Prerequisites¶

The first step in installing the Cantera Python module using pip is to make sure you have a compatible version of Python installed and are able to run pip from the command line. Packages for Cantera 3.0.0 are available for Python versions 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, and 3.11.

If you don't already have Python installed, it can be downloaded from python.org or installed using your operating system's package manager.

To check that you are able run pip, open a terminal / command prompt and run the following command:

Linux / macOS:

python3 -m pip --version

Windows:

py -m pip --version

If the above command doesn't work, see the instructions at packaging.python.org for how to get pip working with your Python installation.

Virtual Environments¶

Virtual environments provide a way keeping separate sets of Python packages installed for different projects, where different environments can have different versions of packages that might otherwise conflict. To create and activate a virtual environment named ct-env to be used with Cantera, run the commands:

Linux / macOS:

python3 -m venv ct-env
source ct-env/bin/activate

Windows:

py -m venv ct-env
ct-env\Scripts\activate

The second command should be run in the terminal each time you want to use the specified environment.

Installing Cantera¶

To install the Cantera Python module, first activate your virtual environment, if you're using one. Then, run the command:

Linux / macOS:

python3 -m pip install cantera

Windows:

py -m pip install cantera

You can test that your installation is working by importing the Cantera module and creating a Solution object:

Linux / macOS:

python3 -c 'import cantera; gas = cantera.Solution("gri30.yaml"); gas()'

Windows:

py -c "import cantera; gas = cantera.Solution('gri30.yaml'); gas()"

You should get the following output:

 gri30:

      temperature   300 K
         pressure   1.0133e+05 Pa
          density   0.081894 kg/m^3
 mean mol. weight   2.016 kg/kmol
  phase of matter   gas

                         1 kg             1 kmol
                    ---------------   ---------------
         enthalpy             26469             53361  J
  internal energy       -1.2108e+06        -2.441e+06  J
          entropy             64910        1.3086e+05  J/K
   Gibbs function       -1.9447e+07       -3.9204e+07  J
heat capacity c_p             14311             28851  J/K
heat capacity c_v             10187             20536  J/K

                     mass frac. Y      mole frac. X     chem. pot. / RT
                    ---------------   ---------------   ---------------
               H2                 1                 1           -15.717
    [  +52 minor]                 0                 0

python3 -m pip install --pre cantera

py -m pip install --pre cantera

python3 -c 'import cantera; print(cantera.__version__)'

py -c "import cantera; print(cantera.__version__)"

Limitations¶

There are a few important limitations to note when Cantera is installed from PyPI:

• These packages are compiled without native HDF5 support. The new options for saving and restoring SolutionArray and flame objects to/from HDF5 files is not available.

• These packages are compiled using single-threaded implementations of LAPACK functions, and cannot make use of multiple cores to speed up reactor network or flame simulations.

If you want either of these features, you can install the Conda packages instead.