Project Status

This page describes the current public scope of Buffalo Panel. It is intentionally conservative so that the docs stay honest while the library and apps are still moving quickly.

Supported Today

The clearest supported workflow today is:

  • one structured 2D case definition in YAML or JSON

  • one current structured 2D runtime family built around embedded Buffalo Wings airfoil definitions

  • the Hess-Smith thick-body formulation

  • the lumped-vortex thin-body formulation

  • solved-artifact persistence for post-processing and reuse

  • command-line inspection of solved artifacts

  • early GUI and TUI tools built on the same schema and workflow

The library is already useful for experimenting with panel-method workflows, schema-driven tooling, and downstream post-processing around those current paths.

Early-Stage Areas

The following parts of the project are real and useful, but should still be treated as early-stage:

  • the public Python API

  • the CLI command set

  • the TUI editing workflow

  • the GUI editing and visualization workflow

  • the exact structure of solved artifacts and related convenience helpers

Expect iteration and some API churn as the project grows.

Not Yet A Stable Public Promise

The docs should not currently imply stable support for:

  • polished end-user desktop application workflows

  • a broad family of 3D production-ready solvers

  • long-term artifact-format stability across many releases

  • large multi-body or wake-heavy production workflows

  • a frozen top-level public API

Some of those areas are compatible with the project direction, but they are not yet the main documented public path.

How To Read The Current Docs

If you are evaluating the project now:

  • start with the getting started guide

  • use the first case workflow for one concrete end-to-end run

  • use the app workflow overview to understand how the pieces fit together

  • use the CLI and examples pages as the main hands-on path

  • treat the API reference as exhaustive but not as a statement that every symbol is equally mature

Practical Expectation

Buffalo Panel is already a useful research and development codebase. It is not yet presented as a finished general-purpose aerodynamic analysis product.