wcmatch

library11.0.1pypypi✓ verified 26d ago

Wcmatch is a Python library that provides enhanced `fnmatch`, `glob`, and `pathlib` functionalities, closely following Bash-like wildcard and glob matching features. It includes support for recursive globs (`**`), Zsh-style symlink traversal (`***`), brace expansion, extended glob patterns, and more. The library is actively maintained with regular releases, often adding new features and dropping support for older Python versions.

serialization data

pip install wcmatch

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · WCMATCH

wcmatch

serializationpythonv11.0.1

Install

1.6s avg

Import

54ms

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 v11.0.1 · 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 0.056s · 18.2MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 1.6s · import 0.052s · 19MB

16MB installed

● package 16MB

Code

Verified usage

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

glob

✓ from wcmatch import glob

For filesystem globbing and path matching.

fnmatch

✓ from wcmatch import fnmatch

For string-based pattern matching.

pathlib

✓ from wcmatch import pathlib

Provides enhanced `pathlib.Path` subclasses with wcmatch's glob behavior.

WcMatch

✓ from wcmatch import wcmatch

The `wcmatch` submodule contains the `WcMatch` class for extendable file searches.

Demonstrates basic recursive globbing, including how to match hidden files, and a simple string match using `fnmatch`. This creates a temporary directory structure for the example.

import os import shutil from wcmatch import glob, fnmatch # Create some dummy files/directories for the example os.makedirs('temp_dir/nested/.hidden', exist_ok=True) with open('temp_dir/file.txt', 'w') as f: f.write('hi') with open('temp_dir/nested/another.log', 'w') as f: f.write('hi') with open('temp_dir/nested/.hidden/secret.dat', 'w') as f: f.write('hi') print("Basic recursive glob (glob.GLOBSTAR):") # By default, doesn't match hidden files or symlinks # Output may vary based on OS and actual symlinks results_globstar = glob.glob('temp_dir/**/*.txt', flags=glob.GLOBSTAR) print(f"Found: {sorted(results_globstar)}") # Expected: ['temp_dir/file.txt'] print("\nRecursive glob including hidden files (GLOBSTAR | DOTGLOB):") results_hidden = glob.glob('temp_dir/**/*', flags=glob.GLOBSTAR | glob.DOTGLOB) print(f"Found: {sorted(results_hidden)}") # Expected: Should include 'temp_dir/.hidden/secret.dat', 'temp_dir/file.txt', 'temp_dir/nested/another.log', etc. print("\nString matching with fnmatch:") match_str = fnmatch.fnmatch('image.jpeg', '*.jp*g') print(f"'image.jpeg' matches '*.jp*g': {match_str}") # Expected: True # Clean up shutil.rmtree('temp_dir')

Debug

Known issues

breakingWcmatch has progressively dropped support for older Python versions. Version 10.1 dropped Python 3.8, Version 8.5 dropped Python 3.7, and Version 8.4 dropped Python 3.6. Ensure your environment uses Python 3.9 or newer.

fix

Upgrade your Python environment to 3.9 or newer.

affects: 8.4, 8.5, 10.1

breakingThe `glob.raw_escape` function was removed in version 9.0.

fix

Review your code for usage of `glob.raw_escape` and remove it, as its functionality is no longer available.

affects: 9.0+

gotchaWhen using `glob` or `fnmatch` for exclusion, the `exclude` parameter (introduced in v8.4) is generally preferred over using the `NEGATE` flag with `!` prefixes in patterns. Do not use both simultaneously, as this can lead to unexpected behavior.

fix

Choose either the `exclude` parameter or the `NEGATE` flag with `!` prefix for exclusion patterns, but not both in the same call. The `exclude` parameter offers a cleaner separation.

affects: 8.4+

gotchaBy default, `GLOBSTAR` (`**`) in `wcmatch.glob` does not traverse symlinks. To include symlinks in recursive globbing, you must explicitly enable the `FOLLOW` or `GLOBSTARLONG` flag (the latter provides Zsh-style `***` behavior, introduced in 10.0).

fix

Add `flags=glob.GLOBSTAR | glob.FOLLOW` or `flags=glob.GLOBSTARLONG` to your `glob.glob` calls if symlink traversal is desired.

affects: 10.0+

gotchaWildcard characters like `*` do not match files or directories starting with a dot (`.`) by default. To include hidden files/directories in your glob results, enable the `DOTGLOB` flag.

fix

Add `flags=glob.DOTGLOB` (or `glob.GLOBSTAR | glob.DOTGLOB` for recursive hidden files) to your `glob.glob` or `pathlib` calls.

affects: All versions

gotchaLarge brace expansion patterns (e.g., `a{1..100000}`) can lead to a significant number of generated patterns, potentially impacting performance or exceeding the default pattern limit (1000).

fix

Be mindful of complex brace expansions. Consider using extended glob patterns like `@(a|b|c)` or adjusting the `limit` parameter in `compile` or `glob` functions (set to `0` for no limit) if necessary.

affects: 6.0+

gotchaOn Windows, backslashes in patterns must be escaped (e.g., `r'path\\to\file'`) to match literal backslashes, as `wcmatch` allows escaped characters. Forward slashes (`/`) are normalized and will match both forward and backslashes.

fix

Use raw strings for patterns with backslashes (e.g., `r'C:\Users\**'`) or use forward slashes for cross-platform compatibility.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

TypeError: glob.glob() got an unexpected keyword argument 'flags'

The user imported Python's standard `glob` module but attempted to use `wcmatch`-specific arguments like `flags` which are only available in `wcmatch.glob`.

fix

Import `wcmatch.glob` instead of the standard `glob` module: `from wcmatch import glob` then `glob.glob('**/*.txt', flags=glob.GLOBSTAR)`.

AttributeError: module 'wcmatch.path' has no attribute 'walk'

In recent versions of `wcmatch` (v8.0+), path-related functions like `walk` are methods of the `wcmatch.path.Path` class, not direct functions of the module itself.

fix

Instantiate the `Path` class and call the method on the instance: `from wcmatch.path import Path` then `Path('.').walk()`.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'wcmatch'

The `wcmatch` library has not been installed in the active Python environment, or the environment where it's installed is not the one being used.

fix

Install the library using pip: `pip install wcmatch`.

ERROR: No matching distribution found for wcmatch

The Python version being used is no longer supported by the latest `wcmatch` releases, preventing `pip` from finding a compatible package.

fix

Upgrade Python to a supported version (e.g., Python 3.9 or newer for recent `wcmatch` versions) or explicitly install an older `wcmatch` version compatible with your current Python (e.g., `pip install wcmatch==7.0.2` for Python 3.7).

Upgrade

Version history

11.0.1latest on PyPI · released Aug 14, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

pythonrequiredRequires Python 3.9 or newer

Agent activity

47 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/facelessuser/wcmatch ↗

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