Jaraco Text Utilities

4.2.0 · active · verified Sat Apr 11

jaraco.text is a Python library offering a collection of various text manipulation utilities, including advanced text wrapping, line joining, block indentation, symbol substitution, and more. It is actively maintained with a regular release cadence, currently at version 4.2.0.

Warnings

breaking Version 4.0.0 and above dropped support for Python versions older than 3.9. Users on Python 3.8 or earlier must use jaraco.text version 3.x.
Fix: Upgrade to Python 3.9+ or pin `jaraco.text<4` in your project dependencies.
gotcha The `wrap` function in `jaraco.text` is distinct from the standard library's `textwrap.wrap`. While similar in concept, it has different parameters (e.g., `indent` instead of `initial_indent`/`subsequent_indent`) and may behave differently.
Fix: Be mindful of which `wrap` function you are importing and using. If you intend to use `textwrap.wrap`, explicitly import `from textwrap import wrap`.
gotcha Many utilities like `join_lines` or `ellipsis_middle` are nested within submodules (e.g., `jaraco.text.join`, `jaraco.text.compress`) and must be imported from their specific paths, not directly from `jaraco.text`.
Fix: Consult the documentation or source code to find the correct import path for the specific utility you need. For example, `from jaraco.text.join import join_lines`.

Install

pip install jaraco.text Install latest version

Imports

wrap
```
from jaraco.text import wrap
```
Many core functions are directly importable from the top-level `jaraco.text` package, not nested modules.
join_lines
```
from jaraco.text.join import join_lines
```
`join_lines` is part of the `join` submodule, which is itself a submodule of `jaraco.text`.
ellipsis_middle
```
from jaraco.text.compress import ellipsis_middle
```
`ellipsis_middle` resides in the `compress` submodule.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates three common utilities from jaraco.text: `wrap` for custom text wrapping, `join_lines` for combining lines while preserving indentation, and `ellipsis_middle` for shortening long strings by placing an ellipsis in the center.

from jaraco.text import wrap
from jaraco.text.join import join_lines
from jaraco.text.compress import ellipsis_middle

# Example 1: Custom text wrapping with indentation
long_text = "This is a very long paragraph that demonstrates the custom wrapping functionality provided by jaraco.text. It can handle various widths and indentation levels." 
wrapped = wrap(long_text, width=40, indent=4)
print("--- Wrapped Text ---")
print(wrapped)

# Example 2: Joining lines, preserving relative indentation
lines_to_join = [
    "  First indented line",
    "    Second deeper line",
    "Third top-level line"
]
joined = join_lines(lines_to_join)
print("\n--- Joined Lines ---")
print(joined)

# Example 3: Shorten string with ellipsis in the middle
very_long_string = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog and then takes a nap under the shade tree."
shortened = ellipsis_middle(very_long_string, max_len=30)
print("\n--- Ellipsis Middle ---")
print(shortened)

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