Install

System Requirements

Requires Python >= 3.3. It has been tested on Windows 7 and various flavors of *nix (such as Fedora, OpenSuse, Ubuntu and OSX). For Python < 3.5, there are additional requirements:

  • Python 3.4: requires the “typing” package (from PyPI)

  • Python 3.3: requires the same as 3.4 + enum34, pathlib and weakrefmethod (all on PyPI)

Please post on pypubsub forum (see Support section) if you have successfully used PyPubSub with other combinations of Python and Platform.

Many thanks to Jerome Laheurte for providing a buildbot with Linux and OSX VM’s for continuous testing.

How-to

With pip installed on your system, do pip install pypubsub.

If you want the developer version, you can try pip install --pre pypubsub.

You can also get a zip/tgz from https://github.com/schollii/pypubsub/releases.

Support

The forums are currently hosted on google groups:

Also, many PyPubSub users are on the wxPython-users mailing list.

Release Notes

Pypubsub 4.0.4 (Dec 2025)

  • Modern packaging: PEP 621/pyproject, setuptools-scm tag-driven versions, tox-uv, GitHub Actions CI/release.

  • Supported/tested Python versions: 3.7 through 3.14 (legacy support for 3.3–3.6 removed).

  • Helper tooling: release management (release.py), example runner (examples/runall.sh), Make targets for docs/venv.

  • Docs refreshed (Sphinx 7 + Furo); cleanup of legacy configs and files (Travis, landscape, MANIFEST, setup.py).

Upgrade notes

  • Version now comes from git tags; bump by tagging (e.g., v4.0.4), no manual __version__ edits.

  • If you need wx examples, install wxPython 4.2.4 via the extras feed and SDL2 runtime on Ubuntu (see README).

  • Python <3.7 is no longer supported/tested.

Changelog

High-level changelog. For details, consult the SVN logs.

4.0.4 (Dec 2025):

  • Modernized packaging: pyproject/setuptools-scm, tag-driven versions, tox-uv matrix, GitHub Actions CI/release.

  • Expanded Python support: tested on 3.7–3.14; dropped legacy config for 3.3–3.6.

  • Added helper tooling/scripts for releases and running examples; refreshed docs and ignored generated files.

4.0.3 (Jan 2019):

  • Cleanup for Python 3.7 (mostly add support for keyword-only args, use

    Python 3 inspect signature/Parameter and add tests for

4.0.0 (Dec 2016):

  • Verified support Python 3.5 and 3.6

  • Distribution via wheel

  • Abandon support for Python 2.x and easy_install; now requires Python >= 3.3

  • Abandon support for long-ago deprecated arg1 messaging protocol

  • Added currying of subscribed listener args

  • Significant speed improvement for message delivery

  • Use PEP 484 style of annotations throughout

  • Use enum instead of constants when practical

3.3.0 (Feb 2014):

  • cleanup low-level API: exception classes, moved some out of pub module that did not belong there (clutter), move couple modules; specifically:

    • Removed from pub (available on object returned from pub.getDefaultTopicMgr()) * getOrCreateTopic -> pub.getDefaultTopicMgr().getOrCreateTopic * getTopic -> pub.getDefaultTopicMgr().getTopic * newTopic -> pub.getDefaultTopicMgr().newTopic * delTopic -> pub.getDefaultTopicMgr().delTopic * getAssociatedTopics -> pub.getDefaultTopicMgr().getTopics * getDefaultTopicTreeRoot -> pub.getDefaultTopicMgr().getRootAllTopics

    • Removed from pub (available from pubsub.core): * ITopicDefnProvider

    • Moved from pub into to pubsub.core.TopicDefnProvider class as classmethod: * registerTopicDefnProviderType

    • Renamed: * TopicNameInvalid -> TopicNameError * UndefinedTopic(RuntimeError) -> TopicNameError(ValueError) * UndefinedSubtopic(RuntimeError) -> TopicNameError(ValueError) * ListenerInadequate(TypeError) -> ListenerMismatchError(ValueError) * UnrecognizedImportFormat -> UnrecognizedSourceFormatError * ListenerSpecInvalid -> MessageDataSpecError * SenderMissingReqdArgs -> SenderMissingReqdMsgDataError * SenderUnknownOptArgs -> SenderUnknownMsgDataError * ListenerNotValidatable -> TopicDefnErrorcd

    • Changed; * Topic.isSendable -> hasMDS * TopicManager.??? -> isTopicInUse + hasTopicDefinition

  • completed the ref docs

  • support installation via pip

  • cleanup versioning metadata: use pubsub.__version__ instead of pub.PUBSUB_VERSION

  • support Python 3

  • add getListenersIter() to iterate over listeners without temp copy of listener list

  • add deprecation message when import setuparg1

  • new wxPubsubMonitor utility class

3.2.0 (sep 2013):

  • cleanup of docs

  • merged importTopicTree to addTopicDefnProvider

  • renamed pub.getDefaultRootAllTopics to pub.getDefaultTopicTreeRoot

  • removed pub.importTopicTree, use pub.addTopicDefnProvider(source, format)

  • renamed pub.exportTopicTree to pub.exportTopicTreeSpec

  • several minor bug fixes

  • incorporated some patches contributed by users: one for performance improvement when high-frequency of subscribers/messages; one for reading topic tree specification from XML rather than .py module

  • v1 and v2 APIs no longer supported

3.1.2 (2011):

  • added some docs

  • more configurable importTopicTree

  • using importTopicTree now allows to use the topic hierarchy as topic names instead of string, thereby enabling python editors to support PyPubSub-based development via code completion and sendMessage keyword arguments.

3.1.1b (2010):

  • cleanup docs

  • couple minor tweaks (for instance added pub.getMsgProtocol())

3.1.0b (2009):

  • Import/export of topic tree and its documentation using Python interpreter

  • Better support for evolving topic tree during application development, with “freezing” certain parts of tree

  • Helper functions to transition from arg1 to kwargs messaging protocol

  • Improved error messages (in exceptions raised)

  • PyPubSub can be installed inside other packages and will not interfere with system-wide pubsub

  • pubsubconf module moved inside pubsub package so manual install easier

  • Support !**kwargs in listeners

  • Support for more than one pubusb notification handler

  • Multiple publisher engines in one application (for instance, in separate threads, or for different “domains” in a large application)

  • Upgraded docs

  • Bug fixes, cleanup

3.0 (2008):

  • Use keyword arguments in sendMessage

  • Support any kind of listener, not just those with one unnamed argument

  • Validate listeners at subscription time

  • Support “inheritance” of keyword arguments by subtopics during message sending (prevents a common bug which was to send data using wrong argument names).

  • Topic tree can be documented (including topic message arguments)

  • Support user-defined notification handling of certain events occuring in PyPubSub such as “subscribe”, “sendMessage”.

  • Support user-defined exception handling of exceptions raised by listeners

  • Proto-Documentation on own website using Sphinx

  • Separate regression testing folder for nose-based automated testing

  • Configuration module for choosing which PyPubSub API to use in application, useful for backwards compatibility

2.0 (2007):

  • more Pythonic API (new PublisherClass API, at module level so easier to call – no need to know about singleton)

  • Support definition of topic tree via a python class, for increased rigor and documentability of topics

  • Topics are objects

1.0 (2005):

  • Given its own “home” as separate package from wxPython’s wx.lib.pubsub

  • Factored out weakmethod

  • Put on Cheese Shop

Pre 1.0:

  • Created by Rob Shecter in wxPython’s wx.lib (early 2000?)

  • Weakmethod added by Oliver Schoenborn (2004)

  • Further development transfered to Schoenborn (2004)