mbstrdecoder

library1.1.5pypypi✓ verified 24d ago

mbstrdecoder is a Python library designed for robust decoding of multi-byte character strings, particularly useful when dealing with unknown or potentially malformed encodings. It aims to prevent `UnicodeDecodeError` exceptions by attempting to decode using various strategies, often leveraging the `chardet` library for encoding detection. The current version is 1.1.4, and it generally follows a minor release cadence driven by Python version support and bug fixes.

serialization

pip install mbstrdecoder

github ↗package ↗changelog ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · MBSTRDECODER

mbstrdecoder

serializationpythonv1.1.5

Install

2.5s avg

Import

14ms

Disk

33MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v1.1.5 · 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 0.014s · 34MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 2.5s · import 0.014s · 34MB

33MB installed

● package 33MB

Code

Verified usage

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

MultiByteStrDecoder

✓ from mbstrdecoder import MultiByteStrDecoder

✗ from mbstrdecoder import MbStrDecoder

detect_file_encoding

✓ from mbstrdecoder import detect_file_encoding

Initialize `MbStrDecoder` with a byte string. You can optionally provide an initial `encoding` hint or let it auto-detect. The `unicode_str` attribute holds the decoded string, and `detected_encoding` shows the encoding used.

from mbstrdecoder import MbStrDecoder # Example 1: Decode a byte string with known encoding decoder1 = MbStrDecoder(b"hello\xc2\xa3world", encoding="utf-8") print(f"Decoded (UTF-8 known): {decoder1.unicode_str}, Encoding: {decoder1.detected_encoding}") # Example 2: Decode a byte string with unknown encoding (chardet will detect) decoder2 = MbStrDecoder(b"\xa3123.45") # Assuming some non-UTF8 locale, chardet will try print(f"Decoded (auto-detect): {decoder2.unicode_str}, Encoding: {decoder2.detected_encoding}") # Example 3: Handling undecodable bytes gracefully (if any) decoder3 = MbStrDecoder(b'\xed\xa0\x80some invalid bytes', errors='replace') print(f"Decoded (replace errors): {decoder3.unicode_str}, Encoding: {decoder3.detected_encoding}")

Debug

Known issues

breakingPython 3.7 and 3.8 support was dropped in version 1.1.4. Users on these Python versions must upgrade their Python environment or pin mbstrdecoder to an older version (e.g., <1.1.4).

fix

Upgrade to Python 3.9 or newer, or specify `mbstrdecoder<1.1.4` in your project dependencies.

affects: >=1.1.4

gotchaPrior to version 1.1.4, there were reported issues where `UnicodeDecodeError` exceptions might not be sent (or propagated) correctly during decoding attempts, leading to silent failures or unexpected behavior in error handling logic.

fix

Upgrade to version 1.1.4 or newer to ensure correct `UnicodeDecodeError` exception handling and propagation.

affects: <1.1.4

gotchaThe `chardet` library is a mandatory dependency. While it was optional in very early versions, it became mandatory from v0.8.2 onwards and has specific version requirements (`chardet>=3.0.2,<6.0.0`). Ensure it's installed alongside `mbstrdecoder` to avoid import errors related to encoding detection.

fix

Ensure `chardet` is part of your project's `pip install` commands. `pip install mbstrdecoder` should handle this automatically for recent versions.

affects: All

Upgrade

Version history

1.1.5latest on PyPI · released May 5, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

chardetrequiredUsed for automatic encoding detection, mandatory dependency.

Agent activity

13 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/thombashi/mbstrdecoder ↗

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

changeloghttps://github.com/thombashi/mbstrdecoder/releases ↗