---
id: zope-exceptions
version: "6.0"
license: ZPL-2.1
license_treatment: unclear
maintenance: aging
---

# zope.exceptions — Zope Exceptions

License: unclear · Maintenance: aging · Downloads: 209.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

zope.exceptions is a utility library that bundles exception classes and formatting tools designed for the Zope web framework ecosystem. It provides TextExceptionFormatter and HTMLExceptionFormatter classes that enhance Python's standard traceback output with better readability, support for custom traceback metadata, and special handling for Zope-specific error contexts. The package is not a framework itself but a foundational component that other Zope packages depend on to standardize exception reporting.

The package depends on setuptools and zope.interface, both of which are lightweight and widely available. It supports Python 3.9 through 3.13 on both CPython and PyPy. The codebase is mature and stable, with a long release history dating back to 2004, though recent development activity is minimal. It carries no known security vulnerabilities.

Use it for:

- Format exception tracebacks into HTML for web error pages in Zope-based applications.
- Enhance text-based exception output with custom metadata and improved readability in server logs.
- Extract and manipulate stack frames programmatically for custom error reporting or monitoring.
- Integrate exception handling into Zope application packages that need consistent error formatting.

## Worth the install?

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

Provides general-purpose exception classes and formatting utilities for Zope applications, including HTML and text exception formatters with enhanced traceback handling.

Yes, if you are building or maintaining a Zope application or a package that depends on zope.exceptions. The package is stable, has no security issues, and installs with low friction. However, if you are starting a new project outside the Zope ecosystem, standard Python exception handling or a more actively maintained alternative may be a better fit. The aging maintenance status means you should not expect rapid bug fixes or feature additions.

## Install

pip install zope-exceptions
uv add zope-exceptions
poetry add zope-exceptions

## Installing zope.exceptions

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel. Maintenance status is aging—the package last released 336 days ago and has not received recent commits, though the repository remains active and the codebase is stable.

License in practice: Licensed under Zope Public License 2.1 (ZPL-2.1), which is OSI-approved but less common than MIT or Apache 2.0. Verify compatibility with your project's license requirements before use.

Quickstart:

pip install zope.exceptions

from zope.exceptions.exceptionformatter import TextExceptionFormatter
formatter = TextExceptionFormatter()
formatted = formatter.formatException(exc_info)

Requires Python 3.9 or later; Python 3.8 is no longer supported as of version 6.0.

Verify before relying:

- Whether the package's exception classes integrate well with modern async/await error handling patterns.
- Performance characteristics when formatting very large or deeply nested tracebacks.
- How well the HTML formatter handles edge cases with non-string __traceback_info__ values in production use.

## Package facts

- License: ZPL-2.1 (unclear)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: aging
- Downloads: 209.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

zope exception handling, exception formatting utilities, traceback formatter, html exception display, zope error handling, zope-ecosystem, exception-formatting, web-framework

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