The pygpib module provides Python access to GPIB adapters. It provides access to GPIB instruments through an interface that hides the ugly details of GPIB.

In general, USB-GPIB adapters require special drivers provided by the manucaturer, or linux-gpib. Vendor drivers are usually limited to one operating system. linux-gpib requires out-of-tree kernel modules, making it cumbersome to set up and update with new kernels.

pygpib is designed to allow the use of USB-GPIB adapters without the need for special drivers or kernel modules. The interface is centered around read() and write() calls with minimal GPIB-centric configuration and housekeeping.

import pygpib as gpib

interface = gpib.list_adapters()[0]

interface.open(primary_address=10)

instrument = interface.get_instrument(primary_address=22)
instrument.configure(end_read_on_eos=True, eos_char='\n')

instrument.query('*IDN?')