## [Ansys Zemax OpticStudio for developers](/docs/zemax) ## Overview Ansys Zemax OpticStudio® software is a tool for designing components and subassemblies within complex, high-precision optical systems. Such systems address a variety of applications across several high-growth industries, from AR/VR to LIDAR, medical imaging to data communications, and more. It features a user-friendly interface suitable for engineers of all levels, making it accessible for professionals in diverse industries. Zemax OpticStudio software is used to virtually prototype complex, high-precision optical systems, enabling engineers to design components for these systems whose as-built performance will be as good as the simulated performance. Engineers can explore design trade-offs and understand the impact of manufacturing and assembly errors on system performance in a virtual environment, reducing risk in their designs and accelerating their time to market. For more information, see [Ansys Zemax OpticStudio](https://www.ansys.com/products/optics-vr/ansys-zemax-opticstudio). **ZOS-API** is an application programming interface developed for Zemax OpticStudio software. It allows applications to either communicate directly with opened instances of OpticStudio software or to run OpticStudio software as a background process. ## OS and supported languages **ZOS-API** is a COM-enabled .NET library available for **Windows**, with templates and code examples provided for: - C++ - C# - Python - MATLAB - Mathematica ## Documentation ###### ZOS-API Getting started Consult these resources to understand how to use the API. ###### ZOS-API Interface Build your interface using the API references and examples to interact with Zemax OpticStudio software. [2026 R1](/docs/zemax-opticstudio-zos-api-2026-r1/index.md) [Previous](/docs/zemax/previous) ## Related projects When using **ZOS-API**, you can perform further development with the APIs and libraries of these Ansys products: ###### Lumerical ###### optiSLang ###### Speos