pinviz 0.1.3

Programmatically generate Raspberry Pi GPIO connection diagrams

PinViz

Programmatically generate beautiful Raspberry Pi GPIO connection diagrams in SVG format.

PinViz makes it easy to create clear, professional wiring diagrams for your Raspberry Pi projects. Define your connections using simple YAML/JSON files or Python code, and automatically generate publication-ready SVG diagrams.

Features

• Declarative Configuration: Define diagrams using YAML or JSON
• Programmatic API: Create diagrams with Python code
• Automatic Wire Routing: Smart wire routing with configurable styles (orthogonal, curved, mixed)
• Inline Components: Add resistors, capacitors, and diodes directly on wires
• Color-Coded Wires: Automatic color assignment based on pin function (I2C, SPI, power, ground, etc.)
• Built-in Templates: Pre-configured boards (Raspberry Pi 5) and common devices (BH1750, IR LED rings, etc.)
• GPIO Pin Reference: Optional GPIO pinout diagram for easy reference
• SVG Output: Scalable, high-quality vector graphics

Installation

For CLI Usage (Recommended)

Install as a standalone tool with global access to the CLI:

uv tool install pinviz

After installation, pinviz will be available globally in your terminal. See Quick Start below to generate your first diagram.

As a Project Dependency

If you want to use PinViz as a library in your Python project:

# Using uv
uv add pinviz

# Using pip
pip install pinviz

Note: If you install with uv add, the CLI tool will only be available via uv run pinviz. For direct CLI access, use uv tool install instead.

Quick Start

1. Try a Built-in Example

The fastest way to get started is to generate one of the built-in examples:

# Generate a BH1750 light sensor wiring diagram
pinviz example bh1750 -o bh1750.svg

# See all available examples
pinviz list

This creates an SVG file you can open in any web browser or vector graphics editor.

Note: If you installed with uv add instead of uv tool install, prefix commands with uv run:

uv run pinviz example bh1750 -o bh1750.svg

2. Create Your Own Diagram

Once you've seen what PinViz can do, create your own configuration file my-diagram.yaml:

title: "BH1750 Light Sensor Wiring"
board: "raspberry_pi_5"

devices:
  - type: "bh1750"
    name: "BH1750"

connections:
  - board_pin: 1     # 3V3
    device: "BH1750"
    device_pin: "VCC"

  - board_pin: 6     # GND
    device: "BH1750"
    device_pin: "GND"

  - board_pin: 5     # GPIO3 (I2C SCL)
    device: "BH1750"
    device_pin: "SCL"

  - board_pin: 3     # GPIO2 (I2C SDA)
    device: "BH1750"
    device_pin: "SDA"

show_gpio_diagram: true  # Optional: include GPIO pin reference

Generate your diagram:

pinviz my-diagram.yaml -o output.svg

3. Using Python API

For programmatic diagram generation in your Python projects:

from pinviz import boards, devices, Connection, Diagram, SVGRenderer

# Create board and device
board = boards.raspberry_pi_5()
sensor = devices.bh1750_light_sensor()

# Define connections
connections = [
    Connection(1, "BH1750", "VCC"),  # 3V3 to VCC
    Connection(6, "BH1750", "GND"),  # GND to GND
    Connection(5, "BH1750", "SCL"),  # GPIO3/SCL to SCL
    Connection(3, "BH1750", "SDA"),  # GPIO2/SDA to SDA
]

# Create and render diagram
diagram = Diagram(
    title="BH1750 Light Sensor Wiring",
    board=board,
    devices=[sensor],
    connections=connections,
    show_gpio_diagram=True  # Optional: include GPIO pin reference
)

renderer = SVGRenderer()
renderer.render(diagram, "output.svg")

Custom Wire Colors

Use the WireColor enum for standard electronics wire colors:

from pinviz import (
    boards, devices, Connection, Diagram, SVGRenderer, WireColor
)

# Define connections with custom colors
connections = [
    Connection(1, "BH1750", "VCC", color=WireColor.RED),
    Connection(6, "BH1750", "GND", color=WireColor.BLACK),
    Connection(5, "BH1750", "SCL", color=WireColor.BLUE),
    Connection(3, "BH1750", "SDA", color=WireColor.GREEN),
]

# Or use hex colors directly
connections = [
    Connection(1, "BH1750", "VCC", color="#FF0000"),  # Red
]

Available colors: RED, BLACK, WHITE, GREEN, BLUE, YELLOW, ORANGE, PURPLE, GRAY, BROWN, PINK, CYAN, MAGENTA, LIME, TURQUOISE

CLI Commands

See the Quick Start section for basic usage. All examples below assume you installed with uv tool install pinviz or pip install pinviz. If you installed with uv add, prefix all commands with uv run.

