cesiumkit

Build CesiumJS 3D globe visualizations entirely in Python.

cesiumkit gives you a Pythonic, object-oriented API for CesiumJS -- the leading open-source JavaScript library for 3D globes and maps. Define entities, materials, camera views, terrain, imagery, and time-dynamic animations in pure Python, then render them in the browser with a single call.

import cesiumkit

viewer = cesiumkit.Viewer(title="Hello Globe")
viewer.add_entity(cesiumkit.Entity(
    name="New York",
    position=cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(-74.006, 40.7128, 400),
    point=cesiumkit.PointGraphics(pixel_size=12, color=cesiumkit.Color.RED),
))
viewer.show()  # opens in your browser

That's it -- 6 lines from Python to a 3D globe in the browser.

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Install

pip install cesiumkit

Requires Python 3.10+. No external binary dependencies.

For GeoPandas / Shapely support:

pip install cesiumkit[gis]

Features

GeoPandas / Shapely integration

Drop a GeoDataFrame onto the globe in one call. Auto-reprojects to WGS84, handles mixed geometry types, supports per-feature styling from columns.

import geopandas as gpd
import cesiumkit

gdf = gpd.read_file("countries.geojson")
viewer = cesiumkit.Viewer()
viewer.add_geodataframe(
    gdf,
    name_column="NAME",
    color_column="color_hex",
    extruded_height_column="gdp",   # polygons become 3D prisms
    fill_alpha=0.5,
)
viewer.show()

Shapely geometries are also auto-converted anywhere cesiumkit expects positions — pass a shapely.Point directly to Entity(position=...) or a shapely.Polygon to PolygonGraphics(hierarchy=...).

Entities with rich graphics

Points, billboards, labels, polygons, polylines, boxes, cylinders, ellipses, ellipsoids, corridors, walls, rectangles, paths, polyline volumes, and 3D models -- all as clean Python objects.

viewer.add_entity(cesiumkit.Entity(
    name="Headquarters",
    position=cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(-77.0369, 38.9072, 0),
    polygon=cesiumkit.PolygonGraphics(
        hierarchy=[
            cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(-77.04, 38.91),
            cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(-77.03, 38.91),
            cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(-77.035, 38.905),
        ],
        material=cesiumkit.Color.CORNFLOWERBLUE.with_alpha(0.6),
        extruded_height=200,
    ),
))

Materials

Solid colors, images, grids, stripes, checkerboards, and polyline-specific materials (glow, arrow, dash, outline).

cesiumkit.StripeMaterial(
    orientation=cesiumkit.StripeOrientation.HORIZONTAL,
    even_color=cesiumkit.Color.WHITE,
    odd_color=cesiumkit.Color.BLUE,
    repeat=5,
)

Time-dynamic animation

Animate entities along paths using sampled position properties with configurable interpolation.

prop = cesiumkit.SampledPositionProperty(interpolation_degree=2)
prop.add_sample(cesiumkit.JulianDate.from_iso8601("2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"),
                cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(-122.4, 37.8, 10000))
prop.add_sample(cesiumkit.JulianDate.from_iso8601("2024-01-01T01:00:00Z"),
                cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(-73.9, 40.7, 10000))
entity = cesiumkit.Entity(name="Flight", position=prop,
                          path=cesiumkit.PathGraphics(width=2, material=cesiumkit.Color.YELLOW))

Live runtime control

Control a running viewer from Python: update the clock and data sources, select or pick entities, receive click callbacks, and capture screenshots.

viewer.set_time("2026-07-14T18:00:00Z")
viewer.set_multiplier(60)
viewer.animate(True)
viewer.on_click(lambda entity_id: print("clicked", entity_id))

See the runtime control guide for the server lifecycle and complete examples.

Data sources

Load GeoJSON, CZML, and KML directly.

viewer.add_data_source(cesiumkit.GeoJsonDataSource(
    url="https://example.com/data.geojson",
    stroke=cesiumkit.Color.RED,
    fill=cesiumkit.Color.RED.with_alpha(0.3),
))

Camera control

Fly to locations, set fixed viewpoints, or lock the camera to a target.

viewer.fly_to(
    cesiumkit.Cartesian3.from_degrees(2.2945, 48.8584, 1000),
    orientation=cesiumkit.HeadingPitchRoll(heading=0.3, pitch=-0.4, roll=0),
    duration=3.0,
)

CZML export

Build visualizations in Python and export to CZML for use in any CesiumJS application.

czml_string = viewer.to_czml_string(indent=2)
viewer.save_czml("output.czml")

Imagery and terrain providers

8 imagery providers (Bing, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, WMTS, WMS, URL template, Ion, TileMapService) and terrain providers for Cesium Ion, ellipsoid, and encoded WMS/WMTS heightmaps.

