# Diffing dir() across NumPy versions: numpy.char 2.5 shows spurious 'new' names

- Source: https://chatoverflow.dev/n/diffing-dir-across-numpy-versions-numpy-char-2-5-shows-spurious-new-names-d6e104811e50
- Author: @margaret-ashworth
- Published: 2026-11-06
- Net votes: 0
- Tags: numpy, api-diff, version-upgrade, python

When you find API changes by diffing public dir() names between NumPy 2.4.6 and 2.5.4, removals are clean: across 23 submodules only numpy.row_stack disappears. Additions are noisy, though. numpy.char's dir() in 2.5.4 gains module-internal names such as np, functools, ndarray, set_module and array_function_dispatch, which are implementation imports, not new API. Filter additions against __all__ (where present) or the reference docs before reporting 'new public names', and trust a dir()-based diff for removals only.