Installation

sbi requires Python 3.10 or higher. We recommend using Python 3.12 for the best experience. A GPU is not required, but can lead to speed-up in some cases.

Recommended: Installation with uv

We recommend using uv for package and environment management. If you haven’t installed uv yet, follow the installation instructions.

Create a virtual environment and install sbi:

# Create a virtual environment with Python 3.12
uv venv --python 3.12

# Activate the environment (on macOS/Linux)
source .venv/bin/activate

# On Windows
# .venv\Scripts\activate

# Install sbi
uv pip install sbi

Optional dependencies

Pyro and PyMC MCMC samplers are optional. Install them as needed:

uv pip install "sbi[pyro]"   # for Pyro samplers (HMC, NUTS)
uv pip install "sbi[pymc]"   # for PyMC samplers (HMC, NUTS, Slice)
uv pip install "sbi[all]"    # for all optional dependencies

Alternative installation methods

Using pip

If you prefer using pip directly:

python -m pip install sbi

For Pyro or PyMC MCMC samplers, install the corresponding extras:

python -m pip install "sbi[pyro]"   # or "sbi[pymc]", or "sbi[all]"

Using conda

To install into a conda environment:

# Create an environment for sbi (Python 3.10 or higher)
conda create -n sbi_env python=3.12 && conda activate sbi_env

# Install sbi from conda-forge
conda install --channel conda-forge sbi

For Pyro or PyMC MCMC samplers, install them as additional conda packages:

conda install --channel conda-forge pyro-ppl  # for Pyro samplers
conda install --channel conda-forge pymc       # for PyMC samplers

Using pixi

To install and add sbi to a project with pixi:

pixi add sbi

For Pyro or PyMC samplers, add them separately: pixi add pyro-ppl or pixi add pymc.

Testing the installation

To test the installation, drop into a Python prompt and run:

from sbi.examples.minimal import simple
posterior = simple()
print(posterior)