scikit-survival

name	scikit-survival
description	Comprehensive toolkit for survival analysis and time-to-event modeling in Python using scikit-survival. Use this skill when working with censored survival data, performing time-to-event analysis, fitting Cox models, Random Survival Forests, Gradient Boosting models, or Survival SVMs, evaluating survival predictions with concordance index or Brier score, handling competing risks, or implementing any survival analysis workflow with the scikit-survival library.
license	GPL-3.0 license
metadata	{"skill-author":"K-Dense Inc."}
verified	false
lastVerifiedAt	"2026-02-19T05:29:09.098Z"
source	builtin
trust_score	100
provenance_sha	e9585eac4b40adee

scikit-survival: Survival Analysis in Python

Overview

scikit-survival is a Python library for survival analysis built on top of scikit-learn. It provides specialized tools for time-to-event analysis, handling the unique challenge of censored data where some observations are only partially known.

Survival analysis aims to establish connections between covariates and the time of an event, accounting for censored records (particularly right-censored data from studies where participants don't experience events during observation periods).

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Performing survival analysis or time-to-event modeling
• Working with censored data (right-censored, left-censored, or interval-censored)
• Fitting Cox proportional hazards models (standard or penalized)
• Building ensemble survival models (Random Survival Forests, Gradient Boosting)
• Training Survival Support Vector Machines
• Evaluating survival model performance (concordance index, Brier score, time-dependent AUC)
• Estimating Kaplan-Meier or Nelson-Aalen curves
• Analyzing competing risks
• Preprocessing survival data or handling missing values in survival datasets
• Conducting any analysis using the scikit-survival library

Core Capabilities

1. Model Types and Selection

scikit-survival provides multiple model families, each suited for different scenarios:

Cox Proportional Hazards Models

Use for: Standard survival analysis with interpretable coefficients

• CoxPHSurvivalAnalysis: Basic Cox model
• CoxnetSurvivalAnalysis: Penalized Cox with elastic net for high-dimensional data
• IPCRidge: Ridge regression for accelerated failure time models

See: references/cox-models.md for detailed guidance on Cox models, regularization, and interpretation

Ensemble Methods

Use for: High predictive performance with complex non-linear relationships

• RandomSurvivalForest: Robust, non-parametric ensemble method
• GradientBoostingSurvivalAnalysis: Tree-based boosting for maximum performance
• ComponentwiseGradientBoostingSurvivalAnalysis: Linear boosting with feature selection
• ExtraSurvivalTrees: Extremely randomized trees for additional regularization

See: for comprehensive guidance on ensemble methods, hyperparameter tuning, and when to use each model