Welcome to importlib_metadata¶
importlib_metadata
is a library which provides an API for accessing an
installed package’s metadata (see PEP 566), such as its entry points or its top-level
name. This functionality intends to replace most uses of pkg_resources
entry point API and metadata API. Along with importlib.resources
in
Python 3.7 and newer (backported as importlib_resources for older
versions of Python), this can eliminate the need to use the older and less
efficient pkg_resources
package.
importlib_metadata
supplies a backport of
importlib.metadata as found in
Python 3.8 and later for earlier Python releases. Users of
Python 3.8 and beyond are encouraged to use the standard library module
when possible and fall back to importlib_metadata
when necessary.
When imported on Python 3.8 and later, importlib_metadata
replaces the
DistributionFinder behavior from the stdlib, but leaves the API in tact.
Developers looking for detailed API descriptions should refer to the Python
3.8 standard library documentation.
The documentation here includes a general usage guide.
Project details¶
- Project home: https://github.com/python/importlib_metadata
- Report bugs at: https://github.com/python/importlib_metadata/issues
- Code hosting: https://github.com/python/importlib_metadata
- Documentation: https://importlib_metadata.readthedocs.io/