Python is famous for productivity—but most developers only scratch the surface.

Beyond the usual requests, pandas, and pytest, there exists a shadow tier of Python tools that feel almost too powerful, too convenient, or too opinionated to be mainstream.

This article covers 10 Python libraries that dramatically increase productivity—some popular, some underrated, and some that feel… forbidden 😈 (in the best way).

⚠️ “Forbidden” does NOT mean illegal or malicious.
It means powerful, unconventional, or avoided because they replace traditional workflows.

1️⃣ Typer — CLI Apps at Unfair Speed

Category: Productivity / Automation
Why it feels forbidden: It makes argparse feel obsolete

pip install typer

import typer

app = typer.Typer()

@app.command()
def hello(name: str):
    print(f"Hello {name}")

app()

Why it’s powerful

• Zero boilerplate CLIs
• Type hints become CLI validation
• Auto help, docs, completion

Use cases

• Dev tooling
• Internal scripts
• SaaS admin CLIs

🧠 If you still write raw argparse, Typer will feel illegal.

2️⃣ Rich — Terminal UI That Feels Like a Web App

Category: Developer Experience
Forbidden because: It makes logs beautiful

pip install rich

from rich.console import Console
console = Console()
console.print("[bold green]Success![/bold green]")

What makes it insane

• Tables, progress bars, trees
• Syntax highlighting in terminal
• Tracebacks that actually help

Why teams avoid it

“Our logs shouldn’t look this good.”

They should.

3️⃣ Watchdog — Reactivity for the File System

Category: Automation
Forbidden because: You stop polling forever

pip install watchdog

What it does

• Watches file changes in real-time
• Triggers actions instantly

Use cases

• Auto-rebuild tools
• Static site generators
• Hot-reload pipelines

If you’ve ever written a while True: sleep(2) loop—this is your redemption.

4️⃣ Pydantic — Data Validation That Rewrites Your Brain

Category: Backend / APIs
Forbidden because: You stop trusting raw dictionaries

pip install pydantic

from pydantic import BaseModel

class User(BaseModel):
    id: int
    email: str

Why it’s elite

• Runtime validation
• Auto type coercion
• Self-documenting models

Used heavily in:

• FastAPI
• Microservices
• Config systems

Once you use it, untyped Python feels unsafe.

5️⃣ Invoke — Task Runners Without YAML Hell

Category: DevOps-lite
Forbidden because: It replaces Makefiles

pip install invoke

from invoke import task

@task
def build(c):
    c.run("python setup.py sdist")

Why it matters

• Python instead of bash
• Cross-platform
• Readable automation

Perfect for:

• Indie hackers
• Internal tools
• Boilerplates

6️⃣ IceCream — Debugging Without Shame

Category: Debugging
Forbidden because: print() but smarter

pip install icecream

from icecream import ic

ic(my_variable)

Why devs love it

• Prints variable name + value
• No formatting needed
• Remove later with one flag

It’s the fastest debug feedback loop in Python.

7️⃣ APScheduler — Cron Jobs Without Cron

Category: Scheduling
Forbidden because: You stop touching crontab

pip install apscheduler

What it unlocks

• In-app schedulers
• Interval, date, cron triggers
• Persistent jobs

Used for:

• Background jobs
• Cleanup tasks
• SaaS maintenance

Cron is powerful—but APScheduler is civilized.

8️⃣ SQLModel — The ORM That Should’ve Existed Earlier

Category: Databases
Forbidden because: It merges Pydantic + SQLAlchemy

pip install sqlmodel

Why it’s dangerous (good dangerous)

• Type-safe DB models
• Less boilerplate
• Perfect with FastAPI

If Django ORM feels heavy and SQLAlchemy feels verbose—this hits the sweet spot.

9️⃣ Python Fire — Turn Any Code into a CLI

Category: Automation
Forbidden because: It exposes everything instantly

pip install fire

import fire

def greet(name="World"):
    return f"Hello {name}"

fire.Fire(greet)

Why it’s controversial

• Zero friction
• Minimal control
• Extremely fast

⚠️ Best for internal tools—not public CLIs.

🔟 Autopep8 + Ruff — The Style Dictators

Category: Code Quality
Forbidden because: They enforce opinions

pip install autopep8 ruff

Why they’re powerful

• Auto-format code
• Catch bugs early
• Enforce discipline

Once enabled:

“I don’t argue about style anymore.”

And that’s freedom.

🧠 Final Thoughts: Why These Feel “Forbidden”

These tools:

• Remove traditional barriers
• Replace old workflows
• Make Python feel unfairly productive

They’re avoided not because they’re bad—but because they change habits.

If you:

• Build SaaS
• Ship boilerplates
• Create dev tools
• Value speed over ceremony

👉 You should be using at least 5 of these already.