NumPy and SciPy Project Mailing Lists

The mailing lists are our primary community forum. This is where we organize projects, announce new releases, plan future directions, and give and receive user support.

Searching a list is a great way to get your questions answered without actually signing up for a list. Follow the Read/Search link for a nice interface from Gmane. Or, browse the old fashioned way at the official Archives link.

To post to a list, you have to be on it. If you want to see how much traffic a list gets, there is a chart on the Gmane page, or just go to the list archive and take a look. You can opt to receive messages in digest form. Groups of about 10 messages are sent in one email, with a table of contents at the top. This reduces inbox clutter, but means you will get the messages with a delay of up to a day. It is okay to post job ads for work involving NumPy/SciPy and related packages if you put “[JOB]” in the subject.

We also have read-only mailing lists setup for NumPy and SciPy to receive notifications of all SVN checkins and Trac ticket changes.

Before you post

• Search the appropriate archives first (one way is to use the “Read/Search” links to Gmane below). Though knowing what search terms to use is an acquired skill, often it’s easier than you think. Also check the Frequently Asked Questions to see if your question is answered there.
• Please make sure that you’re posting to the right list. The NumPy and SciPy mailing lists should be used for questions relating to those two packages in particular (general questions about how to accomplish a scientific task in Python are okay, too). Questions about matplotlib should go to one of the matplotlib mailing lists. Questions specifically about using/developing the IPython shell should go to one of the IPython mailing lists. Making sure your question is going to the right list saves everyone time and makes it far more likely the right people will see (and answer) your question quickly.

A few points on mailing list etiquette:

• Reply to list, not to sender.

  In general it is not necessary to CC respondents on further replies to your thread. Please reply to the list rather than to the list and the individual respondents (note that the NumPy and SciPy lists add Reply-To headers to facilitate this; normally, clicking ‘Reply’ in your mail client will direct replies to the list rather than the sender). Likewise, if you expect a reply, you should either monitor the list traffic through your mail client or through a service like Gmane; responses will generally be sent to the list and only the list.

• Don’t reply to digests.

  Digests should only be used if you intend to read and not participate. Replying to digests makes it impossible to follow conversation threads; please subscribe normally if you wish to participate in the conversation.

• Keep it friendly, folks.

  Please keep the tone of conversations cordial and respectful, and recognize that those responding to your questions are volunteering their free time to do so.

Mailing Lists

The following table lists the core NumPy and SciPy lists. Please see Before you post to make sure that this is the right place to ask your question.

NumPy-discussion	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
For discussion of just the core NumPy package (not SciPy).
SciPy-user	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
Our user-support forum, for discussions of how to use SciPy.
SciPy-dev	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
For discussions about the development of SciPy, including code, website and documentation.
NumPy-tickets		Archives	Subscribe
Trac ticket changes for NumPy
NumPy-svn		Archives	Subscribe
SVN commits to the NumPy repository
SciPy-tickets		Archives	Subscribe
Trac ticket changes for SciPy
SciPy-svn		Archives	Subscribe
SVN commits to the SciPy repository

Affiliated Project Mailing Lists

The following is a partial list of popular mailing lists from related scientific Python projects, notably matplotlib and IPython, listed here for convenience in helping direct questions to the appropriate mailing list.

matplotlib-users	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
For discussions about using the matplotlib plotting library.
matplotlib-devel	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
For development discussions about the matplotlib plotting library.
IPython-user	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
For discussions about using the IPython interactive shell.
IPython-dev	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
For development discussions about the IPython interactive shell.
Enthought-dev	Read/Search	Archives	Subscribe
The central list for discussion of the Enthought Tool Suite, including MayaVi, Chaco, and Traits.
AstroPy		Archives	Subscribe
For discussions about tools and modules for astronomical data analysis and processing.