# Python Package for Simple BDF Operations **URL:** \ **Category:** BDF & Standards\ **Created:** [August 28, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://bda.discourse.group/t/python-package-for-simple-bdf-operations/48 "2025-08-28T13:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrSimonClark](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/bda.discourse.group/drsimonclark/32/12_2.png) [@DrSimonClark](https://bda.discourse.group/u/DrSimonClark)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 1:10pm UTC](https://bda.discourse.group/t/python-package-for-simple-bdf-operations/48/1 "2025-08-28T13:10:38Z")
Thinking about a small, no-frills Python tool to help people use the Battery Data Format: - **Convert** to/from BDF - **Visualize** a couple of standard quick-look plots - **Publish** a simple, valid BDF bundle Keep it tiny (CLI + minimal API, few deps). Would this be useful? If there’s interest, I can spin up a starter repo to iterate together or put it into the existing battery-data-format repo. ---
**Author:** ![DrSimonClark](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/bda.discourse.group/drsimonclark/32/12_2.png) [@DrSimonClark](https://bda.discourse.group/u/DrSimonClark)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://bda.discourse.group/t/python-package-for-simple-bdf-operations/48/2 "2025-08-28T22:07:42Z")
started a branch for it here: [GitHub - battery-data-alliance/battery-data-format at feat-python-packagee](https://github.com/battery-data-alliance/battery-data-format/tree/feat-python-packagee) ---
**Author:** ![gojisuqu](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/bda.discourse.group/gojisuqu/32/78_2.png) [@gojisuqu](https://bda.discourse.group/u/gojisuqu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2026, 8:10pm UTC](https://bda.discourse.group/t/python-package-for-simple-bdf-operations/48/3 "2026-10-26T20:10:50Z")
A CLI that validates a bundle before publishing would make this especially useful: conversion can succeed while metadata or file layout is still invalid. I’d include one tiny input/output example for each supported conversion and a round-trip test, so users can see what information is preserved or lost. ---
**Author:** ![gevetoka](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/bda.discourse.group/gevetoka/32/66_2.png) [@gevetoka](https://bda.discourse.group/u/gevetoka)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://bda.discourse.group/t/python-package-for-simple-bdf-operations/48/4 "2026-10-27T14:59:02Z")
A `bdf validate` command would be useful alongside conversion and plotting, especially if it reports the exact file and field that needs fixing. That gives people a way to check a bundle before publishing it, without needing to understand the package’s API. ---
**Author:** ![katavale](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/bda.discourse.group/katavale/32/69_2.png) [@katavale](https://bda.discourse.group/u/katavale)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 11:09am UTC](https://bda.discourse.group/t/python-package-for-simple-bdf-operations/48/5 "2026-10-29T11:09:41Z")
I’d make validation a first-class command alongside conversion: check required fields, units, metadata, and bundle layout, then return actionable errors before anything is published. For conversions, a machine-readable report of fields dropped or inferred would prevent a syntactically valid output from being mistaken for a lossless one. A tiny fixture-based test set would help keep the CLI behavior stable. ---
**Author:** ![xuganade](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/bda.discourse.group/xuganade/32/72_2.png) [@xuganade](https://bda.discourse.group/u/xuganade)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://bda.discourse.group/t/python-package-for-simple-bdf-operations/48/6 "2026-10-29T15:59:01Z")
A validator would make this especially useful: check required metadata, units, and bundle structure before publishing, then report actionable errors. For conversion, preserving provenance and making losses explicit would matter as much as producing a readable file. That gives users a clear first workflow to test.