qiskit

name	qiskit
description	IBM quantum computing framework. Use when targeting IBM Quantum hardware, working with Qiskit Runtime for production workloads, or needing IBM optimization tools. Best for IBM hardware execution, quantum error mitigation, and enterprise quantum computing. For Google hardware use cirq; for gradient-based quantum ML use pennylane; for open quantum system simulations use qutip.
license	Apache-2.0 license
metadata	{"skill-author":"K-Dense Inc."}
verified	false
lastVerifiedAt	"2026-02-19T05:29:09.098Z"
source	builtin
trust_score	100
provenance_sha	619a2faf9689049a

Qiskit

Overview

Qiskit is the world's most popular open-source quantum computing framework with 13M+ downloads. Build quantum circuits, optimize for hardware, execute on simulators or real quantum computers, and analyze results. Supports IBM Quantum (100+ qubit systems), IonQ, Amazon Braket, and other providers.

Key Features:

• 83x faster transpilation than competitors
• 29% fewer two-qubit gates in optimized circuits
• Backend-agnostic execution (local simulators or cloud hardware)
• Comprehensive algorithm libraries for optimization, chemistry, and ML

Quick Start

Installation

uv pip install qiskit
uv pip install "qiskit[visualization]" matplotlib

First Circuit

from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
from qiskit.primitives import StatevectorSampler

# Create Bell state (entangled qubits)
qc = QuantumCircuit(2)
qc.h(0)           # Hadamard on qubit 0
qc.cx(0, 1)       # CNOT from qubit 0 to 1
qc.measure_all()  # Measure both qubits

# Run locally
sampler = StatevectorSampler()
result = sampler.run([qc], shots=1024).result()
counts = result[0].data.meas.get_counts()
print(counts)  # {'00': ~512, '11': ~512}

Visualization

from qiskit.visualization import plot_histogram

qc.draw('mpl')           # Circuit diagram
plot_histogram(counts)   # Results histogram

Core Capabilities

1. Setup and Installation

For detailed installation, authentication, and IBM Quantum account setup:

• See references/setup.md

Topics covered: