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DepTime

Official registry Other

What changed in a Python library, in which release, and what replaces it. Answered locally.

Source code Documentation

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

PYPI package deptime
Claude Code 
claude mcp add deptime -e 'DEPTIME_OFFLINE=<DEPTIME_OFFLINE>' -e 'DEPTIME_HOME=<DEPTIME_HOME>' -- uvx deptime==0.1.2 mcp
JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code) 
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "deptime": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "deptime==0.1.2",
                "mcp"
            ],
            "env": {
                "DEPTIME_OFFLINE": "<DEPTIME_OFFLINE>",
                "DEPTIME_HOME": "<DEPTIME_HOME>"
            }
        }
    }
}

Environment variables

  • DEPTIME_OFFLINE Set to 1 to never touch the network: no index download and no daily update check.
  • DEPTIME_HOME Where the index is stored. Defaults to ~/.cache/deptime.

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents
  1. Install
  2. Tools
  3. CLI
  4. How it works
  5. Hosting (optional)
  6. Prior art and credits
  7. Contributing
  8. Docs
  9. License

An API time machine for Python libraries, built for coding agents.

When an agent hits ImportError, AttributeError or "unexpected keyword argument" in a fast-moving library, one call to DepTime says what changed, in which release, and what to use instead. Answers are computed from static diffs of every indexed release, not from docs or model memory.

Free, open source (MIT), and local: your code and errors never leave your machine.

TypeError: Client.__init__() got an unexpected keyword argument 'proxies'
{
  "symbol": "httpx.Client.__init__(proxies)",
  "issue": "param_removed",
  "installed_version": "0.28.1",
  "last_version_with": "0.27.2",
  "first_version_without": "0.28.0",
  "deprecated_in": "0.26.0",
  "replacements": [
    {"target": "proxy", "confidence": 0.8, "source": "deprecation_message"},
    {"target": "mounts", "confidence": 0.79, "source": "deprecation_message"}
  ],
  "pin_to_restore": "httpx<=0.27.2",
  "confidence": "high"
}

That's the real explain_error answer from the published index, trimmed. The full answer also quotes the deprecation message DepTime found in httpx's own source, and adds a one-sentence explanation for your agent to pass on.

Status: alpha. The prebuilt index is rebuilt nightly. Known gaps are tracked in BACKLOG.md.

Install

Requires uv.

# Claude Code. Cursor, Codex, VS Code and Claude Desktop take the same
# command (uvx deptime mcp) in their MCP config.
claude mcp add deptime -- uvx deptime mcp

On first launch DepTime downloads its prebuilt index (one file from this repo's GitHub Releases) in the background, then checks for a newer one at most once a day. Set DEPTIME_OFFLINE=1 to never touch the network.

Claude Code users can also install the plugin in integrations/claude-code with /plugin marketplace add cschmertz/deptime, then /plugin install deptime@deptime. It adds a skill and a local hook that suggests DepTime when a Python version-change error appears in a command's output.

Tools

ToolUse it when
explain_error(traceback, installed_versions?, pip_freeze?)An import or call into a library just failed
symbol_history(package, path)Before trusting an API you remember
check_symbols(package, version, symbols[{path, kwargs}])Pre-flight check of the symbols and kwargs you're about to use
`diff_versions(package, from_version \date, to_version?, used_symbols?)`Upgrading, or "what changed since my training cutoff?"
coverage()What's indexed (52 fast-moving packages: AI/agent stack + libraries with known breaking changes)

Every answer carries evidence and a confidence level. If a package isn't covered, DepTime says so instead of guessing. The contracts are in docs/03-product-spec.md.

CLI

uvx deptime explain --installed httpx==0.28.1 < traceback.txt
uvx deptime history httpx Client.__init__
uvx deptime check httpx 0.28.1 'httpx.Client:proxies,proxy'
uvx deptime diff httpx 0.27.2 0.28.1
uvx deptime diff pydantic 2024-06-01              # everything since a date
uvx deptime index status | pull

How it works

Every night, GitHub Actions reads each new release's public API with griffe, which parses the source without running it, diffs it against the previous release, and publishes the result as one file, index.sqlite.gz, on this repo's Releases. On your machine, deptime mcp checks that file's sha256 and schema before swapping it in, then answers every question locally in milliseconds. The full design is in docs/04-architecture.md, and the decisions are in docs/adr/.

Hosting (optional)

Local mode covers coding agents. For web clients that only accept a URL, or for a public demo, run deptime serve (MCP at /mcp, JSON at /v1/*) on Cloud Run (likely free) or Fly.io (about $3–6/month). It has a Dockerfile and fly.toml, plus anonymous rate limits. See docs/05-hosting-and-sustainability.md.

Prior art and credits

  • griffe does the static analysis.
  • since-cutoff diffs your pinned dependencies against a model's training cutoff, locally and on demand. DepTime differs by shipping a prebuilt cross-version index and starting from a traceback.
  • Context7 and Ref serve version-specific docs. DepTime answers symbol-level "when and what replaced it" questions.

Contributing

The most useful contributions are wrong-answer reports, which become benchmark cases. See CONTRIBUTING.md. Development setup:

uv sync && uv run pytest
# build a small local index from real PyPI wheels
uv run deptime ingest httpx --versions 0.27.2 0.28.1

Docs

Product spec · Architecture · Hosting & sustainability · Launch & adoption · Risks & spikes · Privacy & security

License

MIT

Frequently asked questions

What is DepTime?

What changed in a Python library, in which release, and what replaces it. Answered locally.

How do I install DepTime?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add deptime -e 'DEPTIME_OFFLINE=<DEPTIME_OFFLINE>' -e 'DEPTIME_HOME=<DEPTIME_HOME>' -- uvx deptime==0.1.2 mcp. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does DepTime need an API key?

Its registry entry lists no required key or secret. Some features may still need an account with the service it connects to.

Is DepTime open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the MIT license.

Who maintains DepTime?

It is published by cschmertz. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

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