# Neurokraken Introduction

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Many arms for all your experiment tasks, devices and controls 
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## A fully flexible, open-source, python-based behavior platform for the extended neurosciences

Neurokraken is a new open and flexible easy-use behavior platform enabling easy pursuit of new experiment designs.

## Why choose Neurokraken for your research?

### Core advantage 
- 🦑 Graphical node-based tools may seem simple, but their fixed node libraries quickly limit experiment-designs. Python is just as approachable and far more flexible.
- 🦑 The python ecosystem makes Neurokraken tasks easy to expand for new applications, i.e. with niche hardware or live in-task Machine Learning/Computer Vision/AI.
- 🦑 Free python - no limiting configuration scheme. The task loops are yours, allowing for any python (get sensor values, if x, access log, calculate performance, ...) to be run when you want.
- 🦑 The Neurokraken Networker automatically ensures high-precision synchronization with and logging of sensors and stimuli.

### Test before you commit
- 🦑 You can run Neurokraken tasks in simulation with keyboard-mode (or agent-mode) on your office pc/laptop before looking for any experiment hardware.

### Flexibility in experiment devices
- 🦑 The continuously expanding range of arduino-compatible sensors/actuators can directly be connected for experiment usage and sourced exchangeably from amazon, aliexpress or local stores.
  - Vendor sold device modules of other setups quickly become experiment-limiting and costly when scaling to many setups.
- 🦑 Neurokraken automatically creates ready-to-upload arduino code from your python task.
- 🦑 Use cameras, microphones, displays, electronic components, ...

### Easy to use and expand
- 🦑 Rich and continuously growing set of examples and documentation to get started.
- 🦑 Live data and interactions - You can add a UI with full access to your task.

## Where to start

- [Quickstart](quickstart) for a quick start with a minimal example
- [Examples](examples) for examples ranging from minimal to 3D environments, live-tracking and artificial agent subjects

## Links

- **Preprint:** [bioRxiv](https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.30.735592v1)
- **Code:** [GitHub](https://github.com/Neurokraken/Neurokraken)
- **Forum:** [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/Neurokraken/Neurokraken/discussions)

## About the Kraken

Neurokraken is free open-source software developed at the [Passeckerlab](https://lab.jpassecker.com/) by Alexander Wallerus. Please feel to use it in your research, get in touch, and contribute to the project by joining discussions on github.