wavedrom

What it is and what it does

WaveDrom is a tool for rendering timing diagrams, logic circuits, and register bitfields from JSON specifications. This package is a direct Python port of the original JavaScript WaveDrom implementation, letting you generate SVG diagrams programmatically or via command line without installing Node.js. It reads WaveDrom-compatible JSON input and outputs SVG files.

The package has zero runtime dependencies and works as both a Python library (via `wavedrom.render()`) and a command-line tool (`wavedrompy`). It's used by Sphinx documentation tools to embed waveform diagrams in generated docs. The tool is a faithful translation of the original JavaScript, aiming for full compatibility rather than adding new features.

Use it for:

• Generate timing diagrams for hardware documentation from JSON specifications in a Python script or Jupyter notebook.
• Render logic circuit schematics as SVG from structured data without a browser or Node.js environment.
• Embed waveform and register diagrams in Sphinx documentation via sphinxcontrib-wavedrom integration.
• Convert WaveDrom JSON files to SVG from the command line as part of a documentation build pipeline.
• Document register layouts and bitfield definitions as visual diagrams in hardware design documentation.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Converts WaveDrom-compatible JSON specifications into SVG diagrams for timing waveforms, logic circuits, and register bitfields, without requiring Node.js.

Yes, if you need WaveDrom diagrams in Python and your target Python version is 3.7 or earlier. No, if you require active maintenance or need to use modern Python versions—the package is abandoned (last release 2022-05-27) and classifiers suggest support only through Python 3.7. Consider it for legacy projects or as a reference implementation; for new projects, verify that it works on your Python version and that no maintained fork exists.

Install

wavedrom on PyPI

pip install wavedrom

uv add wavedrom

poetry add wavedrom

Installing wavedrom

Before you install

High install friction: the package has no runtime dependencies but is marked abandoned (last release 2022-05-27, 1540 days ago). Maintenance status suggests it may not receive updates for Python versions beyond those listed in classifiers (up to 3.7).

License in practice

MIT license (permissive) means you can use, modify, and distribute the package freely with minimal restrictions, though you should include the license notice.

Quickstart

pip install wavedrom

import wavedrom
svg = wavedrom.render('{"signal": [{"name": "CK", "wave": "P......."}]}')
svg.saveas("output.svg")

Python version support is unclear beyond classifiers listing up to 3.7; test compatibility with your target Python version before relying on this in production.

Verify before relying

• Whether the package actually works on Python versions beyond 3.7 despite classifiers suggesting support only up to that version.
• Current state of compatibility with modern Python 3.x releases and whether abandoned status means critical bugs will not be fixed.
• Whether sphinxcontrib-wavedrom or other downstream projects have forked or maintained this independently.

Package facts

Evidence: wavedrom-2.0.3.post3.tar.gz

Keywords: wavedrom, svg

Tags

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