PyPI (Python Package Index) has launched a new 'Project Archival' feature, empowering maintainers to mark projects as archived. This signals to users that these projects are no longer actively maintained or expected to receive updates, including crucial security fixes. While archived projects remain installable, the new status alerts developers to the risk of relying on unmaintained packages, thereby promoting more responsible dependency management. Maintainers can archive projects via their settings page on PyPI, prompting a prominent notice to appear on the project's main page.
The new archival system seeks to improve supply chain security by explicitly communicating the maintenance status of projects. This builds on PyPI's existing "project quarantine" framework introduced in late 2024, which allows administrators to mark suspicious projects and prevent their installation. By enabling maintainers to clearly denote the state of archived projects, this feature enhances visibility into the lifecycle of packages. PyPI recommends that package developers release a final version before archiving, including a detailed update in the project description to provide additional context about its status.
The archival process is reversible, giving project owners the option to resume maintenance if desired. As part of broader efforts to enhance project lifecycle management within PyPI, further project status labels such as "deprecated" or "unmaintained" may be introduced, along with updates to PyPI's public APIs to allow for easier retrieval of project status information. The goal is to provide a more structured and informative ecosystem for Python developers.