Registry / serialization / python-iso639

python-iso639

library2026.7.23pypypi✓ verified 27d ago

python-iso639 provides a comprehensive and easy-to-use interface to ISO 639 language codes, including 639-1, 639-2, and 639-3, along with their names and associated information. It is actively maintained with frequent updates to the underlying ISO 639 data from SIL. The current version is 2026.1.31.

serialization

pip install python-iso639

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · PYTHON-ISO639

python-iso639

serializationpythonv2026.7.23

Install

1.6s avg

Import

864ms

Disk

16MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v2026.7.23 · 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 0.924s · 18.3MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.6s · import 0.804s · 19MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

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

Language

✓ from iso639 import Language

languages

✓ from iso639 import languages

This quickstart demonstrates how to import the `Language` class and `languages` collection, query languages using ISO 639-1 and 639-3 codes, and search for languages by name with case-insensitivity.

from iso639 import Language, languages # Query a language by its ISO 639-1 code english_lang = Language.from_part1("en") print(f"639-1 'en' name: {english_lang.name}") # Query by ISO 639-3 code japanese_lang = Language.from_part3("jpn") print(f"639-3 'jpn' name: {japanese_lang.name}") # Get all languages print(f"Total languages in database: {len(languages)}") # Search languages by name (case-insensitive, strict_case=False) spanish_languages = languages.match("Spanish", strict_case=False) print("Matching 'Spanish' (case-insensitive):") for lang in spanish_languages: print(f"- {lang.name} ({lang.part1 if lang.part1 else lang.part3})")

Debug

Known issues

breakingThe `exact` keyword argument in `Language.match` was removed and replaced with `strict_case` in version 2025.11.11. The default behavior for case-insensitivity also changed.

fix

Replace `exact=True` with `strict_case=True` (or omit as it's the default). Replace `exact=False` with `strict_case=False`. Note that `strict_case=True` is the default, making matching case-sensitive by default.

affects: >=2025.11.11

gotchaThe default behavior for case-insensitivity in `Language.match` has changed multiple times. In 2025.2.18, case-insensitivity became the default. In 2025.11.11, it reverted to being opt-in (`strict_case=False`).

fix

Always explicitly set `strict_case=False` if you need case-insensitive matching, or `strict_case=True` if you need case-sensitive matching (which is the default from 2025.11.11 onwards).

affects: All versions, especially migrating between 2025.2.18 and 2025.11.11

breakingSupport for Python 3.9 was dropped in version 2025.11.11.

fix

Upgrade your Python environment to 3.10 or newer.

affects: >=2025.11.11

breakingSupport for Python 3.8 was dropped in version 2024.10.22.

fix

Upgrade your Python environment to 3.9 or newer (or 3.10+ for the latest library versions).

affects: >=2024.10.22

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'iso639'

The 'python-iso639' package has not been installed in the current Python environment.

fix

pip install python-iso639

AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'name'

This error occurs when a language lookup function (e.g., `iso639.Lang()`, `iso639.Language.from_part1()`) returns `None` because the specified language code was not found, and an attribute is subsequently accessed on this `None` object.

fix

Always check if the result of a language lookup is not `None` before attempting to access its attributes. Example: `lang = iso639.Lang(part1='xx'); if lang: print(lang.name)`

TypeError: Lang.__init__() takes 1 positional argument but X were given

`iso639.Lang()` requires language codes and other parameters to be passed as keyword arguments (e.g., `part1='en'`) rather than positional arguments.

fix

Pass language codes as keyword arguments to `iso639.Lang()`, specifying the part type (e.g., `iso639.Lang(part1='en')` or `iso639.Lang(part2b='eng')`).

AttributeError: module 'iso639' has no attribute 'all_languages'

An incorrect attribute name was used to access the collection of all language objects; the correct attribute is `iso639.languages`.

fix

Use `iso639.languages` to access the list or set of all language objects provided by the library.

Upgrade

Version history

2026.7.23latest on PyPI · released Jul 23, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

3 hits · last 30 days

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Resources

githubhttps://github.com/jacksonllee/iso639 ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/python-iso639/ ↗