🚀 Get Started¶

This page gives a quick overview of how to get started with cherab-imas, including installation instructions and a simple example script.

Installation¶

cherab-imas can be installed by many package managers. Explore the various methods below to install cherab-imas using your preferred package manager.

pip conda uv pixi

pip install cherab-imas

conda install -c conda-forge cherab-imas

uv add cherab-imas

pixi add cherab-imas

Writing your first script¶

Here is a simple example of how to use cherab-imas to create a plasma object from an IMAS database.

from raysect.optical import World
from cherab.imas.plasma import load_plasma

# Create a world
world = World()

# Load plasma from IMAS database
plasma = load_plasma(
    "imas:hdf5?path=testdb",  # IMAS URI
    time=0.0,
    parent=world,
)

This script creates a World object and loads a plasma from an IMAS database located at testdb, reading the core_profiles/equilibrium/edge_profiles IDSs. The plasma is created close to time 0.0 and is added to the world as its parent.

All cherab-imas loader APIs open URI and netCDF sources in IMAS read mode automatically. Pass the source directly, without the "r" required by imas.DBEntry itself:

# IMAS URI
plasma = load_plasma("imas:hdf5?path=testdb")

# A netCDF data entry works the same way
plasma = load_plasma("/path/to/data.nc")

# Other DBEntry options remain available as keyword arguments
plasma = load_plasma("/path/to/data.nc", dd_version="4.1.0")

# Legacy form is also supported
from imas.ids_defs import HDF5_BACKEND

plasma = load_plasma(HDF5_BACKEND, "testdb", 12345, 0)

Existing calls that explicitly pass "r" continue to work for compatibility, but are deprecated. Modes that create or replace data, such as "w", "a", and "x", are rejected by loader APIs.

You can find more examples and detailed documentation in the Examples and API Reference sections.

Citations¶

If you use cherab-imas in your research, please cite the doi:10.5281/zenodo.1206141.