networkx-backbone

Backbone extraction algorithms for complex networks, built on NetworkX.

networkx-backbone provides 65 functions across 9 modules for extracting backbone structures from weighted and unweighted networks. Core usage follows a score-then-filter pattern: methods score edges on a full graph first, then filtering utilities extract the final sparse backbone.

Module	Description	Key Functions
Statistical Methods	Hypothesis-testing methods	disparity_filter(), noise_corrected_filter()
Structural Methods	Topology-based methods	high_salience_skeleton(), metric_backbone()
Proximity Methods	Neighborhood-similarity scoring	jaccard_backbone(), cosine_backbone()
Hybrid Methods	Combined approaches	glab_filter()
Bipartite Methods	Bipartite projection backbones	sdsm(), fdsm(), fixedrow()
Unweighted Sparsification	Sparsification for unweighted graphs	sparsify(), lspar()
Filters	Post-hoc filtering utilities	threshold_filter(), fraction_filter()
Measures	Evaluation and comparison	compare_backbones(), edge_fraction()
Visualization	Comparison plotting	compare_graphs(), graph_difference()

Getting Started

• Installation
  • Quick install
  • Full installation
  • Conda installation
  • Development installation
  • Requirements
• Quick Start
  • Import
  • Step 1: Create or load a weighted graph
  • Step 2: Apply a backbone method
  • Step 3: Filter to extract the backbone
  • Step 4: Evaluate the backbone
  • Disparity filter visualization
  • Other approaches
  • Next steps
• Concepts
  • What is backbone extraction?
  • Taxonomy of methods
  • The score-then-filter pattern
  • Evaluation

User Guide

• User Guide
  • Workflow
  • Choosing a Method
  • Directed Graphs
  • Evaluating Backbones
  • Complexity Summary

Tutorials

• Tutorials
  • Statistical Backbone Extraction
  • Proximity-Based Edge Scoring
  • Structural Backbone Methods
  • Bipartite Projection Backbones
  • Comparing Multiple Methods
  • Unweighted Graph Sparsification
  • Les Miserables Benchmark
  • Graph Comparison Gallery

API Reference

• API Reference

Development

• Changelog
• Contributing