pymoo

---
name: pymoo
description: Multi-objective optimization framework. NSGA-II, NSGA-III, MOEA/D, Pareto fronts, constraint handling, benchmarks (ZDT, DTLZ), for engineering design and optimization problems.
license: MIT
---

# Pymoo - Multi-Objective Optimization in Python

## Overview

Pymoo is a comprehensive Python framework for optimization with emphasis on multi-objective problems. Solve single and multi-objective optimization using state-of-the-art algorithms (NSGA-II/III, MOEA/D, SPEA2), benchmark problems (ZDT, DTLZ), customizable genetic operators, and multi-criteria decision making methods. Excels at finding trade-off solutions (Pareto fronts) for problems with conflicting objectives. Current stable release: **pymoo 0.6.1.6** (November 2025).

## Installation

```bash
uv pip install pymoo
```

For reproducible environments, pin a version: `uv pip install "pymoo==0.6.1.6"`.

**Dependencies:** NumPy (2.x compatible since 0.6.1.3), SciPy, matplotlib (visualization). Autograd is optional for gradient-based features (since 0.6.1.3).

**Documentation:** https://pymoo.org/ — LLM-friendly index: https://pymoo.org/llms.txt

## When to Use This Skill

This skill should be used when:
- Solving optimization problems with one or multiple objectives
- Finding Pareto-optimal solutions and analyzing trade-offs
- Implementing evolutionary algorithms (GA, DE, PSO, NSGA-II/III)
- Working with constrained optimization problems
- Benchmarking algorithms on standard test problems (ZDT, DTLZ, WFG)
- Customizing genetic operators (crossover, mutation, selection)
- Visualizing high-dimensional optimization results
- Making decisions from multiple competing solutions
- Handling binary, discrete, continuous, or mixed-variable problems

## Core Concepts

### The Unified Interface

Pymoo uses a consistent `minimize()` function for all optimization tasks:

```python
from pymoo.optimize import minimize

result = minimize(
    problem,        # What to optimize
    algorithm,      # How to optimize
    termination,    # When to stop
    seed=1,
    verbose=True
)
```

**Result object contains:**
- `result.X`: Decision variables of optimal solution(s)
- `result.F`: Objective values of optimal solution(s)
- `result.G`: Constraint violations (if constrained)
- `result.algorithm`: Algorithm object with history

### Problem Definition Styles

Pymoo supports three problem definition styles:

- **`Problem`**: Vectorized — `_evaluate` receives a batch of solutions (matrix)
- **`ElementwiseProblem`**: One solution per call — recommended for custom problems and parallel evaluation
- **`FunctionalProblem`**: Define objectives and constraints as separate functions without subclassing

### Problem Types

**Single-objective:** One objective to minimize/maximize
**Multi-objective:** 2-3 conflicting objectives → Pareto front
**Many-objective:** 4+ objectives → High-dimensional Pareto front
**Constrained:** Objectives + inequality/equality constraints
**Mixed-variable:** Continuous, integer, binary, and categorical variables in one problem
**Dynamic:** Time-varying objectives or constraints

## Quick Start Workflows

Nine runnable workflows are in
[references/quick_start_workflows.md](references/quick_start_workflows.md):

| # | Workflow | Use when |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Single-objective optimization | one objective, GA or DE |
| 2 | Multi-objective (2-3 objectives) | NSGA-II and a Pareto front |
| 3 | Many-objective (4+ objectives) | NSGA-III or reference-direction methods |
| 4 | Custom problem definition | subclassing `Problem` / `ElementwiseProblem` |
| 5 | Constraint handling | inequality and equality constraints |
| 6 | Decision making from a Pareto front | scalarization and MCDM selection |
| 7 | Visualization | scatter, PCP, radviz, and heatmap views |
| 8 | Parallel evaluation | threads, processes, or Dask for expensive objectives |
| 9 | Mixed-variable optimization | integer, binary, and categorical variables |

## Algorithm Selection Guide

### Single-Objective Problems

| Algorithm | Best For | Key Features |
|-----------|----------|--------------|
| **GA** | General-purpose | Flexible, customizable operators |
| **DE** | Continuous optimization | Good global search |
| **PSO** | Smooth landscapes | Fast convergence |
| **CMA-ES** | Difficult/noisy problems | Self-adapting |

### Multi-Objective Problems (2-3 objectives)

| Algorithm | Best For | Key Features |
|-----------|----------|--------------|
| **NSGA-II** | Standard benchmark | Fast, reliable, well-tested |
| **SPEA2** | Archive-based MOO | Strength-based fitness, external archive |
| **R-NSGA-II** | Preference regions | Reference point guidance |
| **MOEA/D** | Decomposable problems | Scalarization approach |

### Many-Objective Problems (4+ objectives)

| Algorithm | Best For | Key Features |
|-----------|----------|--------------|
| **NSGA-III** | 4-15 objectives | Reference direction-based |
| **RVEA** | Adaptive search | Reference vector evolution |
| **AGE-MOEA** | Complex landscapes | Adaptive geometry |

