verlib2

library0.3.2pypypi✓ verified 86d ago

verlib2 is a Python library that provides a standalone bundle of version parsing implementations, specifically `distutils.version` (PEP 386) and `packaging.version` (PEP 440). Its primary purpose is to offer these functionalities without requiring the `packaging` library as a dependency, and to provide a solution for projects that relied on `distutils.version` after `distutils` was removed from the Python standard library in Python 3.12. It is actively maintained with a steady release cadence.

serialization data

pip install verlib2

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · VERLIB2

verlib2

serializationpythonv0.3.2

Install

1.7s avg

Import

117ms

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 v0.3.2 · 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 3.10–3.920 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.123s · 17.9MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.920 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.7s · import 0.111s · 18MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

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

Version

✓ from verlib2 import Version

✗ from packaging.version import Version

The primary `Version` class in `verlib2` is the PEP 440 implementation, mirroring `packaging.version.Version` to avoid the `packaging` dependency.

LooseVersion

✓ from verlib2.distutils.version import LooseVersion

✗ from distutils.version import LooseVersion

`distutils.version` was removed in Python 3.12. `verlib2` bundles its functionality to ensure compatibility.

StrictVersion

✓ from verlib2.distutils.version import StrictVersion

✗ from distutils.version import StrictVersion

`distutils.version` was removed in Python 3.12. `verlib2` bundles its functionality to ensure compatibility.

This quickstart demonstrates how to import and use both the PEP 440-compliant `Version` class and the PEP 386-compliant `LooseVersion` and `StrictVersion` classes for version comparison and parsing. It highlights the differences in parsing rules between the two standards, particularly regarding development suffixes and strictness.

from verlib2 import Version from verlib2.distutils.version import LooseVersion, StrictVersion # Using PEP 440 (packaging.version) style v1 = Version("1.0.dev456") v2 = Version("1!1.2.rev33+123456") assert v1 < v2 assert Version("1.0") == Version("1.0.0") # Using PEP 386 (distutils.version) style lv1 = LooseVersion("1.2.3b1") lv2 = LooseVersion("1.2.3") assert lv1 < lv2 assert LooseVersion("1.0") != LooseVersion("1.0.0") # Different behavior than PEP 440 try: sv = StrictVersion("1.2.3.4") # StrictVersion does not allow arbitrary suffixes except ValueError as e: print(f"StrictVersion error: {e}")

Debug

Known issues

breakingDirect imports from `distutils.version` will fail in Python 3.12 and later, as `distutils` was removed from the standard library.

fix

Migrate `from distutils.version import LooseVersion` to `from verlib2.distutils.version import LooseVersion` (and similarly for `StrictVersion`).

affects: Python >=3.12

gotchaThe default `verlib2.Version` class implements PEP 440, which has different parsing and comparison rules than PEP 386 (implemented by `LooseVersion` and `StrictVersion`). For instance, PEP 440 treats `1.0` and `1.0.0` as equal, while PEP 386's `LooseVersion` considers them different.

fix

Carefully choose the appropriate version class (`Version` for PEP 440, `LooseVersion` or `StrictVersion` for PEP 386) based on the specific versioning standard your project requires.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'distutils.version'

Attempting to import `distutils.version` in Python 3.12 or newer where `distutils` has been removed from the standard library.

fix

Replace `from distutils.version import ...` with `from verlib2.distutils.version import ...`.

TypeError: '<' not supported between instances of 'Version' and 'str'

Attempting to compare a `verlib2.Version` object directly with a string. Version objects must be compared with other Version objects.

fix

Ensure all values being compared are instances of `verlib2.Version` (or `LooseVersion`/`StrictVersion`). For example, `Version('1.0') < Version('2.0')`.

Upgrade

Version history

0.3.2latest on PyPI · released Mar 31, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

No dependency data recorded yet.

Agent activity

24 hits · last 30 days

node

Amazon

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/pyveci/verlib2 ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/verlib2/ ↗