##  [Ansys Speos for developers](/docs/speos) 

## Overview

Ansys Speos® CAD integrated optical and lighting simulation software uniquely simulates a system’s optical performance and evaluates the final illumination effect, based on human vision. For more information, see the [Ansys Speos product page](https://www.ansys.com/products/optics-vr/ansys-speos).

**Speos APIs** (Application Programming Interfaces) offer you the capability to:

- Access features provided by the Speos for SpaceClaim GUI through the **Speos client APIs**.
- Access features provided by the Speos for NX GUI through the **Speos for NX library**.
- Automate the management of input and output data through the **Speos Labs automation APIs**.
- Automate external simulation through the **Speos Core methods**.
- Access features provided by the Speos solver, with more liberty, through the **Speos RPC**.
- Access the features and tools of the Speos solver through the **PySpeos** Python client library, which is built on **Speos RPC**.



The **Speos client APIs** and **Speos for NX library** are intricately linked to the GUI, ensuring that the functionalities accessible in the GUI have a corresponding automation function. As the automation functions are directly derived from the GUI, they perfectly align with the actions you would perform in the software, such as creating new Speos objects, editing existing ones, and modifying parameters.



The **Speos Labs automation APIs** enable you to perform preprocessing and postprocessing tasks on input data and simulation results from Speos software.



The **Speos Core methods** enable you to run locally exported simulations from a Speos software or on a network while keeping Speos software available.

The **Speos RPC** is based on a gRPC server and provides APIs to interact with Speos Solver. This allows you to use the Speos capabilities without starting any CAD and therefore offers the possibility to manage Speos capabilities with more liberty.

The **PySpeos** library is a Python interface for accessing Speos RPC.

**Limitations**



 The following limitation applies to **Speos client APIs**, **Speos for NX library**, **Speos Labs automation APIs**, and **Speos Core methods.**



The \*.tlb files located in this folder "\[...\]\\ANSYS Inc\\vXXX\\Optical Products\\Viewers" cannot be added as COM references in Visual Studio projects. Due to software limitations, majority of these type libraries are not recognized by Visual Studio. Only the following are recognized:

- HDRIViewer.tlb
- RayEditor.tlb
- XmpViewer.tlb
- VisionLabViewer.tlb
- UserMaterialViewer.tlb









 



 

 

 



## OS and supported languages

**Speos APIs** available only on **Windows**:

- **Speos Client APIs**: IronPython

- **Speos for NX library** : Python



- **Speos Labs automation APIs** : VB Script, C++



- **Speos Core methods** : COM

**Speos APIs** available on **Windows** and **Linux**:

- **Speos RPC**: All languages compatible with [gRPC](https://grpc.io/docs/#official-support) framework.
- **PySpeos**: Python







 



 

 

 



## Documentation

###### PySpeos

Use the PySpeos Python client library to communicate with the Speos RPC server.

[View Docs](https://speos.docs.pyansys.com/version/stable/overview/index.html)





 

 



###### Speos RPC

The Speos RPC is based on a gRPC server and provides APIs to interact with Speos solver. This allows you to use Speos software capabilities without starting any CAD and therefore offers the possibility to manage Speos software capabilities with more liberty.

[2026 R1 SP03](/docs/speos-rpc-2026-r1-sp03/index.md)

[Previous](/docs/speos/previous)





 

 



 

 

 



###### Speos client APIs documentation

Provides API references and methods for the **SpeosSim**, **SpeosDes**, and **SpeosAsm** interfaces.

[2026 R1 SP03](/docs/speos-client-apis-2026-r1-sp03/client-speos-api-home.md)

[Previous](/docs/speos/previous)





 

 



###### Speos NX library

Provides API references and methods for the Speos for NX software features.

[2026 R1](/docs/speos-for-nx-library-2026-r1/index.md)

[Previous](/docs/speos/previous)





 

 



 

 

 



###### Speos Labs automation APIs

Provides both general information and API references for automation.

[2026 R1](/docs/speos-labs-automation-2026-r1/lab_api_home.md)

[Previous](/docs/speos/previous)





 

 



###### Speos Core methods

Provides methods to run external Speos simulations.

[2026 R1](/docs/speos-core-methods-2026-r1/client-speos-core-api-home.md)

[Previous](/docs/speos/previous)





 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 



## Related projects

 When using **Speos APIs**, you can perform further development with the APIs and libraries of this Ansys product:





 



###### SpaceClaim





 

<https://www.ansys.com/products/3d-design/ansys-spaceclaim>