Install & Compatibility
Where this runs
tested against v3.0.1 · 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
muslpy 3.10–3.95 runs
build_error
glibcpy 3.10–3.95 runs
installs and imports cleanly · install 9.4s · import 0.020s · 353MB
362MB installed
● package 362MB
Code
Verified usage
Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.
utils
✓ from silx import utils
✗ from silx.utils import *
Avoid star imports; use explicit symbols.
io
✓ from silx.io import fabio_h5
✗ from silx.io import fabioh5
In older versions (pre-2.0) the module was named fabioh5; renamed to fabio_h5.
plot
✓ from silx.gui import plot
✗ from silx.plot import ...
The plotting module moved to silx.gui.plot in version 1.0.0.
OpenCL
✓ from silx.opencl import ocl
✗ from silx import ocl
OpenCL support is under silx.opencl, not top-level.
Basic imports and usage of silx: reading files, histogram, and plotting (GUI).
import silx
import numpy as np
from silx import sx
from silx.io import fabio_h5
from silx.gui import plot
# Read a HDF5/NeXus image
import os
filepath = os.environ.get('SILX_TEST_FILE', 'example.h5')
if os.path.exists(filepath):
data = fabio_h5.open(filepath)
print(type(data))
# Simple histogram
x = np.random.normal(size=1000)
hist, edges = sx.histogram(x, bins=10)
print('histogram:', hist)
# Create a 1D plot window (GUI only if interactive)
# plot1D = plot.Plot1D()
# plot1D.addCurve(x, y)
# plot1D.show()
Errors
Common errors & fixes
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'silx.gui'
Qt bindings not installed.
fixInstall a Qt binding: pip install silx[gui] or pip install PyQt5.
ImportError: cannot import name 'fabioh5' from 'silx.io'
The module was renamed from fabioh5 to fabio_h5 in silx 1.0.
fixChange import to: from silx.io import fabio_h5.
AttributeError: module 'silx' has no attribute 'plot'
The top-level silx.plot module was removed in silx 1.0.
fixUse from silx.gui import plot instead.
OSError: [Errno 101] Network is unreachable: 'https://...'
silx tries to download a test file or load an online resource without internet.
fixDisable online access or set environment variable SILX_DISABLE_NET=1.
Upgrade
Version history
3.0.1latest on PyPI · released May 7, 2026
Audit
Dependencies
fabiorequiredRequired for reading/writing detector image formats (e.g., EDF, TIFF, CBF).
h5pyrequiredRequired for HDF5/NeXus file I/O.
numpyrequiredCore dependency for arrays and math operations.
pyopencloptionalOptional GPU acceleration for image processing and histogramming.