PyPI Package Release Velocity Tracker

Compare Python package maintenance velocity across multiple PyPI packages in a single run — ranked by release frequency, maintenance recency, and total release count. Official PyPI JSON API, no API key required.

Who This Is For

• Python developers evaluating which packages to depend on (maintenance health signals)
• DevOps/Infra teams auditing dependency maintenance in requirements files
• AI/ML teams tracking framework release velocity (PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, etc.)
• Technical leads comparing package activity to make architectural decisions
• Procurement/OSS due diligence — assess maintenance before corporate adoption

Key Features & Value

• Cross-package release-velocity ranking — see which packages release most frequently, ranked
• Multiple recency signals — releases in last year, last quarter, days since last release
• Maintenance health labels — TORCH (highly active), BLAZING, ACTIVE, STEADY, SLOW, STALLED
• Total release count — lifetime history for maturity assessment
• Official PyPI JSON API — no keys, no rate limits, no scraping
• Free-tier friendly — up to 10 results for free Apify accounts
• PPE pricing — pay per run, not per month

Quick Start

1. Open the Actor on Apify Store
2. Enter comma-separated PyPI package names (up to 20)
3. Run — results appear in seconds
4. Read the ranked table: highest release-velocity packages first

{
  "packages": "requests,flask,django,fastapi,numpy,pandas,scipy,pytest,click,rich"
}

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
packages	string	requests,flask,django,fastapi,numpy,pandas,scipy,matplotlib,pytest,click	Comma-separated PyPI package names (max 20)

Output Structure

[
  {
    "packageName": "fastapi",
    "summary": "FastAPI framework, high performance, easy to learn, fast to code, ready for production",
    "currentVersion": "0.139.2",
    "totalReleases": 301,
    "lastReleaseDate": "2026-07-16",
    "daysSinceLastRelease": 3,
    "releasesLastYear": 152,
    "releasesLastQuarter": 22,
    "velocityLabel": "TORCH"
  },
  {
    "packageName": "requests",
    "summary": "Python HTTP for Humans.",
    "currentVersion": "2.34.2",
    "totalReleases": 163,
    "lastReleaseDate": "2026-05-14",
    "daysSinceLastRelease": 65,
    "releasesLastYear": 14,
    "releasesLastQuarter": 8,
    "velocityLabel": "TORCH"
  }
]

Velocity Labels

Label	Criteria	Meaning
TORCH	≥12 releases/year, last release ≤90 days	Extremely active maintenance
BLAZING	≥6 releases/year, last release ≤180 days	Highly active maintenance
ACTIVE	≥3 releases/year, last release ≤365 days	Regular maintenance
STEADY	≥1 release/year, last release ≤365 days	Occasional maintenance
SLOW	<1 release/year, last release <2 years	Infrequent maintenance
STALLED	≥2 years since last release	Abandoned/unmaintained

Usage Examples

1. Compare AI/ML Framework Activity (5 packages)

{"packages": "torch,tensorflow,jax,keras,flax"}

Returns: TORCH/BLAZING labels identify the most actively developed frameworks.

2. Audit Your requirements.txt Dependencies

{"packages": "django,django-rest-framework,django-cors-headers,celery,redis,gunicorn,psycopg2-binary,sentry-sdk,whitenoise,pillow"}

Returns: STALLED/SLOW labels flag dependencies that may need replacement planning.

3. AI Agent Workflow — Dependency Health Assessment

"I'm considering adopting FastAPI for production. Check the maintenance velocity of fastapi together with uvicorn, pydantic, starlette, and httpx."

Run this actor with those 5 packages. The TORCH/BLAZING labels on all of them confirms a healthy ecosystem. An agent can then decide: High confidence — all core dependencies are actively maintained.

4. Zapier/Make/n8n Automation — Slack Alert on Stalled Dependencies

Trigger: Weekly schedule
Action: Run PyPI Release Velocity Tracker with "numpy,pandas,scikit-learn,matplotlib"
Filter: Where velocityLabel = "STALLED"
Result: Send Slack message "@channel WARNING: dependency XYZ is STALLED"

5. CI/CD Gate — Pre-Merge Dependency Check

# GitHub Actions: gate PRs that add STALLED dependencies
jobs:
  dependency-audit:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: |
          curl -X POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/saint_person/pypi-package-release-velocity-tracker/runs \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            -d '{"packages":"'$NEW_DEP'"}' | jq '.data[0].velocityLabel'
          # Fail if label == "STALLED"

6. MCP Tool — Package Health Lookup

An MCP client can call this actor with a single package to get its full velocity profile. If velocityLabel returns STALLED, the MCP agent can recommend alternatives.

Integration Notes

Platform	How to Integrate
Zapier	Webhook trigger → Run Actor → Parse JSON → Write to Sheet/Slack
Make	Apify module (Run Actor) → Router by velocityLabel → Email/Slack notification
n8n	HTTP Request node → POST to Apify API → IF(velocityLabel=STALLED) → Alert
MCP	Standard Apify MCP server integration — call by actor name
Code	curl -X POST https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/saint_person~pypi-package-release-velocity-tracker/runs

Pricing & Typical Cost

Event	Price	Count per Run	Total
Actor Start	$0.01	1	$0.01
Package Profile	$0.003	5-10 packages	$0.015-0.03
Total (typical)			~$0.02-0.04 per run

Example: 15 packages run costs = $0.01 + (15 × $0.003) = $0.055 per run.

Free Apify plan returns up to 10 package profiles per run (free-tier cap). Paid plans unlock the full 20-package limit.

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Fix
Package not found	Typo in name or private package	Check spelling on pypi.org
Empty results	No packages provided or all failed	Ensure comma-separated names with no extra quotes
All results STALLED	Package really is unmaintained for 2+ years	Consider alternatives

Changelog

• 2026-07-20: v1.0 — Initial release.