Qiskit
K-DenseCommunityCreated by K-Dense Inc.
- Skill
- Tool integration
- Science and research
- Apache-2.0
- Low risk
- Has scripts
AutoGineer summary
Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author
This skill provides a structured approach to working with Qiskit 2.x for quantum computing tasks. It covers the end-to-end lifecycle of quantum workloads, including circuit construction, transpilation to hardware-compatible ISA circuits, local simulation, and execution on IBM Quantum hardware via V2 primitives. The skill emphasizes modern practices such as using Primitive Unified Blocs (PUBs), managing backend targets, and utilizing Runtime execution modes like jobs, batches, and sessions.
What it does
- Builds and optimizes quantum circuits for specific hardware targets.
- Executes circuits using V2 Sampler and Estimator primitives.
- Performs local simulation with Qiskit Aer or statevector primitives.
- Manages IBM Quantum Runtime sessions, batches, and job submissions.
- Applies transpiler layouts to observables for hardware-compatible execution.
- Provides patterns for error mitigation and resource usage analysis.
When to use it
- When developing quantum algorithms using Qiskit 2.x APIs.
- When preparing circuits for execution on IBM Quantum hardware.
- When performing high-performance or noisy quantum simulations.
- When integrating quantum primitives into research or optimization workflows.
Advantages
- Aligns with current Qiskit 2.x best practices and V2 primitive interfaces.
- Ensures hardware compatibility through target-aware transpilation.
- Provides clear separation between local development and cloud execution.
- Includes robust patterns for managing job metadata and reproducibility.
Usage examples
- “How do I run a simple circuit locally using the Qiskit V2 Sampler?”
- The agent provides a code snippet using StatevectorSampler to execute a circuit and retrieve counts from a classical register.
- “Show me how to prepare an observable for an IBM QPU execution.”
- The agent demonstrates using generate_preset_pass_manager to create an ISA circuit and applying the resulting layout to the observable.
Install
Download the skill as a ZIP:
https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/k-dense-ai/qiskit/downloadUnzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:
mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip qiskit.zip -d .agents/skills
Documentation by K-Dense Inc.
Qiskit
Use current Qiskit 2.x APIs to build circuits, prepare hardware-compatible instruction set architecture (ISA) circuits, and execute them through V2 primitives.
Reviewed 2026-10-01 with local tests on qiskit==2.5.2, qiskit-ibm-runtime==0.50.0, and qiskit-aer==0.17.2. IBM account, QPU, session, and batch examples are illustrative and documentation/source-checked; no remote workloads were submitted. See references/sources.md for the verification boundary.
Runtime 0.50 deprecates the top-level SamplerV2/EstimatorV2 implementations. New code imports Sampler from qiskit_ibm_runtime.executor_sampler and Estimator from qiskit_ibm_runtime.executor_estimator. These still implement the V2 PUB interface, using client-side processing and Executor. Use option models from qiskit_ibm_runtime.options_models.
Choose the Right Path
| Goal | Recommended interface |
|---|---|
| Ideal evolution with finite-shot sampling | qiskit.primitives.StatevectorSampler |
| Exact local expectation values | qiskit.primitives.StatevectorEstimator |
| High-performance or noisy simulation | Qiskit Aer |
| IBM QPU sampling | qiskit_ibm_runtime.executor_sampler.Sampler |
| IBM QPU expectation values and mitigation | qiskit_ibm_runtime.executor_estimator.Estimator |
| Backend without native primitives | BackendSamplerV2 or BackendEstimatorV2 |
| Open-system or master-equation dynamics | Prefer QuTiP |
| Differentiable quantum machine learning | Prefer PennyLane unless Qiskit integration is required |
Installation
Create an isolated environment and install only the components needed:
uv venv --python 3.13
source .venv/bin/activate
# Core SDK plus plotting support
uv pip install "qiskit[visualization]==2.5.2"
# Add only when needed
uv pip install "qiskit-ibm-runtime==0.50.0"
uv pip install "qiskit-aer==0.17.2"Do not install qiskit-terra; it was superseded by the qiskit distribution. Qiskit Runtime, Aer, Nature, Machine Learning, Optimization, and Algorithms are separate distributions.
For IBM account setup, CI-safe credential handling, optional packages, and environment repair, read references/setup.md.
