Bluesky Commands

Below is a list of useful commands for running the SRX beamline. Previous commands can be seen by hitting the up arrow in Bluesky. To search through them, you can start typing a command before hitting the up arrow to filter your history.

Starting Bluesky

Start Bluesky - Bluesky can be started by going to the top left corner of the screen and choosing Activities. Then click on the Bluesky icon - a blue cloud with a b - to automatically open a new terminal and start Bluesky.

Alternatively, start Bluesky from an existing terminal.

$ bsui

After starting Bluesky, it is important to confirm that the proposal number in the terminal matches the experiment.

General Functions

Change X-ray energy - Either command can be used below. The energy can be entered in units of eV or keV.

Bluesky@SRX [1] %mov energy 7.2
Bluesky@SRX [2] energy.move(7.2)

Optimize the beam - Maximize the X-ray flux.

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE(peakup())

Optimize the ion chambers - Check that the ion chambers have their ideal preamp settings.

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE(optimize_scalers())

Setting a region of interest - Set the ROI on the detector. The specific line is optional.

Bluesky@SRX [1] setroi(1, 'Fe')
Bluesky@SRX [2] setroi(1, 'Fe', 'ka1')

XRF Imaging

XRF Fly Scan Map

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE(xrf_map(xstart, xstop, xnum,
                           ystart, ystop, ynum, dwell, sample_name="my special sample"))
xrf_map(xstart, xstop, xnum, ystart, ystop, ynum, dwell, sample_name='', fly_on_y=False, resolution='nano', extra_dets=[], vlm_snapshot=True, center=True)

Collect an XRF map given the specified range that starts at (xstart, ystart) and ends at (xstop, ystop) with a shape of (xnum, ynum).

Parameters:

  • xstart (float) – starting X position

  • xstop (float) – stopping X position

  • xnum (int) – number of points to collect in X

  • ystart (float) – starting Y position

  • ystop (float) – stopping Y position

  • ynum (int) – number of points to collect in Y

  • dwell (float) – desired time per point

  • sample_name (str, optional) – a human-readable name for the sample, defaults to an empty string, “”

  • fly_on_y (bool, optional) – fly in the Y direction, defaults to False

  • resolution (str, optional) – set to “coarse” for larger maps. Be sure to use the coarse motor coordinates, defaults to “nano”

  • extra_dets (list of ophyd objects, optional) – add additional detectors - such as eiger, dexela, or merlin - to your maps, defaults to an empty list

  • vlm_snapshot (bool, optional) – collect an optical image at the beginning and end of the scan, defaults to True

  • center (bool, optional) – move the scanner stages to the center at the end of the scan, defaults to True

xrf_map time estimate (fly_num * step_num * dwell) + (step_num * 4) + 10
Result: 0 sec

Warning

As of September 1, 2026, the following functions have been deprecated in favor of xrf_map(). Please update your scripts to use xrf_map(). Beamline staff are happy to assist using the new function.

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE(nano_scan_and_fly(startX, stopX, numX,
                                     startY, stopY, numY, dwell))
Bluesky@SRX [2] RE(nano_y_scan_and_fly(startY, stopY, numY,
                                       startX, stopX, numX, dwell))
Bluesky@SRX [3] RE(coarse_scan_and_fly(startX, stopX, numX,
                                       startY, stopY, numY, dwell))
Bluesky@SRX [4] RE(coarse_y_scan_and_fly(startY, stopY, numY,
                                         startX, stopX, numX, dwell))

XRF Step Scan Map

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE(nano_xrf(xstart, xstop, xnum,
                            ystart, ystop, ynum, dwell, sample_name="my special sample"))
nano_xrf(xstart, xstop, xnum, ystart, ystop, ynum, dwell, sample_name='', snake=True)

Collect an XRF map by stepping through each point. The scan will start at (xstart, ystart) and complete at (xstop, ystop), creating a map with size (xnum, ynum).

