API Reference
Links to VTK API documentation for all supported languages.
C++ API
The C++ API is the primary interface to VTK. Auto-generated documentation is available via Doxygen:
- VTK Nightly Doxygen — Latest development API
- Class hierarchy, method signatures, and inheritance diagrams
- Search by class name or namespace
Python API
VTK Python wrappings mirror the C++ API closely:
- All VTK classes are accessible from Python
- Automatic type conversion for common types
- NumPy integration for data arrays
- Python-specific utilities in
vtkmodules.util
CMake API
VTK provides CMake functions for building applications:
find_package(VTK)— Locate VTK installationvtk_module_autoinit()— Configure module initialization- Module-based component selection
- Custom module development
Conventions
- Class names start with
vtkprefix (e.g.,vtkActor) - Set/Get methods for properties (e.g.,
SetColor(),GetColor()) - Boolean methods use On/Off suffix (e.g.,
VisibilityOn(),VisibilityOff()) - Factory methods via
New()(C++) or class constructor (Python)