Core Workflow
Follow this sequence for every hardware-oriented workload:
Map the problem to a circuit and, for Estimator, one or more observables.
Optimize the parameterized circuit once for the selected backend.
Apply the layout to every observable.
Execute ISA circuits through a V2 primitive using Primitive Unified Blocs (PUBs).
Analyze register-aware results, metadata, uncertainty, and resource usage.
Do not bind and retranspile a parameterized circuit inside every optimizer iteration. Transpile the parameterized circuit once, then pass parameter arrays in PUBs.
Quick Local Sampling
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
from qiskit.primitives import StatevectorSampler
circuit = QuantumCircuit(2)
circuit.h(0)
circuit.cx(0, 1)
circuit.measure_all() # creates the classical register named "meas"
sampler = StatevectorSampler(seed=7)
pub_result = sampler.run([circuit], shots=1024).result()[0]
counts = pub_result.data.meas.get_counts()
print(counts)Sampler V2 preserves shots and classical-register structure. Access the register by its actual name; measure_all() uses meas.
For circuits with multiple classical registers, each register’s counts are a marginal distribution. Preserve shot alignment when computing cross-register correlations; multiplying marginal frequencies destroys those correlations. Use SamplerPubResult.join_data with an explicit register order for joint bitstrings and record that order in the result labels. Qiskit 2.5.2 puts the first joined BitArray register in the least-significant bits, contrary to the current docstring; verify with an asymmetric state. See references/primitives.md.
Quick Local Estimation
import numpy as np
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
from qiskit.circuit import Parameter
from qiskit.primitives import StatevectorEstimator
from qiskit.quantum_info import SparsePauliOp
theta = Parameter("theta")
circuit = QuantumCircuit(2)
circuit.ry(theta, 0)
circuit.cx(0, 1)
observable = SparsePauliOp.from_list([("ZZ", 1.0), ("XX", 0.5)])
parameter_values = [[0.0], [np.pi / 4], [np.pi / 2]]
estimator = StatevectorEstimator(seed=7)
pub = (circuit, observable, parameter_values)
pub_result = estimator.run([pub]).result()[0]
print(pub_result.data.evs)Estimator circuits should not contain final measurements. PUB arrays broadcast; verify circuit parameter order before constructing large sweeps.
IBM QPU Sampling
This example assumes credentials were saved securely as described in references/setup.md. It never embeds or prints an API key.
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
from qiskit.transpiler import generate_preset_pass_manager
from qiskit_ibm_runtime import QiskitRuntimeService
from qiskit_ibm_runtime.executor_sampler import Sampler
service = QiskitRuntimeService()
backend = service.least_busy(
operational=True,
simulator=False,
min_num_qubits=2,
)
circuit = QuantumCircuit(2)
circuit.h(0)
circuit.cx(0, 1)
circuit.measure_all()
pass_manager = generate_preset_pass_manager(
backend=backend,
optimization_level=1,
seed_transpiler=7,
)
isa_circuit = pass_manager.run(circuit)
sampler = Sampler(mode=backend)
job = sampler.run([isa_circuit], shots=1024)
print("job_id:", job.job_id())
counts = job.result()[0].data.meas.get_counts()Save the job ID before waiting for results so the job can be retrieved later.
IBM QPU Estimation
Runtime Estimator requires both an ISA circuit and observables mapped through the transpiler layout:
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
from qiskit.quantum_info import SparsePauliOp
from qiskit.transpiler import generate_preset_pass_manager
from qiskit_ibm_runtime.executor_estimator import Estimator
circuit = QuantumCircuit(2)
circuit.h(0)
circuit.cx(0, 1)
observable = SparsePauliOp.from_list([("ZZ", 1.0)])
pass_manager = generate_preset_pass_manager(
backend=backend,
optimization_level=1,
seed_transpiler=7,
)
isa_circuit = pass_manager.run(circuit)
isa_observable = observable.apply_layout(isa_circuit.layout)
estimator = Estimator(
mode=backend,
options={"resilience_level": 1},
)
pub_result = estimator.run(
[(isa_circuit, isa_observable)],
precision=0.02,
).result()[0]
print(pub_result.data.evs, pub_result.data.stds)Error mitigation is not guaranteed to improve every workload and increases cost. Record finalized options (estimator.finalize_options().model_dump()), result metadata, and usage. A Runtime dry_run=True call is a server submission returning randomized mock data, not a local simulator or scientific validation.