Parameters:

  • xstart (float) – starting X position

  • xstop (float) – stopping X position

  • xnum (float) – number of points in X

  • ystart (float) – starting Y position

  • ystop (float) – stopping Y position

  • ynum (float) – number of points in Y

  • dwell (float) – desired time per point

  • sample_name (str, optional) – a human-readable name for the sample, defaults to an empty string, “”

  • snake (bool, optional) – using a snaking scan strategy, defaults to True

nano_xrf time estimate (xnum * ynum * (dwell + 2)) + 10
Result: 0 sec

XAS Spectroscopy

Print element binding energies - Print the binding energies for the element of interest. The “best” edge in eV is returned as available.

Bluesky@SRX [1] Fe_k = getbindingE('Fe')

Print element emission energies - Print the emission energies for the element of interest.

Bluesky@SRX [1] getemissionE('Fe')

XANES Step Scan

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE(xanes_plan(erange=[Fe_k-50, Fe_k-10, Fe_k+50, Fe_k+150],
                              estep=[2.0, 1.0, 2.0],
                              dwell=1.0,
                              sample_name="Fe foil"))
xanes_plan(erange, estep, dwell, sample_name='', roi_num=1, vlm_snapshot=True)

Collect a XANES scan by step scanning the incident energy on the sample. The energy points are defined using regions in erange with given steps between the points, defined by estep.

Parameters:

  • erange (list of floats) – endpoints for different regions that define the energy points for the scan

  • estep (list of floats) – energy step size for each region

  • dwell (float) – dwell time per energy point

  • sample_name (str, optional) – a human-readable name for the sample, defaults to an empty string, “”

  • roi_num (int, optional) – region of interest to measure, default to 1 or roi within energy range

  • vlm_snapshot (bool, optional) – collect an optical image at the beginning and end of the scan, defaults to True

xanes_plan time estimate (num_energies * (dwell + 2)) + 10
Result: 0 sec

XANES Fly Scan

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE(fly_multiple_passes(Fe_k-50, Fe_k+150, 251, 1, sample_name="Fe foil"))
fly_multiple_passes(estart, estop, enum, dwell, sample_name='', roi_num=1, num_scans=1, vlm_snapshot=True)

Collect a XANES scan by fly scanning the incident energy on the sample. The scan run from estart to estop collecting enum number of points.

Parameters:

  • estart (int) – starting energy

  • estop (int) – stopping energy

  • enum (int) – number of points in energy

  • dwell (float) – dwell time per energy point

  • sample_name (str, optional) – a human-readable name for the sample, defaults to an empty string, “”

  • roi_num (int, optional) – region of interest to measure, default to 1 or roi within energy range

  • num_scans (int) – number of repeated scans to perform, defaults to 1

  • vlm_snapshot (bool, optional) – collect an optical image at the beginning and end of the scan, defaults to True

xas_fly time estimate (enum * dwell) + 20
Result: 0 sec

Metadata

Print the start or stop document for a scan - A scan ID of 12345 is assumed. A value of -1 can be used to see the previous scan.

Bluesky@SRX [1] c[12345].start
Bluesky@SRX [2] c[12345].stop

Print the baseline information for a scan - baseline will collect the motor positions at the start (column 1) and completion (column 2) of a scan. There are many motors positions captured so it is helpful to filter the list of values. A scan ID of 12345 is assumed.

Bluesky@SRX [3] print_baseline(12345)
Bluesky@SRX [4] print_baseline(12345, key_filter="nano_stage")

Troubleshooting

Pause a scan - The scan will pause at the next checkpoint.

CTRL+C

Urgently stop a scan - With each CTRL-C, Bluesky raises the urgency of stopping the scan.

CTRL+C x20

Resume a scan - A scan can be resumed after pausing.

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE.resume()

Stop a scan - Stop a scan and label the scan as a success or failure.

Bluesky@SRX [1] RE.stop()   # Label scan as success
Bluesky@SRX [2] RE.abort()  # Label scan as failure