radicle-py 0.1.1: Python alpha

Typed CPython bindings for local signed Radicle project, issue and patch workflows, plus storage/repository inspection, local policy management, routing reads and raw COB inspection. Import the package as radiclepy.

See the API reference for signatures and conversion rules, the changelog for Python changes, and the project overview for both SDKs, including the shared scope and non-goals. This guide is also the Python package's long description; it is not a registry-publication announcement.

Python installation

From 0.1.1, releases are published to PyPI as radicle-py: abi3 wheels for CPython ≥ 3.9 on Linux x86_64 (manylinux_2_28) and macOS arm64 (11.0+), plus an sdist. Each release is also recorded as a signed rad-artifact release object on the Radicle repository, whose manifest lists the digest of every published file; see Releasing.

python -m pip install "radicle-py==<version>"

Release 0.1.0 (Linux x86_64 only) predates the registry step and is available only through rad-artifact:

rad-artifact download <tag-object-id> --cid <cid> --repo rad:z27dDy6sppkZDG8qYcySVX9Qn5jNg
rad-artifact verify radicle_py-0.1.0-cp39-abi3-manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl --repo rad:z27dDy6sppkZDG8qYcySVX9Qn5jNg
python -m pip install ./radicle_py-0.1.0-cp39-abi3-manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl

Installing from Git remains the development path and the only path on other platforms. It requires Git, Rust ≥ 1.91 and a C toolchain; libgit2 and SQLite build from bundled sources. Linux and macOS are the targets; Windows is unsupported/unverified. The Git commit identifies a development build.

Set SDK_GIT_URL to a clone URL of the SDK repository supported by your Git installation, then install:

python -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
SDK_GIT_URL=https://YOUR-HOST/YOUR-REPOSITORY.git
# Replace FULL_COMMIT_SHA with a full reviewed commit SHA.
python -m pip install "git+${SDK_GIT_URL}@FULL_COMMIT_SHA"

A local Git checkout also works, at any committed revision:

python -m pip install "git+file:///absolute/path/to/checkout@FULL_COMMIT_SHA"

Do not enable the test-helpers Cargo feature in alpha installations. For troubleshooting, check git --version, rustc --version and your C compiler before installation. No rad executable or running daemon is needed for SDK local workflows. Subsequent external Git operations against the configured rad remote require git-remote-rad separately.

Runnable local quick start

This Python example creates a temporary profile and working copy. For the TypeScript equivalent, see its runnable quick start.

Unlike the interactive rad init CLI, radiclepy.init_project calls the crate directly with explicit metadata. Git subprocess calls below only create the input Git repository; they use argument arrays, never a shell.

from pathlib import Path
import subprocess
import tempfile
import radiclepy as rad

with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as directory:
    root = Path(directory)
    work = root / "work"
    work.mkdir()

    def git(*args):
        subprocess.run(
            ["git", "-C", str(work), "-c", "user.name=Alice",
             "-c", "user.email=alice@example.invalid", *args],
            check=True, capture_output=True,
        )

    git("init", "--initial-branch=main")
    (work / "README.md").write_text("# Hello Radicle\n")
    git("add", "README.md")
    git("commit", "-m", "initial commit")

    profile = rad.Profile.init(root / "rad-home", "alice")
    storage = profile.storage
    signer = profile.signer()
    rid = rad.init_project(storage, signer, work,
                           name="hello", description="Demo", default_branch="main")
    repo = storage.repository(rid)
    print(rid, repo.commit(repo.head.oid).message_str)

    issues = rad.Issues.open_as(repo, signer)
    issue = issues.create("First issue", "Description", labels=["demo"])
    issue.comment("A reply")
    for comment in issue.reload().comments:
        print(comment.author, comment.body)
    issue.close("solved")

    rad.fork_project(storage, signer, rid)
    rad.checkout_project(storage, rid, signer.node_id, str(root / "checkout"))

For an existing home, Profile.load() resolves RAD_HOME or ~/.radicle; Storage.from_profile(profile).repositories() discovers stored projects. Use RAD_PASSPHRASE for an encrypted keystore or the upstream SSH-agent path. Encrypted-key success/wrong/missing-passphrase paths are tested; live SSH-agent integration is not verified by the alpha suite.

Python contract and scope limits

• IDs are strings; parse_* functions validate/canonicalize them.
• Binding input validation raises ValueError; operational failures raise the radiclepy.Error hierarchy. Project multi-step failures can leave partial filesystem/configuration changes; no rollback guarantee is made.
• Git byte-typed fields preserve bytes, with lossy *_str conveniences.
• Typed comments/revisions/reviews use epoch milliseconds; raw COB operations use epoch seconds.
• Values are snapshots, collections are eager copies, and handles reopen on use. Issues.open/Patches.open are lazy; failures occur on operations.
• Signers and write-store/mutable handles are thread-affine; no async API or cross-thread guarantee. Init/checkout retain the GIL during upstream Git subprocess calls. Path inputs accept str and os.PathLike[str]; byte paths are rejected. Path returns remain strings.
• Init refuses an existing rad remote without altering its configuration or tracking refs. Checkout uses canonical heads; its remote parameter selects the push namespace, not a peer's branch to check out.
• Patch latest_revision identifies the patch-author revision described by base/head/description. Use it for review/merge of that revision; version counts all revision slots (including redactions), not a list index.
• Repository canonical-ref writes do not silently sign afterward; sign_refs(signer) is explicit. Typed COB mutations sign upstream.
• Patch merge records an upstream COB merge operation: it does not merge Git, move a branch, or clean up refs. The commit must already be in storage. Target-branch/quorum evaluation may leave the patch open even if the call succeeds; inspect patch.reload().state.
• No generic Git write API: callers use Git for commits/imports/branch movement.
• To open a patch from a working copy, use git push rad HEAD:refs/patches; to update an existing patch, use git push rad HEAD:refs/heads/patches/<id> (needs git-remote-rad). Patches.create, draft and update are for commits already in storage and need an explicit base; see the Python API for how they differ from the push path.
• Deferred: node control/network fetch/announce, identity governance/private access administration, address-store management, routing writes, inline review machinery, reactions, attachments and edit/redaction history APIs.

Shared workflow documentation

• Workflow semantics: signing, Git import, revisions, merge records and partial failures.
• SDK differences: units, snapshots and concurrency.
• Development and validation: repository build commands, typing checks and clean installed-artifact tests.