Install

conda install

Install the latest release from conda-forge using conda:

$ conda install -c conda-forge pycontrails

The conda-forge package includes all optional runtime dependencies.

pip install

With Python 3.10 or later, install the latest release from PyPI using pip:

# core installation
$ pip install pycontrails

# install with all optional dependencies
$ pip install "pycontrails[complete]"

Wheels are currently built for python 3.10 - 3.13 on Linux, macOS, and Windows. The python 3.13 wheels are not yet tested in CI/CD and not all runtime dependencies are available for python 3.13.

Install the latest development version directly from GitHub:

$ pip install git+https://github.com/contrailcirrus/pycontrails.git

Optional Dependencies

The pycontrails package uses optional dependencies for specific features:

# install all optional runtime dependencies
$ pip install "pycontrails[complete]"

# install specific optional dependencies
$ pip install "pycontrails[dev]"      # Development dependencies
$ pip install "pycontrails[docs]"     # Documentation / Sphinx dependencies
$ pip install "pycontrails[ecmwf]"    # ECMWF datalib interfaces
$ pip install "pycontrails[gcp]"      # Google Cloud Platform caching interface
$ pip install "pycontrails[gfs]"      # GFS datalib interfaces
$ pip install "pycontrails[jupyter]"  # Jupyter notebook and lab interface
$ pip install "pycontrails[vis]"      # Polygon construction methods and plotting support
$ pip install "pycontrails[zarr]"     # Load data from remote Zarr stores

# These packages may not support the latest python version
# and are excluded from "complete"
$ pip install "pycontrails[open3d]"   # Polyhedra contruction methods

See [project.optional-dependencies] in pyproject.toml for the latest optional dependencies.

Pre-built wheels

Wheels for common platforms are available on PyPI. Currently, wheels are available for:

• Linux (x86_64)

• macOS (x86_64 and arm64)

• Windows (x86_64)

It’s possible to build the wheels from source using Cython and a C compiler with the usual pip install process. The source distribution on PyPI includes the C files, so it’s not necessary to have Cython installed to build from source.

Extensions

Some features of pycontrails are written as extensions that can be added manually:

BADA

This extension is private due to license restrictions

pycontrails-bada is an extension to interface with BADA aircraft performance data.

pip install "pycontrails-bada @ git+ssh://git@github.com/contrailcirrus/pycontrails-bada.git"

Cirium

This extension is private due to license restrictions

pycontrails-cirium is an extension to the Cirium database of jet engines.

pip install "pycontrails-cirium @ git+ssh://git@github.com/contrailcirrus/pycontrails-cirium.git"

ACCF

Interface to DLR / UMadrid ACCF model using a forked version of the climaccf repository.

pip install "climaccf @ git+ssh://git@github.com/contrailcirrus/climaccf.git"