---
id: pyds9
version: "1.8.1"
license: UNKNOWN
license_treatment: unclear
maintenance: abandoned
---

# pyds9 — Python/DS9 connection via XPA (with numpy and pyfits support)

License: unclear · Maintenance: abandoned · Downloads: 238.8K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pyds9 is a Python wrapper around the XPA messaging system that enables programmatic control of SAO DS9, an interactive astronomical image viewer. It allows you to open DS9 windows, load FITS image files, and send commands to DS9 from Python code, bridging the gap between Python data analysis and interactive visualization.

The package wraps XPA to communicate with DS9 instances. It has no runtime dependencies, but requires compilation of bundled C code during installation, which depends on X11 development libraries. The package has received no updates since its initial release in 2016-08-05, and shows no recent maintenance activity, making it a legacy tool with uncertain compatibility on modern systems.

Use it for:

- Automate loading and display of FITS astronomical images in DS9 from Python analysis pipelines
- Query which DS9 windows are currently open and send commands to specific instances programmatically
- Build interactive astronomy workflows that combine Python data processing with DS9 visualization
- Test or script DS9 functionality as part of astronomy software testing suites

## Worth the install?

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

pyds9 provides a Python interface to communicate with SAO DS9 (an astronomical image viewer) via the XPA messaging system, allowing remote control of DS9 windows and image display.

No, unless you are maintaining legacy astronomy code that already depends on pyds9. The package is abandoned (no updates since 2016-08-05), has unclear licensing, requires non-trivial system dependencies and C compilation, and offers no assurance of compatibility with modern Python or X11 environments. For new projects, consider whether DS9 integration is necessary or if alternative approaches would be more maintainable.

## Install

pip install pyds9
uv add pyds9
poetry add pyds9

## Installing pyds9

Before you install: Installation requires compilation of C code and X11 development libraries (libXt-devel or libxt-dev), making setup non-trivial on many systems. The package has been abandoned since 2016-08-05 with no maintenance activity, presenting significant risk for compatibility issues with modern Python and system libraries.

License in practice: License treatment is unclear (marked UNKNOWN with no SPDX identifier), making it difficult to assess legal implications for commercial or redistributed use without consulting the source repository directly.

Quickstart:

import pyds9
print(pyds9.ds9_targets())
d = pyds9.DS9()
d.set("file /path/to/fits")

Requires X11 development headers (libXt-devel on openSUSE, libxt-dev on Ubuntu), a working C compiler, and DS9 installed separately; installation involves C compilation.

Verify before relying:

- Compatibility with Python versions released after 2016 (requires_python is unspecified)
- Whether the package works with modern X11 implementations and current DS9 releases
- Current maintenance status of the repository (archived status unclear despite last commit in 2016)

## Package facts

- License: UNKNOWN (unclear)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: high
- Maintenance: abandoned
- Downloads: 238.8K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

ds9 python interface, astronomical image viewer control, xpa messaging python, ds9 remote communication, fits image display python, astronomy visualization automation, astronomy, legacy, abandoned

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