cantools 41.1.1
CAN BUS tools.
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.10
Keywords: can, can bus, arxml, dbc, kcd, automotive

|github-actions| |coverage|

About
=====

CAN BUS tools in Python 3.

- `DBC`_, `KCD`_, SYM, ARXML 3&4 and CDD file parsing.

- CAN message encoding and decoding.

- Simple and extended signal multiplexing.

- Diagnostic DID encoding and decoding.

- ``candump`` output decoder.

- Node `tester`_.

- `C` source code generator.

- CAN bus monitor.

- Graphical plots of signals.

Project homepage: https://github.com/cantools/cantools

Documentation: https://cantools.readthedocs.io

Installation
============

.. code-block:: bash

    python3 -m pip install cantools

Example usage
=============

Scripting
---------

The example starts by parsing a `small DBC-file`_ and printing its
messages and signals.

.. code-block:: python

   >>> import cantools
   >>> from pprint import pprint
   >>> db = cantools.database.load_file('tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc')
   >>> db.messages
   [message('ExampleMessage', 0x1f0, False, 8, 'Example message used as template in MotoHawk models.')]
   >>> example_message = db.get_message_by_name('ExampleMessage')
   >>> pprint(example_message.signals)
   [signal('Enable', 7, 1, 'big_endian', False, 1.0, 0, 0.0, 0.0, '-', False, None, {0: 'Disabled', 1: 'Enabled'}, None),
    signal('AverageRadius', 6, 6, 'big_endian', False, 0.1, 0, 0.0, 5.0, 'm', False, None, None, ''),
    signal('Temperature', 0, 12, 'big_endian', True, 0.01, 250, 229.53, 270.47, 'degK', False, None, None, None)]

The example continues `encoding`_ a message and sending it on a CAN
bus using the `python-can`_ package.

.. code-block:: python

   >>> import can
   >>> can_bus = can.interface.Bus('vcan0', bustype='socketcan')
   >>> data = example_message.encode({'Temperature': 250.1, 'AverageRadius': 3.2, 'Enable': 1})
   >>> message = can.Message(arbitration_id=example_message.frame_id, is_extended_id=example_message.is_extended_frame, data=data)
   >>> can_bus.send(message)

Alternatively, a message can be encoded using the `encode_message()`_
method on the database object.

The last part of the example receives and `decodes`_ a CAN message.

.. code-block:: python

   >>> message = can_bus.recv()
   >>> db.decode_message(message.arbitration_id, message.data)
   {'AverageRadius': 3.2, 'Enable': 'Enabled', 'Temperature': 250.09}

See `examples`_ for additional examples.

Command line tool
-----------------

The decode subcommand
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Decode CAN frames captured with the Linux program ``candump``.

.. code-block:: text

   $ candump vcan0 | python3 -m cantools decode tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
     vcan0  1F0   [8]  80 4A 0F 00 00 00 00 00 ::
   ExampleMessage(
       Enable: 'Enabled' -,
       AverageRadius: 0.0 m,
       Temperature: 255.92 degK
   )
     vcan0  1F0   [8]  80 4A 0F 00 00 00 00 00 ::
   ExampleMessage(
       Enable: 'Enabled' -,
       AverageRadius: 0.0 m,
       Temperature: 255.92 degK
   )
     vcan0  1F0   [8]  80 4A 0F 00 00 00 00 00 ::
   ExampleMessage(
       Enable: 'Enabled' -,
       AverageRadius: 0.0 m,
       Temperature: 255.92 degK
   )

Alternatively, the decoded message can be printed on a single line:

.. code-block:: text

   $ candump vcan0 | python3 -m cantools decode --single-line tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
     vcan0  1F0   [8]  80 4A 0F 00 00 00 00 00 :: ExampleMessage(Enable: 'Enabled' -, AverageRadius: 0.0 m, Temperature: 255.92 degK)
     vcan0  1F0   [8]  80 4A 0F 00 00 00 00 00 :: ExampleMessage(Enable: 'Enabled' -, AverageRadius: 0.0 m, Temperature: 255.92 degK)
     vcan0  1F0   [8]  80 4A 0F 00 00 00 00 00 :: ExampleMessage(Enable: 'Enabled' -, AverageRadius: 0.0 m, Temperature: 255.92 degK)

The plot subcommand
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The plot subcommand is similar to the decode subcommand but messages are visualized using `matplotlib`_ instead of being printed to stdout.