Rendering Custom Diagrams

# From YAML/JSON file with specified output
pinviz my-diagram.yaml -o output.svg

# Short form (output defaults to <config-name>.svg)
pinviz my-diagram.yaml

Working with Built-in Examples

# List all available built-in examples
pinviz list

# Generate a specific example
pinviz example bh1750 -o bh1750.svg
pinviz example ir_led -o ir_led.svg
pinviz example i2c_spi -o i2c_spi.svg

Example Diagrams

LED with Resistor

Simple LED circuit with inline current-limiting resistor:

Multi-Device Setup

BH1750 light sensor + IR LED ring with custom wire colors:

Traffic Light

Three LEDs with individual resistors:

Configuration Reference

Diagram Options

show_gpio_diagram: true  # Include GPIO pin reference (default: false)

The GPIO pin reference diagram displays all 40 GPIO pins with their functions, providing a helpful reference when wiring your project.

Board Selection

Currently supported boards:

• raspberry_pi_5 (aliases: rpi5, rpi)

Built-in Device Types

• bh1750 - BH1750 I2C light sensor
• ir_led_ring - IR LED ring module
• i2c_device - Generic I2C device
• spi_device - Generic SPI device
• led - Simple LED
• button - Push button/switch

Connection Configuration

Connections use physical pin numbers (1-40), not BCM GPIO numbers:

connections:
  - board_pin: 1           # Physical pin number (required)
    device: "Device Name"  # Device name (required)
    device_pin: "VCC"      # Device pin name (required)
    color: "#FF0000"       # Custom wire color (optional)
    style: "mixed"         # Wire style: orthogonal, curved, mixed (optional)
    components:            # Inline components (optional)
      - type: "resistor"
        value: "220Ω"
        position: 0.55     # Position along wire (0.0-1.0, default: 0.55)

Inline Components

Add resistors, capacitors, or diodes directly on wire connections:

connections:
  - board_pin: 11
    device: "Red LED"
    device_pin: "+"
    color: "#FF0000"
    components:
      - type: "resistor"   # Component type: resistor, capacitor, diode
        value: "220Ω"      # Display value (required)
        position: 0.55     # Position along wire path (0.0 = board, 1.0 = device)

Python API:

from pinviz import Component, ComponentType, Connection

connection = Connection(
    board_pin=11,
    device_name="Red LED",
    device_pin_name="+",
    color="#FF0000",
    components=[
        Component(
            type=ComponentType.RESISTOR,
            value="220Ω",
            position=0.55
        )
    ]
)

Custom Devices

Define custom devices inline:

devices:
  - name: "My Custom Sensor"
    width: 80.0
    height: 50.0
    color: "#4A90E2"
    pins:
      - name: "VCC"
        role: "3V3"
        position: {x: 5.0, y: 10.0}
      - name: "GND"
        role: "GND"
        position: {x: 5.0, y: 20.0}
      - name: "SDA"
        role: "I2C_SDA"
        position: {x: 5.0, y: 30.0}
      - name: "SCL"
        role: "I2C_SCL"
        position: {x: 5.0, y: 40.0}

Pin Roles

Supported pin roles (for automatic color assignment):

• 3V3, 5V - Power rails
• GND - Ground
• GPIO - General purpose I/O
• I2C_SDA, I2C_SCL - I2C bus
• SPI_MOSI, SPI_MISO, SPI_SCLK, SPI_CE0, SPI_CE1 - SPI bus
• UART_TX, UART_RX - UART serial
• PWM - PWM output

Development

Setup

# Clone repository
git clone https://gitlab.com/borkempire/pinviz.git
cd pinviz

# Install dependencies
uv sync --dev

Code Quality

# Lint and format
uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format .

# Run tests
uv run pytest

Examples

The examples/ directory contains:

• bh1750.yaml / bh1750_python.py - I2C light sensor
• bh1750_ir_led.yaml / bh1750_ir_led_python.py - Light sensor + IR LED ring
• led_with_resistor.yaml / led_with_resistor_python.py - LED with inline resistor
• traffic_light.yaml - Traffic light with 3 LEDs and resistors

All generated diagrams are in the images/ directory.

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Credits

Board and GPIO pin SVG assets courtesy of FreeSVG.org

Author

Even Nordstad