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# 12.3. `copy_reg` — Register `pickle` support functions

Note

The `copy_reg` module has been renamed to `copyreg` in Python 3.0. The 2to3 tool will automatically adapt imports when converting your sources to 3.0.

The `copy_reg` module provides support for the `pickle` and `cPickle` modules. The `copy` module is likely to use this in the future as well. It provides configuration information about object constructors which are not classes. Such constructors may be factory functions or class instances.

`copy_reg.``constructor`(object)
  Declares object to be a valid constructor. If object is not callable (and hence not valid as a constructor), raises `TypeError`.

`copy_reg.``pickle`(type, function[, constructor])

  Declares that function should be used as a “reduction” function for objects of type type; type must not be a “classic” class object. (Classic classes are handled differently; see the documentation for the `pickle` module for details.) function should return either a string or a tuple containing two or three elements.

  The optional constructor parameter, if provided, is a callable object which can be used to reconstruct the object when called with the tuple of arguments returned by function at pickling time. `TypeError` will be raised if object is a class or constructor is not callable.

  See the `pickle` module for more details on the interface expected of function and constructor.

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