library_usage.rst

Using ScanCode from Python

ScanCode Toolkit is primarily designed to be used as a command-line tool. At present, it does not expose a stable, documented public Python API for invoking scans programmatically.

However, ScanCode can still be integrated into Python-based workflows by invoking its command-line interface from Python code. ScanCode modules can also be imported, though execution-related APIs are considered internal and subject to change.

Installation

ScanCode Toolkit must be installed with all optional dependencies:

pip install scancode-toolkit[full]

Using ScanCode via subprocess

The recommended way to execute a ScanCode scan from Python is by invoking the ScanCode command-line interface using the subprocess module.

import subprocess

subprocess.run(
    [
        "scancode",
        "--license",
        "--json-pp",
        "results.json",
        "/path/to/scan",
    ],
    check=True,
)

Importing ScanCode modules

ScanCode modules can be imported in Python. This can be useful for accessing internal utilities or for exploratory purposes, but these APIs are not considered stable for running scans.

import scancode
import scancode.api

Notes

• ScanCode does not currently provide a public Python function to run scans directly.
• Internal APIs may change without notice and should not be relied upon for production integrations.
• For full scan configuration options, refer to the ScanCode command-line documentation.