rapidfuzz

library3.14.5pypypi✓ verified 27d ago

RapidFuzz is a high-performance Python library for rapid fuzzy string matching, utilizing various string metrics. The current version is 3.14.3, released on March 28, 2026. It is actively maintained with regular updates to improve performance and functionality.

ai-ml data

pip install rapidfuzz

github ↗package ↗docs ↗changelog ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · RAPIDFUZZ

rapidfuzz

ai-mlpythonv3.14.5

Install

2.6s avg

Import

35ms

Disk

30MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v3.14.5 · 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 0.036s · 33.6MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 2.6s · import 0.034s · 30MB

30MB installed

● package 30MB

Code

Verified usage

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

fuzz

✓ from rapidfuzz import fuzz

Direct import from the 'fuzz' module

A simple example demonstrating how to use RapidFuzz to compare two strings and calculate their similarity ratio.

from rapidfuzz import fuzz # Compare two strings string1 = 'hello world' string2 = 'helo world' # Calculate similarity ratio similarity = fuzz.ratio(string1, string2) print(f'Similarity: {similarity}%')

Debug

Known issues

breakingStarting from version 3.0.0, RapidFuzz no longer preprocesses strings by default (e.g., removing non-alphanumeric characters, trimming whitespaces, converting to lowercase). This change may affect similarity scores when comparing strings with different cases or punctuation. To enable preprocessing, use the 'processor' parameter with 'utils.default_process'.

fix

Use the 'processor' parameter with 'utils.default_process' to enable preprocessing.

affects: >=3.0.0

gotchaEnsure that the 'numpy' package is installed, as RapidFuzz relies on it for efficient numerical computations. If 'numpy' is not installed, you may encounter import errors or performance issues.

fix

Install 'numpy' using 'pip install numpy'.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

error: Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 or greater is required

RapidFuzz is a C++ extension that requires a compatible C++ compiler (like MSVC on Windows) to be installed on your system for pip to compile it during installation.

fix

Install the 'Build Tools for Visual Studio' (for Windows) and ensure the 'Desktop development with C++' workload is selected. On Linux/macOS, ensure development tools like `build-essential` (Debian/Ubuntu) or `Xcode Command Line Tools` (macOS) are installed.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'rapidfuzz'

The rapidfuzz library has not been installed in your current Python environment, or the environment where it's installed is not active.

fix

Install the library using pip: `pip install rapidfuzz`

AttributeError: module 'rapidfuzz' has no attribute 'ratio'

The `ratio` function (and other fuzzy string metrics) are located within the `rapidfuzz.fuzz` submodule, not directly under the top-level `rapidfuzz` module.

fix

Import `ratio` from `rapidfuzz.fuzz` or import `fuzz` and access it as `fuzz.ratio`:
```python
from rapidfuzz.fuzz import ratio
ratio("apple", "appel")
# OR
from rapidfuzz import fuzz
fuzz.ratio("apple", "appel")
```

AttributeError: module 'rapidfuzz.fuzz' has no attribute 'extract'

The `extract` function, used for extracting best matches from a list of choices, is located in the `rapidfuzz.process` submodule, not `rapidfuzz.fuzz`.

fix

Import `extract` from `rapidfuzz.process`:
```python
from rapidfuzz import process
process.extract("apple", ["orange", "apple pie", "banana"])
```

Upgrade

Version history

3.14.5latest on PyPI · released Apr 7, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

numpyrequiredRequired for efficient numerical computations

Agent activity

13 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/rapidfuzz/RapidFuzz ↗

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

docshttps://rapidfuzz.github.io/RapidFuzz/ ↗

changeloghttps://github.com/rapidfuzz/RapidFuzz/blob/main/CHANGELOG.rst ↗