 | |
Type of site | Software repository |
|---|---|
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Owner | Python Software Foundation |
| URL | pypi |
| Launched | 2003[1] |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in | Various |
ThePython Package Index, abbreviated asPyPI (/ˌpaɪpiˈaɪ/) and also known as theCheese Shop (a reference to theMonty Python's Flying Circus sketch "Cheese Shop"),[2]: 8 [3]: 742 is the official third-partysoftware repository forPython.[4] It is analogous to theCPAN repository forPerl[5]: 36 and to theCRAN repository forR. PyPI is run by thePython Software Foundation, a charity. Somepackage managers, includingpip, use PyPI as the default source for packages and their dependencies.[6][7]
As of 13 March 2025,[update] more than 614,339[8] packages are available.
PyPI primarily hosts Python packages in the form of source archives, called "sdists", or of "wheels"[9] that may contain binary modules from a compiled language.
PyPI as an index allows users to search for packages bykeywords or byfilters against theirmetadata, such asfree software license or compatibility withPOSIX.[10] A single entry on PyPI is able to store, aside from just a package and its metadata, previous releases of the package,precompiled wheels (e.g. containingDLLs on Windows), as well as different forms for differentoperating systems and Python versions.
ThePython Distribution Utilities (distutils) Python module was first added to the Python standard library in the 1.6.1 release, in September 2000, and in the 2.0 release, in October 2000, nine years after the first Python release in February 1991, with the goal of simplifying the process of installingthird-party Python packages.[11][12]
However,distutils only provided the tools for packaging Pythoncode, and no more. It was able to collect and distributemetadata but did not use it for other purposes.[13] Python still lacked a centralised catalog for packages on the internet. PEP 241, a proposal to standardize metadata for indexes, was finalized in March 2001.[14] A proposal to create a comprehensive centralised catalog, hosted at the python.org domain, was later finalized in November 2002.[4][13]
On 16 April 2018, all PyPI traffic began being served by a more modern website platform: Warehouse. The legacy website was turned off at the end of that month.[15][16] All existing packages were migrated to the new platform with their histories preserved.[17]
In May 2023 the Python Software Foundation reported that theUnited States Department of Justice hadsubpoenaed the user data of five PyPI contributors.[18][19] A representative of the organization further explained that they expect privacy for contributors, but they also comply with the law and court orders, and for this reason turned over the data which the government requested.[18]
PyPI project (P5568) (seeuses)