---
id: pylibiio
version: "0.25"
license: unclear
license_treatment: copyleft
maintenance: active
---

# pylibiio — Library for interfacing with Linux IIO devices

License: copyleft · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 338.0K/mo

## What it is and what it does

pylibiio is a Python wrapper around libiio, a C library for controlling Linux IIO (Industrial Input/Output) devices. It lets you interact with hardware like analog-to-digital converters, accelerometers, gyroscopes, temperature sensors, and RF transceivers from Python code. You can use it locally on an embedded Linux target or remotely over USB, Ethernet, or serial from a host machine running Linux, Windows, or macOS.

The package itself has no Python runtime dependencies and installs as a pure wheel, making setup straightforward. However, it requires the libiio core library to be installed separately on your system first—the PyPI package provides only the Python bindings, not the underlying C library. The project is actively maintained and used for embedded systems and sensor integration work.

Use it for:

- Read sensor data from IIO devices like accelerometers or temperature sensors on embedded Linux systems
- Control analog-to-digital or digital-to-analog converters from Python on an embedded target
- Remotely interface with IIO hardware on an embedded device from a host machine over network or USB
- Integrate RF transceiver control into Python applications running on Linux
- Build data acquisition pipelines for gyroscopes, magnetometers, or other IIO-compatible sensors

## Worth the install?

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

Python bindings for libiio, a library for interfacing with Linux Industrial Input/Output (IIO) devices including ADCs, DACs, accelerometers, gyros, sensors, and RF transceivers.

Yes, if you need to control Linux IIO devices from Python and are willing to install the libiio core library separately. The package is actively maintained, has no Python dependencies, and is widely used. The main gotcha is the external library requirement—verify libiio is available for your platform before committing.

## Install

pip install pylibiio
uv add pylibiio
poetry add pylibiio

## Installing pylibiio

Before you install: Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution. The package is actively maintained with no runtime dependencies, though it requires the separate libiio core library to be installed on the system beforehand.

License in practice: Licensed under LGPLv2+, a copyleft license. Code linking to or using this package may need to comply with copyleft obligations depending on how it's distributed and combined with other software.

Quickstart:

pip install pylibiio

# Import and use the bindings to interact with IIO devices
# (exact API depends on libiio core library version)

The libiio core library must be installed separately on your system; the PyPI package provides only the Python bindings.

Verify before relying:

- Specific Python version requirements, given 'unspecified' support declaration and empty requires_python
- Whether remote access over USB, Ethernet, or serial is supported by all platform builds
- Exact API surface and usage patterns for the Python bindings

## Package facts

- License: not declared (copyleft)
- Python support: unspecified
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 338.0K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

linux iio device interface, industrial input output python, adc dac sensor control, embedded linux device bindings, analog devices iio, gyro accelerometer interface, rf transceiver control, embedded-linux, hardware-interface, sensor-control

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