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Bonsai 2.9.0.0, released by the Bonsai Foundation, is a free, open-source visual reactive-programming language engineered for researchers and engineers who need to acquire, process, log, and visualize high-frequency data streams without writing conventional code. Constructed on the .NET ecosystem, the lightweight environment presents an intuitive drag-and-drop canvas where nodes represent reactive operators, hardware interfaces, or user-defined logic, and connecting wires define asynchronous data flow. Hundreds of dedicated packages provide turnkey support for cameras, frame-grabbers, DAQ boards, microcontrollers, and standard laboratory instruments, making the platform equally valuable for behavioural neuroscience, electrophysiology, computer vision, virtual-reality setups, and interactive art installations. Because every operation is inherently reactive, complex pipelines—such as multi-camera tracking, closed-loop stimulus delivery, or real-time spike sorting—can be prototyped rapidly and then deployed with deterministic timing on Windows workstations or embedded PCs. Extensibility is built-in: users can import any .NET library, wrap custom C# code, or share self-contained workflow modules with collaborators, while the open-source licence guarantees long-term transparency and community-driven improvements. Despite its specialist focus, Bonsai’s shallow learning curve invites students and citizen scientists to explore data-driven experimentation without proprietary hardware lock-in. The software is available for free on get.nero.com, with downloads provided via trusted Windows package sources (e.g. winget), always delivering the latest version, and supporting batch installation of multiple applications.
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