Psychtoolbox-3
The Psychophysics Toolbox Version 3 is a set of functions that extends MATLAB and Octave with functions for research-grade stimulus presentation and response collection for neuroscience and other application domains. The Psychtoolbox core routines provide reliable, precisely-timed, and efficient functions for stimulus presentation and response collection in different modalities.
Psychtoolbox is a fully open source solution compatible with Linux, Windows as well as Mac. Moreover, it is one of the most successful open source toolboxes in science in general.
About
Today the Psychtoolbox project enjoys an increasing number of citations as well as a growing and active community. We have now cracked the 40,000 mark. That is growth of almost 57% since April 2020 and proves the big impact of Psychtoolbox in research.
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Use PTB for behavioral data collection
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Use PTB for fMRI
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Use PTB for eye movement research
You can find additional information about Psychtoolbox on
Psychtoolbox Software Licence Subscription
COMING SOON!
Software License Subscriptions to allow use of Psychtoolbox 3.0.20 and later:
The specific subscription plans listed below enable the use of all standard features of the Mex files which are provided by us for GNU/Octave and MathWorks Matlab on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS for use with Psychtoolbox-3. The Mex files are included in currently supported versions of Psychtoolbox-3, starting with Psychtoolbox version 3.0.20, on supported system configurations, as detailed on the Psychtoolbox-3 community web page.
License Details
- Node-Locked License: Allows activation on up to the number of concurrent computer setups (nodes or seats) as defined in the subscription name. A node is defined as one specific instance of physical computer hardware + operating system running on that hardware. On multi-boot setups, each installed operating system counts as a separate node. E.g., a dual-boot setup will require two activations and will count as two separate nodes, if you want to use Psychtoolbox on both operating systems on the physical machine.
- Initial Duration: Active for one year after purchase.
- Renewal: Automatically extended by one year at the end of a year after each successful renewal (rebill). This can be switched to manual renewal by you after initial purchase in the customer self-service portal, if you prefer to avoid automatic renewal and billing.
- Refunds: https://www.psychtoolbox.net/return-policy/
- Terms of Service: https://www.psychtoolbox.net/terms-and-conditions/
System Requirements of the combination of Psychtoolbox and Mex files
Find the currently supported system configurations, including physical hardware, operating system types and versions, and required third-party software (e.g., versions of Matlab, Octave, GStreamer, etc.), on the Psychtoolbox community website via the “Download” link on Psychtoolbox.net
Requirements for Use
- Minimum Version: The subscription requires at least Psychtoolbox version 3.0.20.
- Recommended Version: We recommend the latest published stable version of our Mex files (and of Psychtoolbox which includes those Mex files) for optimal quality, performance and functionality of the software. Potential restrictions of a subscription plan to only a certain range of Psychtoolbox allowable versions will be mentioned In the specific subscription plan, if there are any restrictions. Otherwise the plan will support use of all Psychtoolbox versions starting with the Minimum Version.
- System Setup: A hardware and software setup that conforms to our published system requirements and installation instructions is necessary for reliable operation and compatibility.
- No containers or virtual machines: This subscription will not allow use of our Mex files inside virtual machines, containers, or similar virtualization technologies. It will only work running directly on top of a host operating system on physical hardware (bare metal).
- Network connection: Use of our Mex files requires periodic network access to function properly, to allow software licensing checks. Time-limited offline use for at least 14 days is possible by default, with longer offline use available if stated in the purchased subscription plan.
Disclaimer
Psychtoolbox and its prebuilt mex files are distributed with the hope that they will be useful but come WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, including the implied warranties of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Authorized Use:
All products offered for sale by Us are for academic study and/or research use only. Products intended for research use only have not been approved or cleared for clinical use. You are solely responsible for the proper and safe use of all products in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions. If used for research purposes, all use of these products must be in compliance with appropriate human subjects’ procedures as they exist within your institution and will be your obligation.
Purchase process
Prices for our following subscription plans are listed as net prices in Euro. Once you follow the links below to the online shop of our authorized reseller FastSpring (a Merchant of Record) you will be able to purchase our subscriptions from FastSpring. FastSpring will convert the net prices listed here in Euro to the local currency of the country you are in and add applicable sales taxes and fees. The online shop will allow you to generate formal quotes in case your organization needs a formal quote. The shop will also allow you to enter proof of tax-exempt status if your organization is tax-exempt from sales tax. A purchase order and invoice will be optionally generated during the checkout and payment process. Providing a contact email address is mandatory, as the shop will send you an order receipt to that email address which includes the purchased product license key for your subscription, as well as instructions for activating the subscription inside Psychtoolbox on your computers, and links to a customer self-service portal that allows you to manage your subscription with respect to payment method, automatic vs. manual subscription renewal, or cancellation of a subscription. Our license management provider Cryptlex will also send you a link to a separate self-service portal for managing your Psychtoolbox licenses, e.g., to allow activation and deactivation of computer nodes.