Non-Negotiable Qiskit 2.x Rules
Use V2 primitive interfaces and PUB inputs. Do not write new V1
Sampler,Estimator, orQuantumInstancecode.Runtime primitives accept ISA circuits; they do not perform layout, routing, and basis translation for you.
Apply the transpiler layout to Estimator observables with
observable.apply_layout(isa_circuit.layout).Use
mode=backend,mode=session, ormode=batchfor Runtime primitives.Use the Runtime client-side
Estimatorfor resilience levels and expectation-value mitigation. Sampler has different noise-management options and no Estimator-style resilience levels.Treat
BackendV2.target,backend.operation_names,backend.coupling_map, and direct backend attributes as the source of hardware constraints. Do not usebackend.configuration()orBackendProperties.Read Sampler output by classical register name. Bitstrings are displayed most-significant bit first; Qiskit qubit 0 is conventionally the least-significant bit.
Use a fixed
seed_transpilerwhen comparing compilation settings. A simulator seed does not make QPU results deterministic.qiskit.pulsewas removed in Qiskit 2.0. Use supported fractional gates for IBM hardware. Qiskit Dynamics is archived; isolate legacy pulse-model research and verify its dependency stack separately.QPY is the Qiskit-native circuit serialization format. Do not use Python pickle for untrusted circuit artifacts.
See references/migration.md for a detailed old-to-current API map.
Execution Modes
Choose based on workload shape and account plan:
Job mode: one-off work; instantiate a primitive with
mode=backend.Batch mode: independent jobs submitted together; available on the Open Plan.
Session mode: iterative jobs that benefit from prioritized follow-on execution; unavailable on the Open Plan.
from qiskit_ibm_runtime import Batch
from qiskit_ibm_runtime.executor_sampler import Sampler
with Batch(backend=backend, max_time="10m") as batch:
sampler = Sampler(mode=batch)
jobs = [sampler.run([circuit], shots=1024) for circuit in isa_circuits]
results = [job.result() for job in jobs]Close sessions and batches after submission. Exiting their context stops new submissions but allows accepted jobs to finish, subject to service limits.
Reference Map
Read only the files needed for the current task:
| Topic | Reference |
|---|---|
| Versions, installation, authentication, CI | references/setup.md |
| Circuits, parameters, control flow, QPY | references/circuits.md |
| V2 PUBs, broadcasting, local and Runtime results | references/primitives.md |
| Targets, ISA circuits, layouts, pass managers | references/transpilation.md |
| IBM backends, modes, jobs, Aer, mitigation | references/backends.md |
| End-to-end map/optimize/execute/analyze patterns | references/patterns.md |
| Algorithms, addons, Nature, ML, Optimization | references/algorithms.md |
| Circuit, result, state, and backend plots | references/visualization.md |
| Qiskit 0.x/1.x and Runtime migration | references/migration.md |
| Testing, reproducibility, and troubleshooting | references/testing.md |
| Upstream docs, release notes, and version baseline | references/sources.md |
Bundled Scripts
Run from the skill directory:
# Installed-package and legacy-environment checks; no network or credential reads
python scripts/check_environment.py
# Runnable V2 local Sampler and Estimator example
python scripts/run_local_primitives.py --shots 1024 --seed 7
# Read-only IBM backend capability inspection; uses saved credentials
python scripts/inspect_runtime.py --min-qubits 5The Runtime inspection script selects or inspects a backend but never submits a quantum job.
Final Checklist
Before returning Qiskit code:
Confirm package versions and Python compatibility.
Run locally with statevector primitives or Aer.
Verify parameter order, observable qubit count, and classical-register names.
Transpile against the exact
BackendV2target and inspect depth and two-qubit operations.Apply the final layout to every observable.
Estimate QPU cost and choose job, batch, or session mode.
Save job IDs, package versions, seeds, backend name, primitive options, and result metadata.
Never expose API keys in source, logs, notebooks, or version control.
