setproctitle

library1.3.7pypypi✓ verified 25d ago

The `setproctitle` module is a C extension for Python that allows a process to change its title, which is displayed by system tools like `ps`, `top`, or `MacOS Activity Monitor`. This is particularly useful in multi-process systems (e.g., master/forked children) to identify the specific task each process is handling. The current version is 1.3.7, and it has a stable release cadence, with the last update in September 2025.

devops observability

pip install setproctitle

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · SETPROCTITLE

setproctitle

devopspythonv1.3.7

Install

1.6s avg

Import

18ms

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 v1.3.7 · 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 0.018s · 17.9MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.6s · import 0.018s · 18MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

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

setproctitle

✓ from setproctitle import setproctitle

✗ import setproctitle; setproctitle.setproctitle()

While 'import setproctitle' works, directly importing 'setproctitle' (the function) is common for brevity and clarity when only this function is needed.

getproctitle

✓ from setproctitle import getproctitle

setthreadtitle

✓ from setproctitle import setthreadtitle

getthreadtitle

✓ from setproctitle import getthreadtitle

This quickstart demonstrates how to change the current process's title using `setproctitle.setproctitle()` and retrieve it with `setproctitle.getproctitle()`. It also shows how to restore the original title.

import setproctitle import time import os original_title = setproctitle.getproctitle() print(f"Original process title: {original_title}") new_title = f"my_worker_process_id_{os.getpid()}" setproctitle.setproctitle(new_title) print(f"New process title: {setproctitle.getproctitle()}") # Simulate some work time.sleep(5) setproctitle.setproctitle(original_title) print(f"Restored original process title: {setproctitle.getproctitle()}")

Debug

Known issues

gotchaImport and use `setproctitle` early in your program's lifetime. Code that modifies environment variables after `setproctitle` is initialized may interfere with its proper functioning.

fix

Ensure `import setproctitle` and initial calls to `setproctitle()` or `getproctitle()` occur before any significant environment variable manipulation.

affects: All versions

gotchaOn many platforms, setting the process title may overwrite the `environ` memory area, potentially clobbering the content of `/proc/PID/environ`. While `os.environ` within Python will still work as expected, external tools reading `/proc/PID/environ` might see broken data.

fix

To prevent `/proc/PID/environ` from being clobbered, set the `SPT_NOENV` environment variable to any non-empty value before running your Python process (e.g., `export SPT_NOENV=1`). Note that this will limit the maximum length for the process title to the length of the original command line.

affects: All versions

gotchaThe ability to change process titles is highly platform-dependent. While `setproctitle` is designed for cross-platform compatibility, its behavior and what is visible may vary significantly.

fix

Test your application on all target operating systems and kernel versions to confirm the expected behavior of process title changes. On Windows, the module creates a Named Object, which can be read by tools like Process Explorer, as there is no direct way to change the visible process string.

affects: All versions

deprecatedOlder versions of setproctitle (prior to 1.1) did not officially support Python 3.

fix

Ensure you are using `setproctitle` version 1.1 or newer for Python 3 compatibility. The current version (1.3.7) fully supports Python 3.

affects: < 1.1

Errors

Common errors & fixes

fatal error: Python.h: No such file or directory

The Python development headers are missing, which are required to compile C extensions like setproctitle.

fix

Install the Python development package for your system (e.g., `sudo apt-get install python3-dev` on Debian/Ubuntu, `sudo yum install python3-devel` on RHEL/CentOS/Fedora).

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'setproctitle'

The `setproctitle` package is not installed in the current Python environment or the environment is not activated.

fix

Install the package using pip: `pip install setproctitle`.

error: command 'gcc' failed with exit status 1

The C compiler (gcc) encountered an error during the compilation of the setproctitle C extension, often due to missing build tools or Python development headers.

fix

Ensure essential build tools are installed (e.g., `sudo apt-get install build-essential` on Debian/Ubuntu) and Python development headers are present (see the 'Python.h' error fix).

TypeError: 'module' object is not callable

The user attempted to call the `setproctitle` module directly as a function instead of calling its specific `setproctitle()` method within the module.

fix

Call the `setproctitle` function from within the module: `setproctitle.setproctitle("new_title")`.

Upgrade

Version history

1.3.7latest on PyPI · released Sep 5, 2025

Audit

Dependencies

C compilerrequiredsetproctitle is a C extension and requires a C compiler to build.

Python development headersrequiredRequires Python development support (e.g., `python-dev` or `python3-dev` on Linux) to build the C extension.

Agent activity

18 hits · last 30 days

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OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/dvarrazzo/py-setproctitle ↗

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