Quick Start

PyUnitWizard supports Linux and macOS with Python 3.11, 3.12, and 3.13. Windows support is currently outside the maintained platform matrix.

This walkthrough is intentionally short. Its purpose is to let you verify, in a few minutes, whether PyUnitWizard matches your workflow expectations.

We will configure a single backend, construct one quantity, convert it, and validate that compatibility and dimensional checks behave as expected.

Start by installing the package:

conda install -c uibcdf pyunitwizard

or:

pip install pyunitwizard

Now configure runtime behavior explicitly:

import pyunitwizard as puw

puw.configure.reset()
puw.configure.load_library(["pint"])
puw.configure.set_default_form("pint")
puw.configure.set_default_parser("pint")

At this point, parsing and output form are deterministic, which is the first requirement for reproducible library behavior and stable tests.

Create and convert a quantity:

distance = puw.quantity(1.0, "nanometer")
distance_angstrom = puw.convert(distance, to_unit="angstrom")
print(puw.to_string(distance_angstrom))

You should obtain a value equivalent to 10.0 angstrom.

Finally, verify compatibility and dimensional assumptions:

a = puw.quantity(1.0, "nanometer")
b = puw.quantity(10.0, "angstrom")

print(puw.are_compatible(a, b))
print(puw.check(a, dimensionality={"[L]": 1}))
print(puw.has_unit(a, "nm"))

All three checks should return True. has_unit is the inexpensive choice when you need exact unit identity rather than dimensional compatibility.

If you prefer notebook examples for this same flow, open:

• Importing.ipynb

• Quantities_and_Units.ipynb

• Convert.ipynb

If this behavior is what you need, continue with Mini Library Walkthrough.