pylibfinder (supports Python 3.10 to 3.14 on POSIX)

• pylibfinder is a Python library that allows you to spot a keyword as a python object inside the Python standard library.
• It provides a convenient way to search for objects that match a given keyword within the standard library modules.
• With pylibfinder, you can easily identify the modules and objects that are available in Python and gain insights into their usage and availability.
• This library is designed to assist developers in finding relevant objects and understanding the Python standard library better.

Installation

For stable version

• pip install pylibfinder

For development

Recommended (Easy setup):

• git clone https://github.com/Agent-Hellboy/pylibfinder
• cd pylibfinder
• pip install -e . (installs in editable mode with proper Python headers detection)
• make changes to src/pylibfinder.c
• reinstall with pip install -e . to rebuild
• open repl and test

Manual compilation:

macOS:

• Install Homebrew Python: brew install [email protected]
• Find Python include path: python3.13 -c "import sysconfig; print(sysconfig.get_path('include'))"
• Compile: gcc -shared -o pylibfinder.so -fPIC -I /opt/homebrew/opt/[email protected]/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/include/python3.13 src/pylibfinder.c src/module_scanner.c -lpython3.13
• It will generate pylibfinder.so
• Test in Python REPL: python3.13 -c "import pylibfinder; print(pylibfinder.find_similar('power'))

Linux:

• Install Python dev package: sudo apt-get install python3.13-dev
• Compile: gcc -shared -o pylibfinder.so -fPIC -I /usr/include/python3.13 src/pylibfinder.c src/module_scanner.c
• It will generate pylibfinder.so
• Test in Python REPL: python3.13 -c "import pylibfinder; print(pylibfinder.find_similar('power'))

Example

Semantic similarity search - Find similar functions:

>>> import pylibfinder
>>>
>>> # Search for 'power' to find math functions (default threshold 0.5)
>>> pylibfinder.find_similar('power')
[{'Module': 'builtins', 'Function': 'pow', 'Similarity': 0.6}, ...]
>>>
>>> # Search for 'print' with custom threshold
>>> result = pylibfinder.find_similar('print', 0.5)
>>> result[0]
{'Module': 'builtins', 'Function': 'print', 'Similarity': 1.0}
>>>
>>> # Find functions similar to 'parseInt' (Java function) with higher threshold
>>> pylibfinder.find_similar('parseInt', 0.6)
[{'Module': 're._parser', 'Function': '_parse_sub', 'Similarity': 0.6}]
>>>
>>> # Include private APIs (functions starting with _) in search results
>>> pylibfinder.find_similar('parse', 0.5, include_private=True)
[{'Module': 'builtins', 'Function': 'compile', 'Similarity': 0.5}, {'Module': 're._parser', 'Function': '_parse_sub', 'Similarity': 0.8}, ...]
>>>

Terminal User Interface (TUI)

Interactive Search with Beautiful UI:

To use the interactive terminal interface, install with the TUI extra:

pip install pylibfinder[tui]

Then launch the interactive TUI:

pylibfinder-tui

Features:

• Beautiful Interactive Interface - Built with Textual for a modern TUI experience
• Keyboard Navigation - Smooth and responsive controls
• Color-Coded Results - Visual indicators for match quality:
  • Green: Excellent match (90%+)
  • Cyan: Good match (70%+)
  • Yellow: Fair match (50%+)
  • Red: Low match (<50%)
• Progress Bars - Visual representation of similarity scores
• Real-time Search - Search directly in the TUI interface

Usage:

1. Start the TUI: pylibfinder-tui
2. Type your keyword in the search box (e.g., power, print, parseInt)
3. Every keyword event sends request to the backend
4. View results in the formatted table
5. Press Ctrl+L to clear results or Ctrl+C to exit

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.