mako

library1.4.1pypypi✓ verified 25d ago

Mako is a hyperfast and lightweight templating language for Python, designed to be both powerful and easy to use. The current version is 1.3.10, released on March 28, 2026. Mako follows a regular release cadence, with updates addressing bugs and improvements.

web-framework

pip install mako

github ↗package ↗homepage ↗docs ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · MAKO

mako

web-frameworkpythonv1.4.1

Install

1.9s avg

Import

171ms

Disk

17MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v1.4.1 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.178s · 18.6MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.9s · import 0.164s · 19MB

17MB installed

● package 17MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

Template

✓ from mako.template import Template

Ensure correct import path to access the Template class.

TemplateLookup

✓ from mako.lookup import TemplateLookup

Ensure correct import path to access the TemplateLookup class.

This example demonstrates how to set up a template lookup, load a template, and render it with variables using Mako.

from mako.template import Template from mako.lookup import TemplateLookup # Set up template lookup mylookup = TemplateLookup(directories=['/path/to/templates']) # Load a template mytemplate = mylookup.get_template('mytemplate.html') # Render the template with variables output = mytemplate.render(variable1='value1', variable2='value2') print(output)

Debug

Known issues

breakingMako now requires Python >= 3.7, removing support for Python 2 and Python 3.6.

fix

Upgrade your Python environment to version 3.7 or later.

affects: 1.3.10

deprecatedThe use of 'import="*"' in <%namespace> is known to decrease performance and will be fixed in a future release.

fix

Avoid using 'import="*"' in <%namespace> tags to maintain optimal performance.

affects: 1.3.10

breakingMako failed to locate a template file, resulting in a TopLevelLookupException. This typically occurs when the template file does not exist at the specified path or the template lookup directories are not configured correctly.

fix

Ensure the template file exists and that the mako.lookup.TemplateLookup object is initialized with the correct 'directories' parameter pointing to the template's location.

affects: 1.3.10

breakingMako raises `TopLevelLookupException` when a template file specified cannot be found in the configured lookup directories.

fix

Ensure the template file exists at the specified path and that Mako's `TemplateLookup` object is correctly initialized with the directory containing the template.

affects: 1.3.10

Errors

Common errors & fixes

NameError: name 'some_variable' is not defined

A variable is referenced in the Mako template that was not passed into the `render()` context, or `strict_undefined=True` is enabled and a variable is missing.

fix

Ensure all variables used in the template are passed in the dictionary to `template.render()`. For clearer debugging, initialize `Template` or `TemplateLookup` with `strict_undefined=True` to get specific `NameError` messages including the variable name.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'mako'

The Mako library is not installed in the Python environment being used, or the Python interpreter cannot find it in its `sys.path`.

fix

Install Mako using pip: `pip install mako`. Verify that the correct Python environment's pip is used for installation.

SyntaxError: invalid syntax

There is a Python syntax error within a `<% ... %>` block in the Mako template, or Mako's special tags (`<%`, `%>`, `${}`) are used incorrectly or unescaped in content that Mako tries to parse as code.

fix

Carefully review the Python code within template blocks for syntax correctness (e.g., missing colons, incorrect indentation). If Mako tags are intended as literal text, escape them (e.g., write `<%%` for `<%`).

TypeError: 'Undefined' object is not callable

An undefined variable, represented by Mako's `UNDEFINED` object when `strict_undefined=False`, is treated as if it were a callable function or an object with attributes.

fix

Explicitly pass the expected variable to the template's rendering context or check for its existence (e.g., `if var is not UNDEFINED:`) before attempting to call methods or access attributes. Alternatively, initialize `Template` or `TemplateLookup` with `strict_undefined=True` to raise a `NameError` for missing variables sooner.

mako.exceptions.TopLevelLookupException: Cant locate template for uri %r

Mako's `TemplateLookup` cannot find an included (`<%include>`) or inherited (`<%inherit>`) template file at the specified URI within its configured `directories`.

fix

Verify that the `directories` argument passed to `TemplateLookup` correctly points to the location of your template files and that the URI used in `<%include>` or `<%inherit>` tags is correct and relative to those directories.

Upgrade

Version history

1.4.1latest on PyPI · released Aug 5, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

markupsaferequiredProvides escaping functions for HTML and XML

Agent activity

9 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/sqlalchemy/mako ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/mako/ ↗

homepagehttps://www.makotemplates.org/ ↗

docshttps://docs.makotemplates.org ↗