Introduction
============

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   .. image:: https://github.com/wjakob/nanobind/raw/master/docs/images/logo.jpg
     :width: 800
     :align: center
     :alt: nanobind logo
     :class: only-light

   .. image:: https://d38rqfq1h7iukm.cloudfront.net/media/uploads/wjakob/2023/03/28/nanobind_logo_dark.png
     :width: 800
     :align: center
     :alt: nanobind logo
     :class: only-dark

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   .. image:: https://github.com/wjakob/nanobind/raw/master/docs/images/logo.jpg
     :width: 800
     :align: center
     :alt: nanobind logo

*nanobind* is a small binding library that exposes C++ types in Python and vice
versa. It is reminiscent of `Boost.Python
<https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_64_0/libs/python/doc/html>`_ and `pybind11
<http://github.com/pybind/pybind11>`_ and uses near-identical syntax. In
contrast to these existing tools, nanobind is *more efficient*: bindings
compile in a shorter amount of time, produce smaller binaries, and have better
runtime performance.

More concretely, :ref:`benchmarks <benchmarks>` show up to **~4× faster**
compile time, **~5× smaller** binaries, and **~10× lower** runtime overheads
compared to pybind11. nanobind also outperforms Cython in important metrics
(**3-12×** binary size reduction, **1.6-4×** compilation time reduction,
similar runtime performance).

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   Documentation formats
   ---------------------

   You are reading the HTML version of the documentation. An alternative `PDF
   version <https://nanobind.readthedocs.io/_/downloads/en/latest/pdf/>`__ is
   also available.

   Dependencies
   ------------

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   .. rubric:: Dependencies

nanobinds depends on

- **Python 3.9+** or **PyPy 7.3.10+** (the *3.9* and *3.10* PyPy flavors are
  supported, though there are :ref:`some limitations <pypy_issues>`).
- **CMake 3.15+**.
- **A C++17 compiler**: Clang 8+, GCC 8+, MSVC2019+, MinGW-w64, Intel ICX
  (the modern Clang-based Intel compiler), and the CUDA NVCC compiler are
  officially supported. Others (Cygwin, older Intel compilers, ..) may work
  as well but will not receive support.

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   How to cite this project?
   -------------------------

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   .. rubric:: How to cite this project?

Please use the following BibTeX template to cite nanobind in scientific
discourse:

.. code-block:: bibtex

    @misc{nanobind,
       author = {Wenzel Jakob},
       year = {2022},
       note = {https://github.com/wjakob/nanobind},
       title = {nanobind: tiny and efficient C++/Python bindings}
    }


The nanobind logo was designed by `AndoTwin Studio
<https://andotwinstudio.com>`__. High-resolution version are available `here
<https://d38rqfq1h7iukm.cloudfront.net/media/uploads/wjakob/2023/03/27/nanobind_logo.jpg>`__
(light) and `here
<https://d38rqfq1h7iukm.cloudfront.net/media/uploads/wjakob/2023/03/28/nanobind_logo_dark_1.png>`__
(dark).

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   Table of contents
   -----------------

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 1

   changelog
   why
   benchmark
   porting
   faq

.. toctree::
   :caption: Basics
   :maxdepth: 1

   installing
   building
   basics
   bazel
   meson

.. toctree::
   :caption: Intermediate
   :maxdepth: 1

   exchanging
   ownership
   functions
   classes
   exceptions
   ndarray_index
   refleaks
   packaging
   typing
   utilities

.. toctree::
   :caption: Advanced
   :maxdepth: 1

   free_threaded
   ownership_adv
   lowlevel

.. toctree::
   :caption: API Reference
   :maxdepth: 1

   api_core
   api_extra
   api_cmake
   api_bazel