six ☆
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Description:
Python 2 and 3 compatibility utilities
Type: Formula  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: Developer tools
Tags: python compatibility library development utilities
Install: brew install six
About:
Six is a Python 2 and 3 compatibility library designed to smooth over the differences between the two major Python versions. It provides a unified module that allows developers to write Python 3-style code that runs on Python 2, and Python 2-style code that runs on Python 3. This tool is essential for maintaining codebases that need to support both environments during a transition period.
Key Features:
  • Provides a single codebase for Python 2 and 3
  • Wraps over the standard library changes
  • Handles text and binary data type differences
  • Compatible with PyPy, Jython, and IronPython
Use Cases:
  • Maintaining legacy Python 2 applications while adding Python 3 support
  • Writing new libraries that must support both Python versions
  • Refactoring large codebases to be Python 3 compatible
Alternatives:
  • python-future – Similar goal, but uses a different API approach; six is generally considered more lightweight.
  • 2to3 – A standard library tool that converts Python 2 code to 3; six allows running the same code on both versions.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Dec 4, 2024 9:04pm 0 VERSION_BUMP 46fda04c
Oct 9, 2024 4:50pm 5 VERSION_BUMP 2cf8457a
Oct 7, 2023 11:02am 4 VERSION_BUMP e689d0b4
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