pydobotlab

Python control for the Dobot Magician robot arm, with an optional desktop control panel and a simulator for working without hardware. Communicates over serial using pyserial; no vendor DLL or DobotStudio installation is required.

Documentation & homepage · API reference · GitHub · Report an issue

Installation

Requires Python 3.10 or newer. Install in a virtual environment:

python -m pip install pydobotlab

For the optional PySide6 desktop panel:

python -m pip install "pydobotlab[gui]"
pydobotlab-panel

The base library requires only pyserial; Qt is installed only with the gui extra. See the installation guide for virtual environments, Windows drivers, and Linux serial-port permissions. The project has been used on Ubuntu and Windows; macOS hardware has not been verified.

Quick start

With the arm connected and its workspace clear:

from pydobotlab import Magician, PTPMode

with Magician() as robot:  # auto-discover; or specify "/dev/ttyUSB0" / "COM3"
    robot.clear_alarm()
    robot.set_home()
    robot.move_to(220, 0, 50, mode=PTPMode.MOVJ_XYZ)
    pose = robot.get_pose()
    print(pose.x, pose.y, pose.z, pose.joints)

Dobot is also available as an alias for Magician. The documented DobotLab method names and parameters are preserved for existing scripts and teaching material.

Try it without hardware

pydobotlab-panel --simulator

Or use the simulator from Python:

from pydobotlab import Magician
from pydobotlab.simulator import install_simulator, stop_all

install_simulator(arms=1)
try:
    with Magician("/dev/sim0", via_broker=False) as robot:
        robot.move_to(220, 0, 50)
        print(robot.get_pose())
finally:
    stop_all()

The simulator supports offline examples and tests. It approximates motion and firmware behavior; it does not validate a real robot's trajectory.

Features and examples

• Cartesian and joint motion, jogging, homing, speed settings, and continuous paths.
• Suction cup, gripper, laser, digital I/O, sensors, and conveyor commands.
• Structured alarms, motion-failure exceptions, and live pose streaming.
• Firmware queue control and with robot.batch() for accumulating commands.
• Multiple robot connections and a local broker for sharing a port between the GUI and scripts.

Start with pick and place, smiley drawing, or two arms with live panels. The user guide covers the API, control panel, broker, and wire protocol.

Development

From a local checkout, including before the first PyPI release:

python -m pip install -e ".[dev,gui,docs]"
python -m pytest --timeout=30
ruff check .
ruff format --check .
mkdocs serve

See contributor guidance and the publishing guide.

License

MIT. Maintained by Tal Eylon, taleylon1@gmail.com.