---
id: coolprop
version: "8.0.0"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# CoolProp — Open-source thermodynamic and transport properties database

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 5.5M/mo

## What it is and what it does

CoolProp is an open-source thermophysical property database that calculates thermodynamic and transport properties for fluids and fluid mixtures. It provides similar functionality to commercial thermodynamic software but is free and open-source, originally developed by Ian Bell. The package wraps a compiled backend and depends on numpy, delivering property lookups through a Python interface.

Developers use CoolProp to retrieve properties for engineering calculations in HVAC, refrigeration, power generation, and research applications. The package supports Python 3.9 through 3.14 and is distributed as precompiled wheels across macOS, Linux, and Windows platforms, reducing installation friction for typical users.

Use it for:

- Calculate refrigerant properties for HVAC and heat pump system design
- Retrieve thermodynamic state variables for power cycle modeling
- Compute transport properties for fluid flow analysis
- Support thermodynamic calculations in research and academic projects
- Enable property lookups in engineering software requiring fluid data

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

CoolProp provides thermodynamic and transport property calculations for fluids and fluid mixtures, offering open-source functionality similar to REFPROP.

Yes. CoolProp is actively maintained, carries no known vulnerabilities, uses a permissive MIT license, and offers a mature alternative to proprietary thermodynamic databases. Install friction is moderate but manageable via precompiled wheels. Worth installing if you need thermodynamic or transport property calculations for fluids.

## Install

pip install coolprop
uv add coolprop
poetry add coolprop

## Installing CoolProp

Before you install: Medium install friction due to compiled wheels for multiple platforms and Python versions. Active maintenance with a recent release 48 days ago and ongoing repository activity; no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: MIT license permits commercial and academic use without restriction, making it suitable for proprietary projects and research alike.

Quickstart:

pip install coolprop
import CoolProp.CoolProp as CP
properties = CP.PropsSI('T', 'P', 'Q', 'Water')

Verify before relying:

- Exact list of supported fluids and fluid mixtures beyond the description's general claim
- Performance characteristics for large-scale or real-time property calculations
- Whether numpy is required at runtime or only for optional features
- Specific thermodynamic properties available through the API

## Package facts

- License: MIT (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: medium
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 5.5M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

thermodynamic properties database, fluid properties calculator, REFPROP alternative open source, transport properties computation, thermophysical property lookup, thermodynamics, fluids, engineering-data

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/coolprop) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/coolprop/)