.. code-block:: bash

    $ candump -l vcan0
    $ cat candump-2021-01-04_180521.log
    (1609779922.655421) vcan0 00000343#B204B9049C049C04
    (1609779922.655735) vcan0 0000024A#120527052E051905
    (1609779923.657524) vcan0 00000343#C404C404CB04C404
    (1609779923.658086) vcan0 0000024A#8B058B058B059205
    (1609779924.659912) vcan0 00000343#5C04790479045504
    (1609779924.660471) vcan0 0000024A#44064B0659064406
    (1609779925.662277) vcan0 00000343#15040704F203F203
    (1609779925.662837) vcan0 0000024A#8B069906A706A706
    (1609779926.664191) vcan0 00000343#BC03B503A703BC03
    (1609779926.664751) vcan0 0000024A#A006A706C406C406

    $ cat candump-2021-01-04_180521.log | python3 -m cantools plot tests/files/dbc/abs.dbc

.. image:: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/raw/master/docs/plot-1.png

If you don't want to show all signals you can select the desired signals with command line arguments.
A ``*`` can stand for any number of any character, a ``?`` for exactly one arbitrary character.
Signals separated by a ``-`` are displayed in separate subplots.
Optionally a format can be specified after a signal, separated by a colon.

.. code-block:: bash

    $ cat candump-2021-01-04_180521.log | python3 -m cantools plot tests/files/dbc/abs.dbc '*33.*fl:-<' '*33.*fr:->' - '*33.*rl:-<' '*33.*rr:->'

.. image:: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/raw/master/docs/plot-2-subplots.png

Signals with a different range of values can be displayed in the same subplot on different vertical axes by separating them with a comma.

.. code-block:: bash

   $ cat candump-2021-01-04_180521.log | cantools plot --auto-color tests/files/dbc/abs.dbc -- \
      --ylabel 'Bremse 33' '*_33.*fl*:-<' '*_33.*fr*:>' '*_33.*rl*:3' '*_33.*rr*:4' , \
      --ylabel 'Bremse 2' '*_2.*fl*:-<' '*_2.*fr*:>' '*_2.*rl*:3' '*_2.*rr*:4'

.. image:: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/raw/master/docs/plot-2-axes.png

Matplotlib comes with different preinstalled styles that you can use:

.. code-block:: bash

   $ cat candump-2021-01-04_180521.log | cantools plot tests/files/dbc/abs.dbc --style seaborn

.. image:: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/raw/master/docs/plot-seaborn.png

You can try all available styles with

.. code-block:: bash

   $ cantools plot --list-styles . | sed -n '/^- /s/^- //p' | while IFS= read -r style; do
         cat candump-2021-01-04_180521.log | cantools plot tests/files/dbc/abs.dbc --style "$style" --title "--style '$style'"
     done

For more information see

.. code-block:: bash

    $ python3 -m cantools plot --help

Note that by default matplotlib is not installed with cantools. But it can be by specifying an extra
at installation:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ python3 -m pip install cantools[plot]

The dump subcommand
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Dump given database in a human readable format:

.. code-block:: text

   $ python3 -m cantools dump tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
   ================================= Messages =================================

     ------------------------------------------------------------------------

     Name:       ExampleMessage
     Id:         0x1f0
     Length:     8 bytes
     Cycle time: - ms
     Senders:    PCM1
     Layout:

                             Bit

                7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
            0 |<-x|<---------------------x|<--|
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
                |                       +-- AverageRadius
                +-- Enable
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
            1 |-------------------------------|
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
            2 |----------x|   |   |   |   |   |
        B     +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
        y               +-- Temperature
        t     +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
        e   3 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
            4 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
            5 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
            6 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
            7 |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
              +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+

     Signal tree:

       -- {root}
          +-- Enable
          +-- AverageRadius
          +-- Temperature

     Signal choices:

       Enable
           0 Disabled
           1 Enabled

     ------------------------------------------------------------------------

The list subcommand
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Print all information of a given database in a human readable
format. This is very similar to the "dump" subcommand, but the output
is less pretty, slightly more comprehensive and easier to parse by
shell scripts:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ python3 -m cantools list -a tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
    ExampleMessage:
      Comment[None]: Example message used as template in MotoHawk models.
      Frame ID: 0x1f0 (496)
      Size: 8 bytes
      Is extended frame: False
      Signals:
        Enable:
          Type: Integer
          Start bit: 7
          Length: 1 bits
          Unit: -
          Is signed: False
          Named values:
            0: Disabled

The generate C source subcommand
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Generate `C` source code from given database.

The generated code contains:

- Message `structs`_.

- Message `pack`_ and `unpack`_ functions.

- Signal `encode`_ and `decode`_ functions.

- Frame id, length, type, cycle time and signal choices `defines`_.

Known limitations:

- The maximum signal size is 64 bits, which in practice is never
  exceeded.

Below is an example of how to generate C source code from a
database. The database is ``tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc``.

