PypeIt (pronounced "pipe it") is a Python package for semi-automated reduction of astronomical spectroscopic data. Its algorithms build on decades-long development of previous data reduction pipelines by the developers. The reduction procedure - including a complete list of the input parameters and available functionality - is provided by our online documentation.
PypeIt is designed to be used by both advanced spectroscopists with prior data reduction expertise and astronomers with no prior experience of data reduction. It is highly configurable and designed to be applied to any standard slit-imaging spectrograph, including long-slit, multi-slit, as well as cross-dispersed echelle spectra. The spectrographs that PypeIt can be used with are listed here. Specifically, look here for useful information about reducing data with certain instruments.
In addition to our primary code base, we maintain an extensive development
suite primarily used to
perform multiple layers of code testing, from basic unit tests to full
end-to-end tests of all our command-line scripts. If you are new to PypeIt,
you are encouraged to learn how to use the code by finding and experimenting
with example data similar to your own in the RAW_DATA directory (organized
by instrument and configuration) of this shared Google Drive folder.
As a project, PypeIt is committed to fostering a welcoming, diverse, and inclusive community. As a member of this community you are expected to read and follow our Code of Conduct.
Along with our extensive online documentation, we encourage the PypeIt user base to communicate via our PypeIt Users Slack. All are welcome to join using this invitation link.
If you find a bug (particularly one that is experienced by others in the Users Slack) or have a feature request, please submit a GitHub issue.
We are excited to welcome your contributions to PypeIt! We acknowledge contributions take many forms, including but not limited to participating in discussions in our Users Slack Workspace; reporting issues to our GitHub repository; submitting pull requests with small bug fixes, documentation improvements, or large feature improvements; and participating in project maintenance and governance. All contributors are expected to follow our Code of Conduct.
For direct contributions to the code, please see our Development Guidelines. As mentioned therein, communication between developers is key to ensuring efforts are coordinated. Before beginning any development activities, we would appreciate communicating your intentions to the core development team, e.g., via the PypeIt Users Slack Workspace.
For information regarding our governance structure and policies, please see the PypeIt Governance documentation.
For a list of current contributors and project roles, please see our PypeIt Team listing.
If you use PypeIt in your research, please cite the following publications (we provide the relevant BibTeX entries for your convenience):
You are also encouraged to note the specific version of the code you have used (e.g., 1.17.3). If there is no place to include the relevant citations in the text of the publication, please include the following acknowledgement (provided in latex and using the provided BibTeX entries):
This research made use of \ttfamily{PypeIt} version
1.17.3,\footnote{\url{https://pypeit.readthedocs.io/en/stable/}} a Python
package for semi-automated reduction of astronomical slit-based spectroscopy
\citep{pypeit:joss_pub, pypeit:zenodo}.PypeIt gratefully acknowledges funding from:
- NASA ADAP (A20-0412, 20-1018)
- NSF (TI-2346210, OAC-2410837)
- JWST (JWST-AR-05464.001-A)
- W. M. Keck Observatory
- University of California Observatories
We also critically rely on important in-kind, open-source contributions from the broader astronomical community.