Citing Scientific Agent Skills
This skill is part of Scientific Agent Skills by K-Dense. If it materially contributed to a manuscript, report, presentation, or code release, add the paper to the references or software section and tell the user you did so:
Kassis, T., Agarwal, V., He, Y., Patel, D., & Brueckner, A. M. (2026). Scientific Agent Skills: A Library of Procedural Knowledge for Research Agents. arXiv:2609.00065. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.00065
Always cite the current version. The DOI and https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00065 resolve to the
latest arXiv version, so never append a version suffix such as v1. When network access is
available, fetch https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.00065 (or
http://export.arxiv.org/api/query?id_list=2609.00065) before writing the reference and take
the author list, year, and version from that record. If the record lists a journal reference
or publisher DOI, cite the published version instead.
Files
- ATTRIBUTION.mdAdded by AutoGineer1006 B
- LICENSEAdded by AutoGineer10.0 KiB
- SKILL.md13.0 KiB
- references/algorithms.md10.9 KiB
- references/backends.md12.0 KiB
- references/circuits.md9.7 KiB
- references/migration.md11.0 KiB
- references/patterns.md9.4 KiB
- references/primitives.md14.0 KiB
- references/setup.md8.5 KiB
- references/sources.md14.8 KiB
- references/testing.md10.8 KiB
- references/transpilation.md10.9 KiB
- references/visualization.md8.2 KiB
- scripts/check_environment.pyScript7.7 KiB
- scripts/inspect_runtime.pyScript6.3 KiB
- scripts/run_local_primitives.pyScript5.5 KiB
scripts/check_environment.py
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Inspect a Qiskit environment without network or credential access."""
from __future__ import annotations
import argparse
import importlib
import json
import platform
import struct
import sys
from importlib import metadata
from typing import Any
VERIFIED_VERSIONS = {
"qiskit": "2.5.2",
"qiskit-ibm-runtime": "0.50.0",
"qiskit-aer": "0.17.2",
"qiskit-algorithms": "0.4.0",
"qiskit-nature": "0.8.0",
"qiskit-machine-learning": "0.9.1",
"qiskit-optimization": "0.7.0",
}
IMPORT_NAMES = {
"qiskit": "qiskit",
"qiskit-ibm-runtime": "qiskit_ibm_runtime",
"qiskit-aer": "qiskit_aer",
"qiskit-algorithms": "qiskit_algorithms",
"qiskit-nature": "qiskit_nature",
"qiskit-machine-learning": "qiskit_machine_learning",
"qiskit-optimization": "qiskit_optimization",
}
def installed_version(distribution: str) -> str | None:
"""Return an installed distribution version, or None."""
try:
return metadata.version(distribution)
except metadata.PackageNotFoundError:
return None
def import_status(module_name: str) -> dict[str, str | bool | None]:
"""Import one module and return JSON-safe status details."""
try:
module = importlib.import_module(module_name)
except Exception as error: # Report broken optional environments clearly.
return {
"ok": False,
"module_file": None,
"error": f"{type(error).__name__}: {error}",
}
return {
"ok": True,
"module_file": getattr(module, "__file__", None),
"error": None,
}
def collect_report(
require_runtime: bool,
require_aer: bool,
strict: bool,
) -> tuple[dict[str, Any], list[str], list[str]]:
"""Collect environment details, errors, and warnings."""
errors: list[str] = []
warnings: list[str] = []
pointer_bits = struct.calcsize("P") * 8
python_ok = sys.version_info >= (3, 10)
platform_ok = pointer_bits == 64
if not python_ok:
errors.append("Qiskit 2.5 requires Python 3.10 or newer.")
if not platform_ok:
errors.append("Qiskit 2.x requires a supported 64-bit platform.")
required = {"qiskit"}
if require_runtime:
required.add("qiskit-ibm-runtime")
if require_aer:
required.add("qiskit-aer")
packages: dict[str, Any] = {}
for distribution, verified in VERIFIED_VERSIONS.items():
current = installed_version(distribution)
module = IMPORT_NAMES[distribution]
status: dict[str, Any] = {
"installed_version": current,
"verified_version": verified,
"required": distribution in required,
"version_matches_verified": current == verified,
"import": None,
}
if current is None:
if distribution in required:
errors.append(f"Required distribution is missing: {distribution}")
else:
status["import"] = import_status(module)
if not status["import"]["ok"]:
errors.append(
f"{distribution} is installed but cannot be imported: "
f"{status['import']['error']}"
)
if current != verified:
message = (
f"{distribution}=={current} differs from the verified "
f"baseline {verified}."
