Installation

SBMLNetwork ships in three flavours—Python package, native C/C++ library, and JavaScript/WebAssembly bundle—so you can pick the distribution that best fits your workflow. The table below gives a quick overview; detailed, step-by-step instructions follow.

Install the Python package (recommended for most)

Install the core library
```
pip install sbmlnetwork
```
Optional – add Tellurium for simulation-based features
```
pip install "sbmlnetwork[tellurium]"
```
The [tellurium] extra pulls in the latest version of Tellurium to act as the simulation engine. Choose this variant if you plan to use SBMLNetwork’s data-integration helpers that fetch fluxes or concentration trajectories directly from the model rather than supplying data arrays yourself.
Next steps
- Continue with Getting Started to render your first network.
- See the Python API reference for full Python-level details.

Install the native C/C++ static library

To use and link against C API or the native C++ backend, download the pre-built static binaries distributed in the libroadrunner-deps archives. These archives bundle SBMLNetwork, static libSBML, and required third-party libraries (Expat, Zlib, etc.) under a common directory tree so you can link everything from a single location. Then, follow the steps below to

Write *main.cpp*

main.cpp

#include "sbmlnetwork/c_api/libsbmlnetwork_c_api.h"
#include <iostream>

using namespace LIBSBMLNETWORK_CPP_NAMESPACE;

int main()
{
    const char* path = "path/to/your/model.xml";

    SBMLDocument* doc = c_api_readSBML(path);
    if (!doc) {
        std::cerr << "Error: could not load SBML file '" << path << "'.\n";
        return 1;
    }

    c_api_autolayout(doc);

    std::cout << "Canvas width  : " << c_api_getCanvasWidth(doc)  << "\n";
    std::cout << "Canvas height : " << c_api_getCanvasHeight(doc) << "\n";

    c_api_freeSBMLDocument(doc);
    return 0;
}

Create *CMakeLists.txt*

Put the following file next to your main.cpp. It looks for static versions of libSBML and SBMLNetwork only and links in Expat & Zlib as separate objects (required by static libSBML).

CMakeLists.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(TestLibSBMLNetwork)

# -- User-configurable root for all dependencies -------------------------
set(DEPENDENCIES_ROOT "" CACHE PATH
    "Path containing libSBML, SBMLNetwork, Expat, Zlib, …")

add_executable(TestLibSBMLNetwork main.cpp)

# ---- SBMLNetwork -------------------------------------------------------
find_library(SBMLNETWORK_LIBRARY
    NAMES libsbmlnetwork-static sbmlnetwork-static
    PATHS ${DEPENDENCIES_ROOT}/lib )

find_path(SBMLNETWORK_INCLUDE_DIR
    NAMES sbmlnetwork/c_api/libsbmlnetwork_c_api.h
    PATHS ${DEPENDENCIES_ROOT}/include )

# ---- libSBML (static only) --------------------------------------------
find_path(LIBSBML_INCLUDE_DIR
    NAMES sbml/SBMLTypes.h
    PATHS ${DEPENDENCIES_ROOT}/include )

find_library(LIBSBML_LIBRARY
    NAMES libsbml-static sbml-static
    PATHS ${DEPENDENCIES_ROOT}/lib ${DEPENDENCIES_ROOT}/lib64 )

# ---- Expat & Zlib ------------------------------------------------------
find_library(EXPAT_LIBRARY
    NAMES expat libexpat
    PATHS ${DEPENDENCIES_ROOT}/lib )

find_library(LIBZ_LIBRARY
    NAMES z
    PATHS ${DEPENDENCIES_ROOT}/lib )

# ---- Sanity checks -----------------------------------------------------
foreach(var SBMLNETWORK_LIBRARY SBMLNETWORK_INCLUDE_DIR
            LIBSBML_LIBRARY     LIBSBML_INCLUDE_DIR
            EXPAT_LIBRARY       LIBZ_LIBRARY)
  if(NOT ${var})
    message(FATAL_ERROR "Missing `${var}` – check DEPENDENCIES_ROOT")
  endif()
endforeach()

