Getting Started

Installation

schemdraw can be installed from pip using

pip install schemdraw

or directly by downloading the source and running

python setup.py install

Starting with version 0.7, schemdraw requires Python 3.7+.

Jupyter Notebooks

Using a Jupyter Notebook in inline mode is recommended for the easy creation of circuit diagrams. If your schematics pop up in an external window, set Matplotlib to inline mode before importing schemdraw:

%matplotlib inline

For best results when viewing circuits in the notebook, use a vector figure format, such as svg before importing schemdraw:

%config InlineBackend.figure_format = 'svg'

Overview

The schemdraw module allows for drawing circuit elements. schemdraw.elements contains Basic Circuit Elements pre-defined for use in a drawing. A common import structure is:

import schemdraw
import schemdraw.elements as elm

Schemdraw uses two main classes for creating circuit diagrams: schemdraw.Element and schemdraw.Drawing. Element instances are created and added to a Drawing to make a complete schematic diagram. All the different circuit elements subclass schemdraw.Element and are instantiated with keyword arguments defining the element’s parameters and location within the drawing. Individual elements can be viewed using the Jupyter representation of the element object:

elm.Resistor(label='R1')

To make a complete circuit diagram, a schemdraw.Drawing is created and schemdraw.Element are added to it:

d = schemdraw.Drawing()
d.add(elm.Resistor(d='right', label='1$\Omega$'))
d.add(elm.Capacitor(d='down', label='10$\mu$F'))
d.add(elm.Line(d='left'))
d.add(elm.SourceSin(d='up', label='10V'))

The element classes take a number of keyword arguments that define their position, direction, color, and other parameters. If any required argument is not provided, its value will be inherited from the schemdraw.Drawing the element belongs to.

The d keyword specifies the drawing direction, either ‘right’, ‘left’, ‘up’, or ‘down’, or with their abbreviations ‘r’, ‘l’, ‘u’, and ‘d’. The at keyword specifies the exact coordinates for the starting point of the element. If d is not supplied, the element will be drawn in the same direction as the previous element, and if at is not supplied, the element will start at the endpoint of the previously added element.

To display the schematic, call d.draw(). In Jupyter, this will show the schematic inline as the cell output. If run as a script, the schematic will display in the interactive matplotlib window.

d.draw()

When saving, the image type is determined from the extension. Options include svg, eps, png, pdf, and jpg. A vector format, such as svg is recommended for best results.

d.save('basic_rc.svg')

For full details of placing and stylizing elements, see Adding circuit elements.