### Constrained Problems

| Approach | Algorithm | When to Use |
|----------|-----------|-------------|
| Feasibility-first | Any algorithm | Large feasible region |
| Specialized | SRES, ISRES | Heavy constraints |
| Penalty | GA + penalty | Algorithm compatibility |

**See:** `references/algorithms.md` for comprehensive algorithm reference

## Benchmark Problems

### Quick problem access:
```python
from pymoo.problems import get_problem

# Single-objective
problem = get_problem("rastrigin", n_var=10)
problem = get_problem("rosenbrock", n_var=10)

# Multi-objective
problem = get_problem("zdt1")        # Convex front
problem = get_problem("zdt2")        # Non-convex front
problem = get_problem("zdt3")        # Disconnected front

# Many-objective
problem = get_problem("dtlz2", n_obj=5, n_var=12)
problem = get_problem("dtlz7", n_obj=4)
```

**See:** `references/problems.md` for complete test problem reference

## Genetic Operator Customization

### Standard operator configuration:
```python
from pymoo.algorithms.soo.nonconvex.ga import GA
from pymoo.operators.crossover.sbx import SBX
from pymoo.operators.mutation.pm import PM

algorithm = GA(
    pop_size=100,
    crossover=SBX(prob=0.9, eta=15),
    mutation=PM(eta=20),
    eliminate_duplicates=True
)
```

### Operator selection by variable type:

**Continuous variables:**
- Crossover: SBX (Simulated Binary Crossover)
- Mutation: PM (Polynomial Mutation)

**Binary variables:**
- Crossover: TwoPointCrossover, UniformCrossover
- Mutation: BitflipMutation

**Permutations (TSP, scheduling):**
- Crossover: OrderCrossover (OX)
- Mutation: InversionMutation

**See:** `references/operators.md` for comprehensive operator reference

## Performance and Troubleshooting

### Common issues and solutions:

**Problem: Algorithm not converging**
- Increase population size
- Increase number of generations
- Check if problem is multimodal (try different algorithms)
- Verify constraints are correctly formulated

**Problem: Poor Pareto front distribution**
- For NSGA-III: Adjust reference directions
- Increase population size
- Check for duplicate elimination
- Verify problem scaling

**Problem: Few feasible solutions**
- Use constraint-as-objective approach
- Apply repair operators
- Try SRES/ISRES for constrained problems
- Check constraint formulation (should be g <= 0)

**Problem: High computational cost**
- Reduce population size
- Decrease number of generations
- Use simpler operators
- Enable parallel evaluation via `elementwise_runner` (see Workflow 8)

### Best practices:

1. **Normalize objectives** when scales differ significantly
2. **Set random seed** for reproducibility
3. **Save history** to analyze convergence: `save_history=True`
4. **Visualize results** to understand solution quality
5. **Compare with true Pareto front** when available
6. **Use appropriate termination criteria** (generations, evaluations, tolerance)
7. **Tune operator parameters** for problem characteristics

## Resources

This skill includes comprehensive reference documentation and executable examples:

### references/
Detailed documentation for in-depth understanding:

- **algorithms.md**: Complete algorithm reference with parameters, usage, and selection guidelines
- **problems.md**: Benchmark test problems (ZDT, DTLZ, WFG) with characteristics
- **operators.md**: Genetic operators (sampling, selection, crossover, mutation) with configuration
- **visualization.md**: All visualization types with examples and selection guide
- **constraints_mcdm.md**: Constraint handling techniques and multi-criteria decision making methods
- **parallelization.md**: Parallel evaluation with StarmapParallelization and JoblibParallelization

**Search patterns for references:**
- Algorithm details: `grep -r "NSGA-II\|NSGA-III\|MOEA/D" references/`
- Constraint methods: `grep -r "Feasibility First\|Penalty\|Repair" references/`
- Visualization types: `grep -r "Scatter\|PCP\|Petal" references/`

### scripts/
Executable examples demonstrating common workflows:

- **single_objective_example.py**: Basic single-objective optimization with GA
- **multi_objective_example.py**: Multi-objective optimization with NSGA-II, visualization
- **many_objective_example.py**: Many-objective optimization with NSGA-III, reference directions
- **custom_problem_example.py**: Defining custom problems (constrained and unconstrained)
- **decision_making_example.py**: Multi-criteria decision making with different preferences

**Run examples:**
```bash
python3 scripts/single_objective_example.py
python3 scripts/multi_objective_example.py
python3 scripts/many_objective_example.py
python3 scripts/custom_problem_example.py
python3 scripts/decision_making_example.py
```

## Additional Notes

**Common patterns:**
- Use `ElementwiseProblem` for custom problems (or `FunctionalProblem` for function-based definitions)
- Use `vars` dict with typed variables for mixed-variable problems
- Constraints formulated as `g(x) <= 0` and `h(x) = 0`
- Reference directions required for NSGA-III
- Normalize objectives before MCDM
- Use appropriate termination: `('n_gen', N)` or `get_termination("f_tol", tol=0.001)`