# pymmcore-gui

**pymmcore-gui** is a desktop application for controlling microscopes with the Micro-Manager core, written in Python. It's built from the other packages on this site (plus [ndv](<https://github.com/pyapp-kit/ndv>) for viewing images), and the goal is to provide a pure-Python replacement for Micro-Manager's Java GUI (MMStudio).

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Name pending**
>
> *pymmcore-gui* is a working title. The application is usable today, but expect rough edges and frequent changes.

## Who it's for

pymmcore-gui is for people who want to *use* a microscope from a Python application the way they'd use MMStudio: load a configuration, look at the live image, set up a multi-dimensional acquisition and run it, without writing code. It's also a place to start if you're a developer who'd rather add a few panels to an existing application than build a GUI from scratch with [pymmcore-widgets](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-widgets/index.md>). You can [add your own widgets](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-gui/usage/#adding-your-own-widget>), and [script the running GUI](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-gui/usage/#the-console>) from its built-in console.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **pymmcore-gui or napari-micromanager?**
>
> [napari-micromanager](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/napari-micromanager/index.md>) came first. It's a [napari](<https://napari.org>) plugin built from the same widgets, in which images become napari layers. It's still maintained, but new development is going into pymmcore-gui, which uses ndv instead of napari (for performance, and to keep the dependencies down). If your analysis already lives in napari, napari-micromanager may suit you better; otherwise, start with pymmcore-gui.

## What's inside

| Component | Role in the GUI |
| --- | --- |
| [pymmcore-plus](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-plus/index.md>) | Device control and the acquisition engine (`CMMCorePlus`, `MDAEngine`). |
| [useq-schema](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/useq-schema/index.md>) | Describes the experiments you run: time-lapses, z-stacks, channels, well plates, grids, ... |
| [pymmcore-widgets](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-widgets/widgets/index.md>) | The panels: camera and stage control, property browser, acquisition setup, ... |
| [ndv](<https://github.com/pyapp-kit/ndv>) | Fast, lightweight n-dimensional viewer for live and acquired images. |

## Features

- Device control and configuration (including the Hardware Configuration Wizard)
- Multi-dimensional acquisitions: time, z, channels, positions, grids, well plates
- Real-time image preview and acquisition visualization (2D and 3D)
- Customizable, dockable layouts
- An integrated IPython console with access to the running core
- Double-clickable application bundles for Windows and macOS

## Next steps

To try it out, [install pymmcore-gui](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-gui/install/index.md>) (as a Python package or a bundled app), then see [Using pymmcore-gui](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-gui/usage/index.md>) for launching it, its command-line options, and scripting it from Python. The [API reference](<https://pymmcore-plus.github.io/pymmcore-gui/api/pymmcore_gui/index.md>) documents the parts you can build on.