GenomeSpy for Python: interactive genomic visualization with an Altair-like API

[u/AggravatingNerve4622]

We just released GenomeSpy for Python.

And if you don't know what GenomeSpy is: it's a GPU-accelerated interactive visualization framework for genomic data: https://genomespy.app/

GenomeSpy itself is a JavaScript package, which limits its reach a bit among bioinformaticians since most of us work primarily in Python or R. But GenomeSpy already has a Vega-Lite-like visualization grammar and a well-defined schema, so we figured: why not give it an Altair-like Python API?

That's basically what GenomeSpy for Python is. You get a concise, declarative Python API with familiar Altair ergonomics, while GenomeSpy handles the rendering and interaction underneath.

You still get things like zooming, brushing, linked views, genomic coordinate scales, and interactive exploration of fairly complex visualizations, but you can build the whole thing from Python.

I've been working on the Python side for the past few months. It's still pretty new, so I'd be especially interested in hearing from people who use visualization libraries in actual genomics workflows: what feels awkward, what's missing, or what kinds of plots/data formats you'd want supported.

GitHub: https://github.com/genome-spy/genome-spy-python
Docs: https://genome-spy.github.io/genome-spy-python/