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Release Notes

This page highlights significant updates and new features in PBP releases. For detailed technical changes, see the CHANGELOG.md. Please get in touch if you have any questions.

1.8.72

(Nov 2025)

Improvements

  • Windows Path Handling: Fixed issues with relative paths not being handled properly on Windows systems
  • Global Attributes: Global attributes are now loaded and validated before processing begins, providing earlier error detection
  • Logging Enhancements: Added detailed logging for path handling operations on Windows

1.8.6

(Nov 2025)

Bug Fixes

  • Improved error handling when processing global attribute replacements - now provides clearer diagnostic messages when issues occur

1.8.5

(Oct 2025)

Major Features

Unified CLI Interface

The pbp command now provides a consistent interface for all PBP operations:

pbp meta-gen   # Generate JSON metadata files
pbp hmb-gen    # Generate HMB products
pbp hmb-plot   # Create visualization plots
pbp cloud      # Cloud-based processing

Migration Note

The previous direct commands (pbp-meta-gen, pbp-hmb-gen, etc.) still work in Conda installations for backward compatibility, but we recommend using the new pbp <command> style.

Standalone Executables

PBP is now available as standalone executables for Linux, macOS, and Windows - no Python installation required.

  • Download from GitHub Releases
  • Extract and add to your PATH
  • Run immediately - all dependencies included

This is ideal for:

  • Field computers without Python
  • Users unfamiliar with conda/pip
  • Systems where dependency management is difficult
  • Avoiding conflicts with other Python tools

See the Installation section for details.

Improvements

  • Plotting Enhancements: Fixed handling of datasets without dusk/dawn periods (short time ranges)
  • Better Error Messages: Standalone builds now provide clearer messages about feature limitations

1.8.2

(Sep 2025)

Bug Fixes

  • Restored API compatibility with backward compatibility shims
  • Deprecation warnings guide users to new import paths
  • Restored create_logger_info function used in existing notebooks

1.8.0

(Sep 2025)

Features

Flexible Time Resolution

You can now specify custom time resolution for daily HMB processing:

pbp hmb-gen --time-resolution 60  # 1-minute resolution

Auto-populated Global Attributes

More metadata fields are now automatically populated, reducing manual configuration.

1.7.5

(Sep 2025)

Features

Direct File Processing

Process individual audio files directly without requiring metadata JSON files:

pbp hmb-gen \
  --input-file /path/to/MARS_20250914_122000.wav \
  --timestamp-pattern "%Y%m%d_%H%M%S" \
  --time-resolution 1 \
  --voltage-multiplier 3 \
  --sensitivity-uri ./calibration.nc \
  --global-attrs ./global_attrs.yaml \
  --variable-attrs ./variable_attrs.yaml \
  --output-dir ./output

This is useful for:

  • Quick processing of individual files
  • Testing and validation
  • Custom workflows without pre-generated metadata

New options:

  • --input-file - Specify audio file to process
  • --timestamp-pattern - Pattern to extract timestamp from filename
  • --time-resolution - Time resolution in seconds

1.7.4

(Aug 2025)

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed regression that prevented CLI programs from running

1.7.1

(Apr 2025)

Improvements

  • Updated PyPAM dependency to version 0.3.2
  • Bug fixes and stability improvements

1.6.4

(Apr 2025)

Features

Improved SoundTrap Metadata Extraction

Metadata is now extracted directly from WAV headers instead of relying on companion XML files, improving reliability and reducing external dependencies.

Thanks to @cparcerisas and @bram-cuyx for this contribution!

1.6.2

(Mar 2025)

Features

Quality Flag Support

Add a quality flag variable to NetCDF output (fixed value of 2 - "Not Evaluated"):

pbp hmb-gen --add-quality-flag  # ... other options

Or via API: 

from pbp.hmb_gen import ProcessHelper

process_helper = ProcessHelper(
    add_quality_flag=True,  # Enable quality flag
    # ... other parameters
)

1.6.1

(Mar 2025)

Features

NetCDF Compression

Generated NetCDF files are now compressed by default, significantly reducing file sizes.

To disable compression:

pbp hmb-gen --no-netcdf-compression  # ... other options

Or via API: 

process_helper = ProcessHelper(
    compress_netcdf=False,  # Disable compression
    # ... other parameters
)

1.4.3

(Aug 2024)

Improvements

Windows Compatibility

PBP is now fully compatible with Windows systems. Thanks to @spacetimeengineer for this contribution!

1.4.2

(Aug 2024)

Breaking Changes

CLI Program Renaming

For clarity and consistency, the CLI programs were renamed:

  • pbp → pbp-hmb-gen
  • pbp-plot → pbp-hmb-plot

Note

These names were later unified under the pbp command in version 1.8.5.

1.4.1

(Aug 2024)

Features

S3 Unsigned Access

Added support for accessing public S3 buckets without credentials:

pbp hmb-gen --s3-unsigned  # ... other options

1.2.5

(Aug 2024)

Features

Custom NetCDF Engine

Specify which engine to use when opening NetCDF files:

pbp hmb-plot --engine h5netcdf  # ... other options

Default is h5netcdf.

1.2.0

(Aug 2024)

Breaking Changes

API Renaming

The main API class was renamed for clarity:

# Old (deprecated)
from pbp.simpleapi import Pbp

# New
from pbp.hmb_gen.simpleapi import HmbGen

1.1.1

(Aug 2024)

Features

Simplified High-Level API

Introduced a new "porcelain" API to make PBP more user-friendly:

from pbp.hmb_gen.simpleapi import HmbGen

hmb_gen = HmbGen()
hmb_gen.set_json_base_dir("/tmp/some_json_dir")
hmb_gen.set_output_dir("/tmp/output")
# ... other settings

# Check configuration
errors = hmb_gen.check_parameters()
if not errors:
    # Process a day
    result = hmb_gen.process_date('20201008')
    # Generate plot
    hmb_gen.plot_date('20201008')

This high-level interface is intended to simplify the usage of the package for common scenarios. It uses other API elements that can also be used directly for more control on the settings or more advanced scenarios.

1.0.9

(July 2024)

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed occasional issues with sound file caching

1.0.8

(July 2024)

  • First PyPI release.

0.3.0

(Mar 2024)

  • First PyPI pre-release.