Annual License Subscription for Psychtoolbox-3 (Single Node)
This subscription provides a one year minimum duration, yearly renewable license for node-locked use of our Mex files which enable use of Psychtoolbox-3 variants for Matlab and Octave to run directly on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS, managed with a license key.
Psychtoolbox versions 3.0.20 and later are enabled by this subscription. Offline use for up to 120 days is possible by default.
This allows activation on a single machine and operating system combination (one node).
EARLY BIRD OFFER
The one-year net price for this subscription is 50 Euros per year.
Annual License Subscription for Psychtoolbox-3 (Six Node)
This subscription provides a one year minimum duration, yearly renewable license for node-locked use of our Mex files which enable use of Psychtoolbox-3 variants for Matlab and Octave to run directly on Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS, managed with a license key.
Psychtoolbox versions 3.0.20 and later are enabled by this subscription. Offline use for up to 120 days is possible by default.
This allows activation on up to six machine and operating system combinations (six nodes).
EARLY BIRD OFFER
The one-year net price for this subscription is 250 Euros per year.
Our services 
Become a partner for product integration
Platinum Partner
This package offers:
- Direct access to our developers.
- Proactive testing of partner hardware compatibility and performanceiIt is expected that partners at this level send samples of current and future hardware to the PTB team for at least one of their products, in order to allow for proactive hardware testing. Partners will receive a short review about current and expected compatibility status and performance with current PTB versions, including any partner product updatesi
Up to two partner product families included with this package. that are publicly listed or privately communicated to PTB team. - All the benefits of “Gold” level PTB partners.
Gold Partner
This package offers:
- Proactive integration and testing of partner software compatibility with current PTB versions, including any partner product updatesi
Up to two partner product families included with this package. (e.g. new APIs, new features, new versions) that are publicly listed or privately communicated to PTB team. This does not include hardware compatibility testing. - Listing as an “Official Partner of Psychtoolbox” in PTB marketing.
- Permission to use the Psychtoolbox partner logo in partner marketing.
Membership Signets
As a member of the Psychtoolbox community you can use our membership signets to communicate your engagement in your media. All signets are provided for online and print usage.
I'm interested in becoming a partner
Contract us for feature development
If your project requires additional functions, please contact us and we will develop a customized solution for your needs.
In order to give you an idea of our capabilities we have listed some of our successes:
- Very fast GPU accelerated drawing of complex 2D and 3D stimuli.
- Efficient movie playback and movie recording, utilizing the GStreamer multi media framework.
- Stereoscopic presentation, supporting different stereoscopic display techniques, including support for some head tracked VR headsets.
- Presentation of stimuli with high color/luminance/contrast precision on a wide range of suitable display hardware for bit depths beyond the typical 8 bits per color range, up to 16 bits per color channel with some equipment.
- GPU based fast stimulus post-processing to cover many common tasks like color correction, gamma correction, geometric display distortion correction, vignette/shading correction.
- Video capture and live display, including GPU post-processing of live video, also with precisely timed control of professional class video cameras and synchronized multi camera setups.
- Support for some types of photometers for display calibration.
Get in touch
Our Partners
Team
The core team supporting Psychtoolbox consists of Mario, who is responsible for development, Ingo, who is in charge of the business, and Dee, who takes care of the community.
Mario Kleiner
“I believe high quality science needs high quality open source software. With this in mind my goal is to improve Psychophysics Toolbox-3 for a large variety of testing paradigms.”
Mario started working on Psychtoolbox in 2005.
His focus is to improve quality, reliability and user support. Mario develops novel or more efficient methods for stimulus presentation, response collection, and for coping with variations and flaws in general purpose computing platforms. His long term goal is improvement of the underlying infrastructure itself, for example, third party toolkits and specifically the Linux operating system.
Ingo Hämmerle
“I like the challenge of developing a business model that respects the rules and principles of open source”
Ingo is CEO of the Medical Innovations Incubator GmbH.
He supports the project in developing a sustainable business model for PTB, respecting the principles of open source software.
Diederick C Niehorster
“I believe doing the best science requires the best tools. I will expand what users can achieve with PsychToolbox while maintaining its dedication to delivering a best-in-class toolbox.”
Diederick is a researcher at the Lund University Humanities Lab and a regular contributor to Psychtoolbox for over 10 years.
His focus as academic leader of the Psychtoolbox project is to help grow both the number of Psychtoolbox users and the pool of Psychtoolbox contributors to increase the sustainability of the Psychtoolbox project.
