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Replace Windows recommendation for curses (UniCurses) with windows-curses #110904
Description
Documentation
https://docs.python.org/3/howto/curses.html says:
The Windows version of Python doesn’t include the curses module. A ported version called UniCurses is available.
but that project is no longer maintained (since 2014). User suggest to use windows-curses instead, which while also having no activity since November 2022 is at least newer than the other one. I couldn't find a better/more active project.
Linked PRs
- gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO #152491
- [3.15] gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO (GH-152491) #152506
- [3.14] gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO (GH-152491) #152507
- [3.13] gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO (GH-152491) #152508
Activity
GiorgosXou commented on Nov 12, 2024
@heubergen I started maintaining Uni-Curses at 2021 and still keeping it up-to-date. Another maintainer tried to contant the owner (Agetian) who abandoned it but without any luck, therefore the old package stayed there and a new one was created.
GiorgosXou commented on Nov 12, 2024
(it's heavilly tested too; with apps like this one or that one)
gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO (GH-152491)
[3.13] gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO (GH-15…
[3.14] gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO (GH-15…
[3.15] gh-110904: Recommend windows-curses in the curses HOWTO (GH-15…
serhiy-storchaka commented on Jun 28, 2026
Fixed by #152491. The curses HOWTO now recommends windows-curses instead of the unmaintained UniCurses. Thanks @heubergen!
Regarding the maintained Uni-Curses fork — thanks @GiorgosXou; we went with windows-curses because it's a thin wrapper exposing the standard-library curses API unchanged (so the existing HOWTO applies as-is). It is the more natural drop-in to recommend from these docs.