# ---- Include & link ----------------------------------------------------
target_include_directories(TestLibSBMLNetwork PRIVATE
    ${SBMLNETWORK_INCLUDE_DIR} ${LIBSBML_INCLUDE_DIR} )

target_link_libraries(TestLibSBMLNetwork PRIVATE
    ${SBMLNETWORK_LIBRARY} ${LIBSBML_LIBRARY}
    ${EXPAT_LIBRARY} ${LIBZ_LIBRARY} ${CMAKE_DL_LIBS} )

Configure & build

Set DEPENDENCIES_ROOT to the top of the unpacked libroadrunner-deps archive that contains include and lib inside).
```
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -GNinja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
         -DDEPENDENCIES_ROOT="path/to/libroadrunner-deps"
cmake --build .
```
The resulting executable TestLibSBMLNetwork links everything statically and runs without external DLLs/so-files (aside from the system C runtime).
Next steps
- See the C API reference and C++ API reference for full C/C++-level details.

Use SBMLNetwork in JavaScript/WebAssembly

SBMLNetwork’s core compiles to WebAssembly, allowing in-browser or Node.js workflows.

Download the WASM bundle

Obtain the WebAssembly distribution from the SBMLNetwork releases page. Each release includes the pair libsbmlnetwork.js and libsbmlnetwork.wasm inside the assets section. Download both files and place them in your web project.

Load and initialize

Example ES‑module page (save as index.html next to libsbmlnetwork.js, libsbmlnetwork.wasm and a test model.xml):

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <title>SBML Autolayout and Get Compartment Layout Info</title>
</head>
<body>
  <script type="module">
    import libsbmlnetwork from './libsbmlnetwork.js';

    libsbmlnetwork().then(Module => {
      console.log("WASM module initialized");

      const sbmlStr = `<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<sbml xmlns="http://www.sbml.org/sbml/level3/version2/core" level="3" version="2">
  <model metaid="__main" id="__main">
    <listOfCompartments>
      <compartment sboTerm="SBO:0000410" id="default_compartment" spatialDimensions="3" size="1" constant="true"/>
    </listOfCompartments>
    <listOfSpecies>
      <species id="S1" compartment="default_compartment" hasOnlySubstanceUnits="false" boundaryCondition="false" constant="false"/>
      <species id="S2" compartment="default_compartment" hasOnlySubstanceUnits="false" boundaryCondition="false" constant="false"/>
    </listOfSpecies>
    <listOfReactions>
      <reaction id="J0" reversible="true">
        <listOfReactants>
          <speciesReference species="S1" stoichiometry="1" constant="true"/>
        </listOfReactants>
        <listOfProducts>
          <speciesReference species="S2" stoichiometry="1" constant="true"/>
        </listOfProducts>
      </reaction>
    </listOfReactions>
  </model>
</sbml>`;

      const sbmlPtr = Module.allocateUTF8(sbmlStr);
      const docPtr = Module._c_api_readSBML(sbmlPtr);

      Module._free(sbmlPtr);

      const numLayouts = Module._c_api_getNumLayouts(docPtr);
      console.log("Number of existing layouts:", numLayouts);

      if (numLayouts === 0) {
        Module._c_api_autolayout(docPtr);
        console.log("Autolayout applied because no layouts existed");
      } else {
        console.log("Layout already exists, skipping autolayout");
      }

      const w = Module._c_api_getCanvasWidth(docPtr);
      const h = Module._c_api_getCanvasHeight(docPtr);
      console.log(`Canvas: ${w} x ${h}`);

    });
  </script>
</body>
</html>

Serve the files

Modern browsers block non-trivial WASM loading from file:// URLs. Use a local dev server (e.g. python -m http.server) during development.
Next steps
- See the C API reference for full C-level details. Note the WASM build exposes the same C API as the native library, except for each function being prefixed with underscore (e.g. _c_api_readSBMLFromString instead of c_api_readSBMLFromString).

Building from Source

For users who need to build SBMLNetwork from source (e.g., to modify the C++ Backend), follow the instructions provided in the Building from source section.