pip - How to check if python package is latest version programmatically?

Question

How do you check if a package is at its latest version programmatically in a script and return a true or false?

I can check with a script like this:

package='gekko'
import pip
if hasattr(pip, 'main'):
    from pip import main as pipmain
else:
    from pip._internal import main as pipmain
pipmain(['search','gekko'])

or with command line:

(base) C:User>pip search gekko
gekko (0.2.3)  - Machine learning and optimization for dynamic systems
  INSTALLED: 0.2.3 (latest)

But how do I check programmatically and return true or false?

Answer 1

Fast Version (Checking the package only)

The code below calls the package with an unavailable version like pip install package_name==random. The call returns all the available versions. The program reads the latest version.

The program then runs pip show package_name and gets the current version of the package.

If it finds a match, it returns True, otherwise False.

This is a reliable option given that it stands on pip

import subprocess
import sys
def check(name):
    latest_version = str(subprocess.run([sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'install', '{}==random'.format(name)], capture_output=True, text=True))
    latest_version = latest_version[latest_version.find('(from versions:')+15:]
    latest_version = latest_version[:latest_version.find(')')]
    latest_version = latest_version.replace(' ','').split(',')[-1]

    current_version = str(subprocess.run([sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'show', '{}'.format(name)], capture_output=True, text=True))
    current_version = current_version[current_version.find('Version:')+8:]
    current_version = current_version[:current_version.find('\n')].replace(' ','') 

    if latest_version == current_version:
        return True
    else:
        return False

Edit 2021: The code below no longer works with the new version of pip

The following code calls for pip list --outdated:

import subprocess
import sys

def check(name):
    reqs = subprocess.check_output([sys.executable, '-m', 'pip', 'list','--outdated'])
    outdated_packages = [r.decode().split('==')[0] for r in reqs.split()]
    return name in outdated_packages