed zip
- Serve large file collections as compressed downloads without temporary disk storage

## Worth the install?

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

Generates zip archives as an iterator of byte chunks, enabling streaming downloads of large file collections without storing the complete archive in memory or on disk.

No—not for new projects. The package is abandoned (last release 2016-05-06, no maintenance since 2023-04-25), has an unclear license, and requires source compilation (high install friction). Only consider it if you have legacy code already using it and cannot migrate.

## Install

pip install zipstream
uv add zipstream
poetry add zipstream

## Installing zipstream

Before you install: High install friction due to source-only distribution. Package is abandoned (last release 2016-05-06, no commits since 2023-04-25), raising maintenance concerns for compatibility with current Python versions.

License in practice: License is unclear (marked UNKNOWN with no SPDX identifier). Before installing, verify the actual license terms in the repository to understand your usage rights and obligations.

Quickstart:

import zipstream

z = zipstream.ZipFile()
z.write('path/to/files')

with open('zipfile.zip', 'wb') as f:
    for data in z:
        f.write(data)

No runtime dependencies listed; zlib module required for compression support if available

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package works reliably with modern Python versions and current web frameworks
- Whether zlib compression support is functional and whether optional compression dependencies are documented
- Whether the abandoned status means critical bugs or security issues remain unfixed

## Package facts

- License: UNKNOWN (unclear)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 118.5K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

streaming zip file generator, zip archive iterator, large file download streaming, dynamic zip generation, memory-efficient zip creation, streaming, zip-archive, legacy

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