asyncer

Asyncer Patterns

Use this skill when writing Python code that mixes async functions, blocking sync functions, or concurrent async work and the project depends on asyncer.

Asyncer is a small typed layer on top of AnyIO. Prefer the Asyncer helpers below when they fit, because they preserve function signatures, keyword arguments, and return types better than the lower-level AnyIO or asyncio calls.

Imports

Use one of these styles:

import asyncer

from asyncer import asyncify, syncify

For task groups, prefer asyncer.create_task_group() so the returned task group has Asyncer's extra soonify() method.

Concurrent Async Work

Prefer asyncer.create_task_group() plus task_group.soonify() for concurrent async function calls.

import asyncer


async def fetch_user(user_id: int) -> User:
    ...


async def load_users(user_ids: list[int]) -> list[User]:
    soon_values: list[asyncer.SoonValue[User]] = []
    async with asyncer.create_task_group() as task_group:
        for user_id in user_ids:
            soon_values.append(task_group.soonify(fetch_user)(user_id=user_id))

    return [soon_value.value for soon_value in soon_values]

Use this instead of:

await asyncio.gather(*(fetch_user(user_id) for user_id in user_ids))

or raw task creation when the goal is simply "start these async calls concurrently and collect their results".

Do not use task_group.soon(...); Asyncer's API is task_group.soonify(...). The call shape is:

soon_value = task_group.soonify(async_function)(*args, **kwargs)

soonify() returns a SoonValue[T]. Read soon_value.value after the async with block, because exiting the task group waits for the scheduled tasks to finish.

async with asyncer.create_task_group() as task_group:
    first = task_group.soonify(fetch_user)(user_id=1)
    second = task_group.soonify(fetch_user)(user_id=2)

users = [first.value, second.value]

Inside the same task group, .value can raise PendingValueException if the task is not complete. If there was an await inside the block and you truly need to inspect a value before exiting, check .ready first:

async with asyncer.create_task_group() as task_group:
    soon_value = task_group.soonify(fetch_user)(user_id=1)
    await anyio.sleep(0)
    if soon_value.ready:
        user = soon_value.value

If code needs to consume values while producer tasks are still running, use a stream/channel pattern instead of SoonValue.value inside the task group.

If a task started with soonify() raises, the exception propagates when exiting the task group. Do not write code that assumes all SoonValue.value results are available after a failed task group unless the failure is caught and handled intentionally.

Call Sync Code From Async Code

Use asyncer.asyncify() when async code must call a blocking sync function without blocking the event loop.

from asyncer import asyncify


def render_pdf(order_id: int) -> bytes:
    ...


async def endpoint(order_id: int) -> Response:
    pdf = await asyncify(render_pdf)(order_id=order_id)
    return Response(pdf, media_type="application/pdf")

Use this instead of directly calling blocking functions from async code, and instead of lower-level patterns such as loop.run_in_executor(...) or anyio.to_thread.run_sync(...) when you want better argument and return typing.

asyncify() accepts AnyIO thread options:

result = await asyncify(blocking_call, abandon_on_cancel=True)(item_id=item_id)

Use abandon_on_cancel, not the deprecated cancellable argument. Pass a limiter= when the caller needs to limit concurrent worker threads.

Call Async Code From Sync Code

Use asyncer.syncify() from sync code that is running in a worker thread started by async code. A common chain is:

1. An async app or function is running.
2. It calls sync/blocking code with asyncify() or a framework-managed worker thread, such as a FastAPI sync endpoint or sync dependency.
3. That sync code needs to call an async function.

from asyncer import asyncify, syncify


async def read_from_async_client(key: str) -> str:
    ...


def sync_business_logic(key: str) -> str:
    value = syncify(read_from_async_client)(key=key)
    return value.upper()


async def handler(key: str) -> str:
    return await asyncify(sync_business_logic)(key=key)

Use this instead of anyio.from_thread.run(...) when passing keyword arguments or when type support matters.

Do not use syncify() inside an async function. In async code, use plain await on the async function directly.

For sync functions that must work both from an async worker thread and from a plain sync program, syncify(..., raise_sync_error=False) is available:

def sync_business_logic(key: str) -> str:
    return syncify(read_from_async_client, raise_sync_error=False)(key=key)

Use this compatibility mode sparingly. Outside a worker thread it starts a new event loop with anyio.run(), which is expensive if repeated in a loop. If you need many calls, wrap the loop in one async function and run that once.

Run An Async Function From Sync Top-Level Code

Use asyncer.runnify() when sync top-level code needs to run one async function with positional or keyword arguments and the current thread is not already running an event loop.

import asyncer


async def main(name: str) -> str:
    ...


result = asyncer.runnify(main)(name="World")

Use this instead of manually wrapping arguments for anyio.run(...):

result = anyio.run(lambda: main(name="World"))

Do not call runnify() from a thread that already has a running event loop; from async code, just await main(...).

Choosing The Asyncer Alternative

Use these replacements by default when Asyncer is available:

• asyncio.gather(...) for a batch of async calls with typed results: asyncer.create_task_group() plus task_group.soonify(...).
• anyio.create_task_group().start_soon(...) for ordinary async function calls: asyncer.create_task_group().soonify(...), especially when kwargs or return values matter.
• anyio.to_thread.run_sync(...), asyncio.to_thread(...), or loop.run_in_executor(...): await asyncer.asyncify(sync_func)(...).
• anyio.from_thread.run(...): asyncer.syncify(async_func)(...).
• anyio.run(async_func, ...) from sync top-level code with arguments: asyncer.runnify(async_func)(...).

Still use lower-level AnyIO primitives when Asyncer does not provide the abstraction, such as streams, locks, events, capacity limiters themselves, cancellation scopes, timeouts, or task-group startup handshakes that need task_status.started().

Common Mistakes

• Do not call blocking sync functions directly from async def; wrap them with await asyncify(sync_func)(...).
• Do not use syncify() as a general replacement for await; it is for sync code, normally in a worker thread started by async code.
• Do not wrap async functions when already in async code; use plain await async_func(...).
• Do not read SoonValue.value before the task has completed unless soon_value.ready is true.
• Do not instantiate asyncer.TaskGroup directly; use asyncer.create_task_group().