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codespell vs PySpelling: catalog facts
codespell	PySpelling
Best for: Developers checking source trees and text files for common typos	Best for: Developers who want repeatable spelling checks in projects and CI
Free Free and open source under the GPL-2.0 license.	Free Free and open source under the MIT license.
Command line	Command line
Checks source code and other text files Can apply suggested spelling fixes All 3 strengths for codespell Checks source code and other text files Can apply suggested spelling fixes Supports specific paths and file patterns	Configurable tasks for different file types Filters specific document content All 3 strengths for PySpelling Configurable tasks for different file types Filters specific document content Can fail CI builds on misspellings
Checks for common misspellings rather than all dictionary words Requires Python 3.9 or above	Requires Python and Aspell or Hunspell Spell checker dictionaries must be available
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-only	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for codespell github.com/codespell-project/codespell Catalog checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for PySpelling facelessuser.github.io/pyspelling Catalog checked October 8, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.