Installation

Scikit-Topt is a Python library distributed on PyPI as the package scikit-topt (imported as sktopt). It supports Python 3.10–3.13:

Python 3.10–3.12: fully supported and tested.
Python 3.13: core topology optimization works as normal, but VTK-based features (VTU export and image rendering) require PyVista/VTK, which do not currently provide wheels for Python 3.13.

Standard Installation

Open your terminal or command prompt and run one of the following commands:

Using pip:
```
pip install scikit-topt
```
Using poetry:
```
poetry add scikit-topt
```

This installs the standard solver stack and does not require PETSc. Typical workflows using solver_option="spsolve" or "cg_pyamg" work without petsc4py.

PETSc Optional Installation

If you want to use the PETSc-backed solver paths (solver_option="petsc" or "petsc_spdirect"), install the optional extra:

Using pip:
```
pip install "scikit-topt[petsc4py]"
```
Legacy alias with pip:
```
pip install "scikit-topt[petsc]"
```
Using poetry:
```
poetry add scikit-topt -E petsc4py
```

The petsc4py extra installs the Python bindings only. A working PETSc installation must also be available at runtime.

PETSc Runtime Setup

Common PETSc runtime environment variables are:

PETSC_DIR: PETSc installation root
PETSC_ARCH: PETSc build architecture name
LD_LIBRARY_PATH: shared-library search path on Linux

Typical Linux example:

export PETSC_DIR=/path/to/petsc
export PETSC_ARCH=arch-linux-c-opt
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH="$PETSC_DIR/$PETSC_ARCH/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH"

If PETSc was installed by a package manager or an HPC module, these may already be configured for you.

You can validate the PETSc runtime with:

python -c "from petsc4py import PETSc; print(PETSc.Sys.getVersion())"

Verify the Installation

After installation is complete, verify that sktopt imports correctly:

python -c "import sktopt; print(sktopt.__version__)"

If you installed the PETSc extra, also verify that petsc4py imports correctly:

python -c "from petsc4py import PETSc; print(PETSc.Sys.getVersion())"