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Welcome to the BatDetect2 documentation.

What is BatDetect2?

batdetect2 is a deep learning model and software package for detecting and classifying bat echolocation calls in high-frequency audio recordings.

You can use it from the command line or from Python, depending on how much control you need.

In practice, BatDetect2 scans a recording, finds sounds that look like bat calls, and returns one result for each detected call. Each result can include where the call appears in the recording, shown as a box with start and end time and the lowest and highest frequency, how confident the model is that it found a call, and how strongly it matches the available classes.

The built-in default model is trained for 17 UK species. The package also supports custom training, fine-tuning, evaluation, and more advanced workflows from Python.

For more detail on the underlying approach, see the pre-print: Towards a General Approach for Bat Echolocation Detection and Classification

Treat outputs as model predictions, not ground truth.
Always validate on reviewed local data before using results for ecological inference.

What can I do with it?

I want to run the model on my recordings: {doc}tutorials/run-inference-on-folder
I write code and want to use it from Python: {doc}tutorials/integrate-with-a-python-pipeline
I want to train or fine-tune a custom model: {doc}tutorials/train-a-custom-model
I want to evaluate a trained model on held-out data: {doc}tutorials/evaluate-on-a-test-set

Looking for the previous BatDetect2 workflow?
See {doc}`legacy/index`.
The legacy docs are still available, but new workflows should use `batdetect2 process` and `BatDetect2API`.

How to use this site

Start with {doc}getting_started if you are new.

Then choose the section that matches what you need.

If you are here mainly to run the model on recordings, start with Tutorials.

Section	Best for	Start here
Tutorials	Step-by-step routes for the most common tasks	{doc}`tutorials/index`
How-to guides	Answers to specific practical questions	{doc}`how_to/index`
Reference	Detailed command and settings help	{doc}`reference/index`
Understanding	Concepts, interpretation, and trade-offs	{doc}`explanation/index`
Legacy	Previous workflow and migration guidance	{doc}`legacy/index`

Get in touch

GitHub repository: macaodha/batdetect2
Questions, bug reports, and feature requests: GitHub Issues
Common questions: {doc}faq
Want to contribute? See {doc}development/index

Cite this work

If you use BatDetect2 in research, please cite:

Mac Aodha, O., Martinez Balvanera, S., Damstra, E., et al. (2022). Towards a General Approach for Bat Echolocation Detection and Classification. bioRxiv.

:maxdepth: 1
:caption: Get Started

getting_started
faq
tutorials/index
how_to/index
reference/index
explanation/index
legacy/index

:maxdepth: 1
:caption: Contributing

development/index

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