# Quickstart

Drive a simulated power supply end-to-end in about five minutes. No hardware required

## Step-by-step

`instro` ships with a built-in SCPI simulator, so you can try the library without owning any hardware.

**Install instro**

```bash
pip install instro
```

**Start the simulated PSU**

Open a separate terminal and start the bundled simulator.

```bash
python -m instro.psu.scpi_sim_server
```

**Construct an InstroPSU**

Create an `InstroPSU` driven by the `SimulatedPSU` driver. The driver owns the VISA transport.

```python
from instro.psu import InstroPSU
from instro.psu.drivers import SimulatedPSU
from instro.lib.publishers import FilePublisher

file_pub = FilePublisher(format="jsonl", directory="/tmp/instro/")
psu = InstroPSU(
    name="bench_psu",
    driver=SimulatedPSU("TCPIP0::127.0.0.1::5025::SOCKET"),
    publishers=[file_pub],
    num_channels=2,
)
psu.open()
```

**Configure Instrument**

`apply()` sets the current limit, then the voltage, then enables the output.

```python
psu.set_overvoltage_protection_level(5.5, channel=1)
psu.set_overvoltage_protection_enabled(True, channel=1)
psu.apply(current_limit=1.0, voltage=5.0, enable=True, channel=1)
```

**Make Measurements**

Measurement getters return a [Measurement](https://dev.nominal.io/instro/library/library.md#measurements-and-commands) object. Use `.latest` to grab the current value. Every measurement is timestamped, tagged, and streamed to the [Publishers](https://dev.nominal.io/instro/library/publishers.md).

```python
voltage = psu.get_voltage(channel=1)
current = psu.get_current(channel=1)
print(f"V: {voltage.latest:.3f} V")
print(f"I: {current.latest:.3f} A")
```

**Close Up Shop**

When you’re done, disable the output and close the connection. `close()` stops the background daemon and flushes the publishers.

```python
psu.output_enable(False, channel=1)
psu.close()
```

**Read the Data**

All `Commands` and `Measurements` are logged to the `publishers`.

```python
print(file_pub.file_path.read_text())  # commands and measurements written to the publisher
```

Installation

[Installation](https://dev.nominal.io/instro/installation.md)

Examples

[Examples](https://dev.nominal.io/instro/examples.md)

Supported Instruments

[Instruments](https://dev.nominal.io/instro/instruments.md)