openfermion
Package to compile and analyze quantum algorithms for simulating fermionic systems.
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. OpenFermion is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and is licensed permissively. Install it if you are developing quantum algorithms for chemistry or fermionic systems. The main constraint is Python version (≥3.10) and platform support for certain plugins (Mac/Linux preferred for electronic structure integration).AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python >= 3.10.0.
- Electronic structure plugins are only compatible on Mac and Linux; Windows users may use Docker.
- Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive). You may use, modify, and distribute the package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you retain the license notice.
last release 2026-07-17 (28 days)
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 210,247 downloads/mo, #9,499 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install openfermion
import openfermion
# Create and manipulate fermionic operators
operator = openfermion.FermionOperator('0^ 1')- Whether the package's quantum simulation capabilities are suitable for your specific fermionic system or chemistry problem scale
- Performance characteristics and memory requirements for large Hamiltonian representations
- Integration requirements with specific quantum hardware or simulators beyond those mentioned in the description
What it is and what it does
OpenFermion is a Python package for quantum chemistry and fermionic system simulation on quantum computers. It provides data structures and algorithms to compile quantum circuits and analyze fermionic Hamiltonians, with built-in support for converting between fermionic and qubit representations. The package depends on cirq-core for quantum circuit operations, numpy and scipy for numerical computation, sympy for symbolic algebra, networkx for graph operations, and h5py for data I/O, plus pubchempy and requests for chemistry data retrieval.
The package is designed for researchers and developers working on quantum algorithms for electronic structure problems. It integrates with external plugins for high-performance simulation (OpenFermion-FQE), circuit compilation (Forest-OpenFermion, SFOpenBoson), and classical electronic structure packages (Psi4, PySCF, DIRAC, Q-Chem). Installation is straightforward via pip, though some plugins require Mac or Linux.
Use it for
- Compile quantum circuits for simulating molecular electronic structure on quantum computers
- Convert fermionic Hamiltonians to qubit representations for NISQ devices
- Analyze and manipulate fermionic operators for quantum chemistry research
- Integrate quantum simulations with classical electronic structure packages via plugins
- Develop and test quantum algorithms for chemistry applications
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
OpenFermion is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries no known vulnerabilities, and is licensed permissively. Install it if you are developing quantum algorithms for chemistry or fermionic systems. The main constraint is Python version (≥3.10) and platform support for certain plugins (Mac/Linux preferred for electronic structure integration).
Install
openfermion on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. Active maintenance with a release within 28 days. Supports current Python versions (3.10–3.13) and runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Requires Python >= 3.10.0. Electronic structure plugins are only compatible on Mac and Linux; Windows users may use Docker.
License in practice
Licensed under Apache-2.0 (permissive). You may use, modify, and distribute the package freely in commercial and private projects, provided you retain the license notice.
Quickstart
pip install openfermion
import openfermion
# Create and manipulate fermionic operators
operator = openfermion.FermionOperator('0^ 1')Verify before relying
- Whether the package's quantum simulation capabilities are suitable for your specific fermionic system or chemistry problem scale
- Performance characteristics and memory requirements for large Hamiltonian representations
- Integration requirements with specific quantum hardware or simulators beyond those mentioned in the description
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10.0 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 9 packagescirq-coredeprecationh5pynetworkxnumpypubchempyrequestsscipysympy |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 28 days since the last release |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 210,247 / month, #9,499 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: EducationIntended Audience :: Science/ResearchLicense :: OSI Approved :: Apache Software LicenseOperating System :: MacOSOperating System :: Microsoft :: WindowsOperating System :: POSIX :: LinuxProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Topic :: Scientific/Engineering :: ChemistryTopic :: Scientific/Engineering :: Quantum Computing |
Evidence: openfermion-1.8.1-py3-none-any.whl
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See also openfermionpyscf · qutip · cirq-core · cirq · pyscf · pennylane · cirq-ionq · qiskit · qiskit-experiments · liboqs-python