Halotools

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Freedom report

One barScore 5.3

Free tierNo free tier on record
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely1 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

Halotools is ranked #17 of 34 in astronomy apps on Freedom251. It runs on Linux.

Compared on astronomy apps

Free plan: Yes

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The record

Purpose: Halotools is a specialized Python package for building and testing galaxy-halo connection models and analyzing dark matter halo catalogs.
Mock galaxies: It generates synthetic galaxy populations using HODs, abundance matching, and related methods.
Observables: Its algorithms calculate galaxy clustering, lensing, redshift-space distortions, and other astronomical statistics.
Custom models: Its modular, object-oriented framework lets users design galaxy evolution models from interchangeable components.
Catalog handling: Halotools supports reducing halo catalogs and caching them as fast-loading HDF5 files.
Simulation data: The package supports downloading publicly available raw simulation catalogs, reducing them to memory-mapped files, and managing a simulation cache.
Custom catalogs: Users can transform halo catalogs beyond those provided by Halotools into a standard form for its mock-population factories.
Analysis examples: The tutorials demonstrate galaxy clustering, galaxy-galaxy lensing, group identification, velocity statistics, void statistics, and isolation criteria.
Installation: The documentation recommends installing the latest release with conda-forge and also provides pip and source-build instructions.
Dependencies: The installation documentation lists h5py 3.7 or later as an additional dependency that may be needed with conda or pip.
License: Halotools is fully open source and distributed under a 3-clause BSD-style license.
Support: Users can request support by Slack or personal email, or raise a public GitHub issue tagged as a feature request or question.
Notable model requirement: Different models require different halo properties, so users must format their catalog to supply the properties needed by the model they choose.
Research audience: The package is designed to study cosmology, galaxy evolution, and structure formation using simulations and mock galaxy populations.

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Astronomy Apps in 2026#17 of 34

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Sources

halotools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/· checked 4 Oct 2026
halotools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/overview.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
halotools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quickstart_and_tutorials/tuto· checked 4 Oct 2026
halotools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quickstart_and_tutorials/tuto· checked 4 Oct 2026
halotools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
halotools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quickstart_and_tutorials/deve· checked 4 Oct 2026