Useful checklist for building good Python library APIs, based on "How to make a good library API" PyCon 2017 talk. Access Github Repo. 1. Simplicity Write sample client code in the README: E.g. Pendulum's README starts with sample code . Reduce boilerplate code: count the number of lines up to first really useful API call: E.g. urllib2 has lots of boilerplate code to do an HTTP request compared to