Networkx Python

NetworkX Python

Produce NetworkX code whose graph kind, node identity, edge multiplicity, direction, attribute schema, weight semantics, and algorithm preconditions are explicit and tested.

Boundary

Use this skill when the project uses networkx or the user requests it. Do not introduce NetworkX into a library-neutral data task without a graph-shaped problem. Route a rustworkx implementation to its own skill; conversion between the two is in scope only when NetworkX remains an interface boundary.

Choose the graph object first

Nodes are hashable identifiers, not row positions. In multigraphs, an edge is identified by (u, v, key), not only (u, v). NetworkX objects are mutable and hold arbitrary Python objects, so copying depth and attribute aliasing are part of the contract. Read the object and data model before changing graph class, copying, subgraphing, or converting.

Ordered workflow

1. State directedness, parallel-edge policy, self-loop policy, and node identity.
2. Define required node/edge attributes, defaults, and the exact weight key.
3. Construct or convert the graph without silently merging nodes or edges.
4. Check the chosen algorithm's graph-type, connectivity, weight, and DAG preconditions before calling it.
5. Make tie-breaking and output order explicit; do not treat set/dict/view order as a mathematical guarantee.
6. Test empty, singleton, disconnected, cyclic, duplicate-edge, missing-weight, and equal-cost cases that can falsify the contract.

Route intent to the API family

Read the operation and algorithm map for return shapes, generators, multigraph edges, weight callbacks, randomness, and conversion loss.

Canonical anchor

import networkx as nx


def cheapest_route(
    edges: list[tuple[str, str, float]], source: str, target: str
) -> tuple[list[str], float]:
    graph = nx.DiGraph()
    graph.add_weighted_edges_from(edges, weight="cost")
    if source not in graph or target not in graph:
        raise KeyError("source and target must be graph nodes")
    path = nx.shortest_path(graph, source, target, weight="cost")
    return path, nx.path_weight(graph, path, weight="cost")

The graph is directed because route direction matters. The same attribute name is passed to construction, path selection, and path scoring. If parallel routes must remain distinct, use MultiDiGraph and define how an algorithm chooses among edge keys; do not change classes without revisiting return semantics.

High-risk rules

• Never infer directedness from data ordering. Make it a constructor decision.
• Do not use Graph when duplicate edges carry independent events, capacities, or provenance; the later edge updates the existing relationship.
• Do not use an arbitrary numeric attribute as a weight. State whether smaller means cheaper, whether negative values are legal, and what a missing value means. Dijkstra-family algorithms require nonnegative weights.
• Treat NodeNotFound, NetworkXNoPath, disconnected input, cycles, and non-convergence as domain outcomes or explicit failures, not empty results.
• topological_sort returns one valid order, not the unique order. Use a lexicographical variant or a domain tie-breaker when reproducibility matters.
• A shortest-path generator, component generator, or view is not a list. Keep it lazy for one pass or materialize deliberately if it must be reused.
• Subgraphs and filtered views can share attribute mappings with the original. Copy when independent mutation is required, and test that ownership boundary.
• For randomized generators or algorithms, accept/pass a seed and test invariants rather than one accidental sample.
• Drawing is presentation, not graph analysis. Keep layout coordinates and rendering dependencies outside the graph's semantic result.
• For large graphs, establish scale before promising NetworkX performance. Backends or rustworkx may change supported algorithms or object semantics; benchmark the actual workload and preserve the public boundary.

Version grounding and completion

Check the installed version with networkx.__version__ and inspect the chosen callable's signature when backend dispatch, return type, keyword, algorithm availability, or conversion behavior can drift. The authoring baseline is the official NetworkX 3.6.1 stable reference, not proof of the caller's environment. Use verification and API grounding for the local evidence steps.

Do not declare completion until graph kind and identity rules match the domain; attribute and weight contracts are explicit; algorithm preconditions are checked; exceptional/disconnected/ambiguous cases are handled; output type and order meet the caller; and tests cover a counterexample rather than only the happy path.

References

• Object and data model
• Operation and algorithm map
• Verification and API grounding