Introducing Instro - a Python library for controlling hardware test equipment

[hoehner]

Sharing a library that a lot of hardware people end up wrapping in pytest fixtures: instro, an open-source typed Python API for bench instruments and industrial hardware (power supplies, DMMs, scopes, DAQs, Modbus, EtherNet/IP PLCs). Same methods for every vendor, so the fixture doesn't change when the bench does:

@pytest.fixture(scope="session")
def psu():
    with InstroPSU(name="bench", driver=RigolDP800("TCPIP0::192.168.1.20::INSTR"), num_channels=3) as p:
        yield p

It ships PSU and DMM simulators, so the same tests run in CI with no hardware, and publishers can write every command and reading to JSONL alongside the test report.

GitHub: https://github.com/nominal-io/instro
Docs: https://instro.nominal.io
Community: https://community.instro.nominal.io
Discord: https://discord.gg/nN4RzhQkr