Qiskit

Qiskit is an open-source software development kit (SDK) for working with quantum computers at the level of circuits, pulses, and algorithms. It provides tools for creating and manipulating quantum programs and running them on prototype quantum devices on IBM Quantum Platform or on simulators on a local computer. It follows the circuit model for universal quantum computation, and can be used for any quantum hardware (currently supports superconducting qubits and trapped ions) that follows this model.

Qiskit was founded by IBM Research to allow software development for their cloud quantum computing service, IBM Quantum Experience. Contributions are also made by external supporters, typically from academic institutions.

The primary version of Qiskit uses the Python programming language. Versions for Swift and JavaScript were initially explored, though the development for these versions has halted. Instead, a minimal re-implementation of basic features is available as MicroQiskit, which is made to be easy to port to alternative platforms.

A range of Jupyter notebooks are provided with examples of quantum computing being used. Examples include the source code behind scientific studies that use Qiskit, as well as a set of exercises to help people to learn the basics of quantum programming. An open source textbook based on Qiskit is available as a university-level quantum algorithms or quantum computation course supplement.