Making structural simulation with OpenSees and OpenSeesPy effortless and straightforward

Welcome to the documentation for opstool, a thoughtfully crafted preprocessing and postprocessing package designed for OpenSeesPy. This tool simplifies the creation, analysis, and visualization of structural models and results, greatly enhancing both the efficiency and user experience of OpenSeesPy.

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OpenSees

OpenSeesPy

Portwood Digital

Preprocessing

  • Fiber Section Meshing and Property Calculation

  • Easily translate Tcl-based OpenSees models into Python scripts

  • Unified Unit Conversion System

  • Integration with Gmsh Meshing

  • Fast gravity load application

  • System matrix extraction

  • Features in Development

Elegant Visualization

  • Powered by PyVista and Plotly

  • Supporting most commonly used OpenSees element types.

  • Truss Elements

  • Frame Elements

  • Link Elements

  • Shell Elements

  • Plane Elements

  • Solid Elements

Results Post-Processing

  • Powered by xarray

  • Nodal Responses, Various Element Responses (Truss, Frame, Link, Shell, Plane, Solid, Contact).

  • Static and Dynamic Analysis

  • Sensitivity Analysis

  • Linear Buckling Analysis

Analysis Assistance

  • Smart Analysis, features include automatic step size division, algorithm switching, and other advanced functionalities

  • Moment-Curvature Analysis of Sections

  • Linar Buckling Analysis

Citing OPSTOOL

OPSTOOL was published in

OPSTOOL Publication

Yexiang Yan and Yazhou Xie. “opstool: A Python library for OpenSeesPy analysis automation, streamlined pre-and post-processing, and enhanced data visualization.” SoftwareX 30 (2025): 102126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2025.102126.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352711025000937

If you used OPSTOOL in your scientific publication, we would very appreciated if you include the adequate citation:

Bibtex entry:

@article{YAN2025102126,
  title = {opstool: A Python library for OpenSeesPy analysis automation, streamlined pre- and post-processing, and enhanced data visualization},
  author = {Yexiang Yan and Yazhou Xie},
  journal = {SoftwareX},
  volume = {30},
  pages = {102126},
  year = {2025},
  issn = {2352-7110},
  doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2025.102126},
  }

Contents

Quick Start

User Guide

Examples

API Reference

Why Choose opstool?

  • Efficiency: Streamlines complex workflows, reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.

  • Flexibility: Provides nearly identical interfaces for different visualization engines.

  • Accessibility: Makes advanced structural analysis tools like OpenSeesPy more approachable to users of all levels.

opstool is actively evolving, with continuous additions of new features planned for the future. With opstool, you can focus on what matters most: understanding and solving your structural engineering challenges. Whether you are building models, visualizing results, or interpreting data, opstool is your go-to solution for OpenSeesPy workflows.

This document theme is adapted from sphinx-needs with modifications. We sincerely thank the original author(s) for their contribution.`