AcadGIS: A Single-Import Python Package for Reproducible, Publication-Ready Academic Maps
TL;DR
AcadGIS is presented, a free and open-source Python package that creates publication-oriented research maps from high-level commands under one namespace, import acadgis as agis, and provides place-name boundary access, automated study-area locator layouts, thematic cartography, raster and vector layers, curated Earth-observation products, terrain and hydrology context, and configurable PNG, PDF, and SVG export.
Abstract
Academic and project maps are often produced through a fragmented workflow: researchers locate boundaries, manage shapefiles, join tabular data, assemble locator insets, add cartographic decorations, and export figures through desktop GIS or multi-package Python scripts. This creates an accessibility barrier for non-GIS users and a reproducibility problem when data sources, styling choices, and manual edits are not captured in executable form. We present AcadGIS, a free and open-source Python package that creates publication-oriented research maps from high-level commands under one namespace, import acadgis as agis. AcadGIS provides place-name boundary access, automated study-area locator layouts, thematic cartography, raster and vector layers, curated Earth-observation products, terrain and hydrology context, and configurable PNG, PDF, and SVG export without requiring desktop GIS expertise or hand-managed shapefiles. Its design combines one-import access to the scientific-Python stack, publication-oriented defaults with progressive control, local caching, source attribution, and figure specifications based on code, named data, and a pinned package version. Through three representative use cases, we demonstrate how common paper, thesis, and project maps can be expressed as compact, inspectable scripts. Source code: https://github.com/riponcm/AcadGIS.