easyaccess

easyaccess is an open-source software package that provides a convenient interface for accessing Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data resources. It offers a command-line interface and a Python API designed to simplify querying SDSS databases, retrieving results, and downloading data products such as catalogs, images, and spectra. The project is maintained by members of the SDSS collaboration and serves as a bridge to SDSS services including SkyServer and CasJobs.

The tool is built to support SQL-like queries against SDSS databases and to return results in formats suitable for analysis, such as CSV or Python data structures like DataFrames. It enables users to connect to multiple databases, run queries, and fetch outputs for further processing. In addition to catalog data, easyaccess provides facilities for downloading related data products, including images and spectra, to support end-to-end data analysis workflows. The software emphasizes ease of use, with configuration options that streamline authentication and connection management, as well as documentation and example workflows to assist new users.

Availability and usage: easyaccess is distributed as a Python package and can be installed via the Python Package Index. It is usable from the command line and within Python scripts, making it a common tool in SDSS data analysis pipelines. The project is hosted on a public repository with installation instructions, configuration guidance, and user documentation, along with community support through issues and discussions.