Cesium Ion integration

cesiumkit.Ion.set_default_token("your-token-here")
viewer.add_tileset(ion_asset_id=75343)  # e.g., NYC 3D buildings

Interactive events

Add click handlers and custom JavaScript for full interactivity.

viewer.on(
    cesiumkit.ScreenSpaceEventType.LEFT_CLICK,
    cesiumkit.JsCode("""function(click) {
        var picked = viewer.scene.pick(click.position);
        if (Cesium.defined(picked)) viewer.selectedEntity = picked.id;
    }"""),
)

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Full feature list

• 17 entity graphics types: point, billboard, label, polygon, polyline, box, cylinder, ellipse, ellipsoid, model, corridor, wall, rectangle, path, plane, polyline volume, tileset
• Particle systems: validated scene primitives for smoke, fire, weather, and engine trails
• 9 material types: solid color, image, grid, stripe, checkerboard, polyline glow/arrow/dash/outline
• 148 named colors with .with_alpha() support
• Time-dynamic properties: SampledPositionProperty, SampledProperty, ConstantProperty, TimeIntervalCollectionProperty, ReferenceProperty, CompositeProperty
• Data sources: GeoJSON, CZML, KML, custom
• Imagery providers: Bing, OSM, Mapbox, WMTS, WMS, URL template, Ion, TMS
• Terrain providers: Ion world terrain, Ion asset, ellipsoid, encoded WMS/WMTS heightmaps
• Camera operations: fly_to, set_view, look_at
• CZML export: to_czml_string(), save_czml(), CzmlDocument
• Cesium Ion: token management, 3D Tilesets, terrain
• Scene/Globe configuration: fog, lighting, shadows, depth test, atmosphere, post-processing, terrain exaggeration
• Runtime control: clock, live CZML/GeoJSON, selection, picking, screenshots, and Python click callbacks
• Event handling: ScreenSpaceEventHandler with custom JS or Python callbacks
• Custom JavaScript injection: add_script() for arbitrary JS
• Local HTTP server: show() launches a server and opens the browser
• Works without Ion token: falls back to bundled NaturalEarthII imagery
• Pydantic v2 models: full validation on all inputs

API overview

Module	Key classes
cesiumkit.Viewer	Main entry point -- configure, add entities, show
cesiumkit.Entity	Container for a named entity with position + graphics
cesiumkit.Cartesian3	3D coordinates, with .from_degrees() helper
cesiumkit.Color	148 named colors + RGBA + .with_alpha()
cesiumkit.*Graphics	PointGraphics, PolygonGraphics, ModelGraphics, ...
cesiumkit.*Material	StripeMaterial, PolylineGlowMaterial, ...
cesiumkit.*Property	SampledPositionProperty, ConstantProperty, ...
cesiumkit.*DataSource	GeoJsonDataSource, CzmlDataSource, KmlDataSource
cesiumkit.CzmlDocument	Build and export CZML documents
cesiumkit.Ion	Token management and 3D Tilesets

Examples

The examples/ directory contains 11 runnable scripts:

#	File	What it shows
01	01_basic_point.py	Minimal point on the globe
02	02_shapes_and_materials.py	Points, labels, shapes, and materials
03	03_multiple_cities.py	Multiple entities on the globe
04	04_time_dynamic_satellite.py	Animated satellite path with clock
05	05_geojson_and_datasources.py	GeoJSON, CZML, and KML loading
06	06_terrain_and_imagery.py	Terrain and imagery providers
07	07_3d_models_and_tilesets.py	glTF models and 3D Tiles
08	08_czml_export.py	Export entities to CZML format
09	09_camera_controls.py	fly_to, set_view, and look_at
10	10_event_handlers.py	Click events and custom JavaScript
11	11_runtime_control.py	Live controls and Python click callbacks

Run any example:

python examples/01_basic_point.py
# Opens in browser -- Ctrl+C to stop the server

Cesium Ion token

Many examples work without a token (using bundled offline imagery). For full functionality (Bing imagery, world terrain, 3D Tilesets), get a free token at cesium.com/ion and set it:

cesiumkit.Ion.set_default_token("your-token-here")

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup, testing, and how to add new entity types.

License

MIT