Processforge

A lightweight Python framework for process simulation, coupling hydraulic, thermal, and reactor workflows.

Install

Install the pf command-line tool with uv:

uv tool install processforge

For CoolProp-backed units:

uv tool install "processforge[coolprop]"

Optional solver backends:

uv tool install "processforge[eo]"
uv tool install "processforge[eo-casadi]"
uv tool install "processforge[modelica]"

Quick start

1. Install the tool

   uv tool install processforge
   

2. Download an example flowsheet

   curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/urjanova/processforge/master/flowsheets/hydraulic-chain.json
   

3. Initialize, plan, and apply

   pf init flowsheets/hydraulic-chain.json
   pf plan flowsheets/hydraulic-chain.json
   pf apply flowsheets/hydraulic-chain.json
   

   plan validates the flowsheet (schema, DOF, units) without running the solver; apply solves it and stores a snapshot.

4. Look at the output

   pf apply (and pf run) write a single unified archive under outputs/:

   • outputs/<base>.pfarchive/ — the unified store for a flowsheet's solved state and outputs:
     • snapshots/ — Zarr store of converged state vectors (one group per successful pf apply), each with x/x_delta arrays and config/var-name/metadata attributes, plus a latest pointer (powers warm-start, drift detection, and homotopy).
     • runs/<run_id>.json — the run manifest: every stream and unit engine output (values, units, dtypes, shapes) and run provenance (backend, version, flowsheet hash).
     • outputs/streams/<name>.json — per-stream timeseries from the solve.
     • artifacts.json — content-addressed registry of all output artifacts (local + remote URIs).
     • index.json — field_name → occurrences index for fast cross-run lookups.
     • latest_run — plain-text pointer to the most recent run.
   • outputs/<base>_divergence.json — written only when both direct and homotopy solves fail on pf apply, capturing drifted params, solver stats, and top residual violators.

   For dynamic flowsheets with Tank units, use pf run (not pf apply, which is steady-state EO only) to solve with the dynamic engine.

Python API

Low-level API

from processforge import EOFlowsheet, validate_flowsheet

config = validate_flowsheet("flowsheets/hydraulic-chain.json")
fs = EOFlowsheet(config, backend="scipy")
results = fs.run()

High-level runner (web-app friendly)

from processforge import run_flowsheet

result = run_flowsheet("flowsheets/hydraulic-chain.json")
print(result.run_id, result.status, result.remote_uris)

run_flowsheet and apply_flowsheet perform the full CLI lifecycle (validate, health-check, solve, persist, and upload the pfarchive to S3) and return structured results instead of calling SystemExit. See docs/usage.md for a FastAPI + S3/Railway example.

Usage

See the usage guide for CLI commands and workflows.

Individual providers (e.g. FESTIM, OpenMC) can be run via Docker images using the provider image contract.

Flowsheets

The core of Processforge is the flowsheet JSON format, which defines materials, units, and recycle rules. See below for more information on the formats and example flowsheets.

• docs/flowsheets.md : flowsheet JSON format, materials, units, and recycle rules
• flowsheets/ : example flowsheets shipped with the repo

License

BSD 3-Clause License