lalsuite

library7.26.15pypypi✓ verified 85d ago

LALSuite is the LIGO Scientific Collaboration Algorithm Library for gravitational-wave analysis. Its primary purpose is searching for and characterizing astrophysical signals in gravitational-wave time series data, particularly data from ground-based detectors such as LIGO and Virgo. This Python package provides a standalone, dependency-free binary distribution of the libraries and Python modules in LALSuite for Linux and macOS. Current version is 7.26.4, with underlying C components (like LAL, LALSimulation) also updated regularly.

data ai-ml

pip install lalsuite

package ↗homepage ↗docs ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · LALSUITE

lalsuite

datapythonv7.26.15

Install

19.9s avg

Import

288ms

Disk

612MB

Pass rate

5/ 10

Env Coverage5 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v7.26.15 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.960 runs

build_error

glibc

py 3.10–3.960 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 19.9s · import 0.288s · 599MB

612MB installed

● package 612MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

lal

✓ import lal

Top-level import for core LAL functionalities.

lalsimulation

✓ import lalsimulation

Top-level import for LALSimulation functionalities, e.g., waveform generation.

GPSTime

✓ from lal import GPSTime

Specific import for GPS time utilities.

This quickstart demonstrates how to import the `GPSTime` class from the `lal` module and instantiate a GPS time object. LALSuite offers a wide range of functionalities for gravitational-wave data analysis, including signal generation (e.g., via `lalsimulation`), data manipulation, and parameter estimation. Further examples would involve specific physics computations.

from lal import GPSTime # Create a GPSTime object representing a specific GPS second try: gps_time = GPSTime(1126259642.4) # Example GPS time print(f"Created GPSTime object: {gps_time}") print(f"Year of GPS time: {gps_time.gps_year}") print(f"Fractional seconds: {gps_time.gps_fraction}") except Exception as e: print(f"An error occurred: {e}") print("Note: LALSuite often requires specific environment setups or data files for full functionality.") # More advanced usage often involves lalsimulation for waveform generation # import lalsimulation # hp, hc = lalsimulation.SimIMRSpinAlignedEOBWaveform(...) # Example, not runnable without parameters

lalapps --version

Debug

Known issues

gotchaThe `lalsuite` Python package is only officially supported on Linux and macOS. Windows users typically need to use Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) or a virtual machine to run it.

fix

Use a Linux or macOS environment, or leverage WSL/virtualization on Windows.

affects: All versions

gotchaSome advanced compact binary coalescence waveform models require additional data files (e.g., for reduced order models). These files need to be downloaded separately (from Zenodo or specific Git repositories like `lalsuite-waveform-data` for versions >= 7.25, or `lalsuite-extra` for earlier versions). The `LAL_DATA_PATH` environment variable must then be set to point to the downloaded directory.

fix

Download the necessary data files from the specified sources (Zenodo/GitLab repositories) and set the `LAL_DATA_PATH` environment variable to their location.

affects: All versions requiring specific waveform data

gotchaThe Python interface of LALSuite wraps underlying C libraries. As a result, users might encounter C-level concepts and conventions, such as `LALStatus` pointers for error handling in 'LAL' functions or distinct error reporting in 'XLAL' functions. This can differ from typical Pythonic error handling and requires familiarity with LAL C-style conventions.

fix

Consult the LALSuite documentation and C-language specification (LAL Spec) to understand the underlying C API conventions, especially regarding function arguments and error reporting.

affects: All versions

Errors

Common errors & fixes

ERROR: No matching distribution found for lalsuite

This error most commonly occurs when attempting to install `lalsuite` on an unsupported operating system (like Windows) or an unsupported architecture/Python version combination for which no pre-built binary wheel is available on PyPI. `lalsuite` officially supports Linux x86_64 and macOS x86_64.

fix

If on Windows, consider using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), a virtual machine, or a cloud environment like Google Colab. If on Linux/macOS, ensure your Python version is officially supported by checking the `lalsuite` PyPI page for available wheels. You might need to update or downgrade your Python version, or build `lalsuite` from source if no pre-built wheel exists for your specific setup.

ModuleNotFoundError: No module named '_lal'

This error indicates that the Python wrapper for the underlying C library (`_lal.so` or `_lal.pyd` on Windows, though Windows is unsupported) could not be found or loaded. This often happens after building `lalsuite` from source if the installation prefix or environment variables (`PYTHONPATH`, `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`/`DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH`) are not correctly configured to point to the installed Python bindings and shared libraries.

fix

Ensure that `lalsuite` was installed correctly and that its Python site-packages directory is on your `PYTHONPATH`. If building from source, ensure the `./configure --prefix=<install_path> --enable-swig-python` command was successful, and then source the appropriate `lalsuite-user-env.sh` file from your installation directory to set up environment variables: `source <install_path>/etc/lalsuite-user-env.sh`.

ImportError: .../lal/_lal.so: undefined symbol: XLALSomeFunction

This `ImportError` typically occurs when the Python `_lal.so` binding module tries to link against the C `lalsuite` libraries, but cannot find a required symbol (function or variable) at runtime. This usually points to a mismatch between the Python bindings and the installed C libraries, often due to an incorrect build, linking against an older/different system-installed `lalsuite` version, or missing C library definitions.

fix

Verify that your `PYTHONPATH` and library paths (`LD_LIBRARY_PATH` on Linux, `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH` on macOS) are correctly set to the `lalsuite` installation you intend to use, especially if you have multiple `lalsuite` installations (e.g., system-wide and in a virtual environment). Rebuilding `lalsuite` from source, ensuring all dependencies are met and that it links exclusively against its own compiled C libraries, can resolve this. Activating the correct virtual environment before running Python code is crucial.

Upgrade

Version history

7.26.15latest on PyPI · released Jun 13, 2026

Audit

Dependencies

gwdatafindoptionalPulled in by `lalsuite[lalinference]` for gravitational-wave data finding.

gwpyoptionalPulled in by `lalsuite[lalinference]` for gravitational-wave Python utilities.

solar_system_ephemeridesoptionalPulled in by `lalsuite[lalpulsar]` to provide ephemeris files. (Included in main package until LALSuite 7.15).

pytestoptionalPulled in by `lalsuite[test]` for running tests.

Agent activity

6 hits · last 30 days

node

Resources

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/lalsuite/ ↗

homepagehttps://git.ligo.org/lscsoft/lalsuite ↗

docshttps://docs.ligo.org/lscsoft/lalsuite/ ↗