.. code-block:: text

   $ python3 -m cantools generate_c_source tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
   Successfully generated motohawk.h and motohawk.c.

See `motohawk.h`_ and `motohawk.c`_ for the contents of the generated
files.

In this example we use ``--use-float`` so floating point numbers in the generated
code are single precision (``float``) instead of double precision (``double``).

.. code-block:: text

   $ python3 -m cantools generate_c_source --use-float tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
   Successfully generated motohawk.h and motohawk.c.

In the next example we use ``--database-name`` to set a custom
namespace for all generated types, defines and functions. The output
file names are also changed by this option.

.. code-block:: text

   $ python3 -m cantools generate_c_source --database-name my_database_name tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
   Successfully generated my_database_name.h and my_database_name.c.

See `my_database_name.h`_ and `my_database_name.c`_ for the contents
of the generated files.

In the next example we use ``--no-floating-point-numbers`` to generate
code without floating point types, i.e. ``float`` and ``double``.

.. code-block:: text

   $ python3 -m cantools generate_c_source --no-floating-point-numbers tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc
   Successfully generated motohawk.h and motohawk.c.

See `motohawk_no_floating_point_numbers.h`_ and
`motohawk_no_floating_point_numbers.c`_ for the contents of the
generated files.

In the last example ``--node`` is used to generate
message pack functions only for messages sent by the specified node and unpack
functions only for messages with its signal receivers belonging to that node. 

.. code-block:: text

   $ cantools generate_c_source tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc --node PCM1
   Successfully generated motohawk.h and motohawk.c.

See `motohawk_sender_node.h`_ and
`motohawk_sender_node.c`_ for the contents of the
generated files.

Other C code generators:

- http://www.coderdbc.com

- https://github.com/howerj/dbcc

- https://github.com/lonkamikaze/hsk-libs/blob/master/scripts/dbc2c.awk

- https://sourceforge.net/projects/comframe/

The monitor subcommand
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Monitor CAN bus traffic in a text based user interface.

.. code-block:: text

   $ python3 -m cantools monitor tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc

.. image:: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/raw/master/docs/monitor.png

The menu at the bottom of the monitor shows the available commands.

- Quit: Quit the monitor. Ctrl-C can be used as well.

- Filter: Only display messages or signals matching given regular
  expression. Press <Enter> to return to the menu from the filter
  input line.

- Play/Pause: Toggle between playing and paused (or running and freezed).

- Reset: Reset the monitor to its initial state.

Contributing
============

#. Fork the repository.

#. Install prerequisites. You can skip this if you use `tox`_.

   .. code-block:: text

      python3 -m pip install -e .[dev]

#. Implement the new feature or bug fix.

#. Implement test case(s) to ensure that future changes do not break
   legacy.

#. Run the linters

   .. code-block:: text

      ruff check src
      mypy src

   or

   .. code-block:: text

      tox -e ruff
      tox -e mypy

#. Run the tests.

   .. code-block:: text

      tox -e py

#. Check test coverage.

   .. code-block:: text

      tox -e cov
      firefox htmlcov/index.html

#. Create a pull request.

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   :alt: Test coverage reports on Coveralls.io


.. _small DBC-file: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc

.. _motohawk.dbc: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/dbc/motohawk.dbc

.. _python-can: https://python-can.readthedocs.io/en/master/

.. _DBC: http://www.socialledge.com/sjsu/index.php?title=DBC_Format

.. _KCD: https://github.com/julietkilo/kcd

.. _tester: http://cantools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#cantools.tester.Tester

.. _encoding: http://cantools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#cantools.database.can.Message.encode

.. _encode_message(): http://cantools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#cantools.database.can.Database.encode_message

.. _decodes: http://cantools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/#cantools.database.can.Database.decode_message

.. _examples: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/examples

.. _structs: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.h#L58

.. _pack: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.h#L88

.. _unpack: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.h#L102

.. _encode: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.h#L116

.. _decode: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.h#L125

.. _defines: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.h#L42

.. _motohawk.h: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.h

.. _motohawk.c: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk.c

.. _my_database_name.h: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/my_database_name.h

.. _my_database_name.c: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/my_database_name.c

.. _motohawk_no_floating_point_numbers.h: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk_no_floating_point_numbers.h

.. _motohawk_no_floating_point_numbers.c: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk_no_floating_point_numbers.c

.. _motohawk_sender_node.h: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk_sender_node.h

.. _motohawk_sender_node.c: https://github.com/cantools/cantools/blob/master/tests/files/c_source/motohawk_sender_node.c

.. _matplotlib: https://matplotlib.org/

.. _tox: http://tox.readthedocs.org/