)
if strict and distribution in required:
errors.append(message)
else:
warnings.append(message)
packages[distribution] = status
terra_version = installed_version("qiskit-terra")
if terra_version is not None:
errors.append(
"Legacy qiskit-terra is installed. Create a clean environment "
"with the qiskit distribution instead of mixing namespaces."
)
core_api: dict[str, Any] = {
"ok": False,
"error": None,
}
if packages["qiskit"]["installed_version"] is not None:
try:
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
from qiskit.primitives import (
StatevectorEstimator,
StatevectorSampler,
)
from qiskit.transpiler import generate_preset_pass_manager
circuit = QuantumCircuit(1)
circuit.h(0)
_ = (
StatevectorSampler,
StatevectorEstimator,
generate_preset_pass_manager,
)
core_api["ok"] = circuit.num_qubits == 1
except Exception as error:
core_api["error"] = f"{type(error).__name__}: {error}"
errors.append(f"Core Qiskit API smoke check failed: {error}")
report: dict[str, Any] = {
"ok": not errors,
"python": {
"version": platform.python_version(),
"implementation": platform.python_implementation(),
"executable": sys.executable,
"meets_minimum": python_ok,
},
"platform": {
"description": platform.platform(),
"pointer_bits": pointer_bits,
"supported_width": platform_ok,
},
"legacy_qiskit_terra": terra_version,
"packages": packages,
"core_api_smoke_check": core_api,
"warnings": warnings,
"errors": errors,
}
return report, errors, warnings
def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description=(
"Inspect installed Qiskit distributions. This script performs "
"no network calls and reads no credentials."
)
)
parser.add_argument(
"--require-runtime",
action="store_true",
help="Fail if qiskit-ibm-runtime is unavailable.",
)
parser.add_argument(
"--require-aer",
action="store_true",
help="Fail if qiskit-aer is unavailable.",
)
parser.add_argument(
"--strict",
action="store_true",
help="Fail when required package versions differ from the baseline.",
)
parser.add_argument(
"--json",
action="store_true",
help="Emit a JSON report.",
)
return parser
def print_human_report(report: dict[str, Any]) -> None:
print(
"Python:",
report["python"]["version"],
f"({report['python']['implementation']})",
)
print("Executable:", report["python"]["executable"])
print(
"Platform:",
report["platform"]["description"],
f"({report['platform']['pointer_bits']}-bit)",
)
print("\nDistributions:")
for distribution, details in report["packages"].items():
current = details["installed_version"] or "not installed"
marker = "required" if details["required"] else "optional"
print(
f" {distribution}: {current} "
f"(verified {details['verified_version']}; {marker})"
)
import_details = details["import"]
if import_details and not import_details["ok"]:
print(f" import error: {import_details['error']}")
if report["warnings"]:
print("\nWarnings:")
for warning in report["warnings"]:
print(f" - {warning}")
if report["errors"]:
print("\nErrors:")
for error in report["errors"]:
print(f" - {error}")
print("\nStatus:", "OK" if report["ok"] else "FAILED")
def main() -> int:
args = build_parser().parse_args()
report, errors, _warnings = collect_report(
require_runtime=args.require_runtime,
require_aer=args.require_aer,
strict=args.strict,
)
if args.json:
print(json.dumps(report, indent=2, sort_keys=True))
else:
print_human_report(report)
return 1 if errors else 0
if __name__ == "__main__":
raise SystemExit(main())
Requirements and compatibility
Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta
“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.
Needs: Needs network access, Needs an API key, Needs Python
The author says: Python 3.10+ on a supported 64-bit platform. Local SDK workflows need qiskit; noisy simulation needs qiskit-aer; IBM QPU access needs qiskit-ibm-runtime, network access, an IBM Quantum Platform account, and an API key.
Security
What our scanner noticed· Low risk
- Instructions that use the network
- Scripts that your agent may run
This skill includes scripts that your agent may run. Read them before you use it.
A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.
Attribution and licence
- Created by
- K-Dense Inc.
- Publisher
- K-Dense (Community)
- Source
- K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills · skills/qiskit · commit a25cf9e
- Licence
- Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
- LICENSE (written by AutoGineer)
- ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
- Synced
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The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download qiskit.zip