# MOBILion Systems

> MOBILion Systems is a separation-science instrument company (founded 2015, Chadds Ford, PA) and the
> exclusive commercial licensee of SLIM (Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulation). Its MOBIE platform
> is a high-resolution ion mobility (HRIM) front end that couples a serpentine ~13-metre ion path to a
> third-party mass spectrometer. **MOBILion publishes no web API.** Its entire machine-facing surface
> is a first-party native SDK for reading the proprietary, HDF5-backed .mbi files written by the MOBIE
> EyeOn acquisition system.

Generated by API Evangelist on 2026-08-25 from MOBILion's own public surface. This file was NOT
published by MOBILion; https://www.mobilionsystems.com/llms.txt returned 404 on 2026-08-25.

## What an agent can and cannot do here

- There is **no HTTP API, no base URL, no API key and no OAuth**. Probes on 2026-08-25:
  `api.mobilionsystems.com`, `developer.mobilionsystems.com` and `docs.mobilionsystems.com` do not
  resolve; `/openapi.json` and `/api-docs` return 404; every `/.well-known/*` path returns 404.
- There is **no MCP server and no A2A agent card**.
- What does exist is a linkable native library: C++ (Windows + Linux), SWIG Python bindings, and a
  mixed-mode .NET wrapper — with a full Doxygen reference. Using it means compiling and linking, not
  calling an endpoint.
- The SDK is **read-only**. The license grants the right to read .mbi files; there is no write,
  create, delete or submit operation anywhere in the surface.

## Developer surface

- [MBI SDK repository](https://github.com/MOBILionSystems/MOBILion_MBI_SDK): the whole developer
  surface. Release 1.13.1. Maintainer Bennett Kalafut, productfeedback@mobilionsystems.com.
- [README / documentation](https://github.com/MOBILionSystems/MOBILion_MBI_SDK/blob/main/README.md):
  setup for Windows and Linux, quick start, data model, common tasks, error handling, Python and .NET
  binding guides.
- [Doxygen API reference](https://github.com/MOBILionSystems/MOBILion_MBI_SDK/tree/main/doc/html):
  full class reference (MBIFile, Frame, CSRArray/COOArray, TofCalibration, EyeOnCcsCalibration,
  Metadata, ScanDefinition).
- [Release notes 1.13.0](https://github.com/MOBILionSystems/MOBILion_MBI_SDK/blob/main/doc/RELEASE_NOTES_1.13.0.txt):
  the only change record MOBILion publishes.
- [Software Use Agreement](https://github.com/MOBILionSystems/MOBILion_MBI_SDK/blob/main/LICENSE.md):
  proprietary. Read-only license; object-code redistribution to third parties for NON-COMMERCIAL use
  only; no reverse engineering; hosting or processing on behalf of a third party needs a separate
  agreement. **Not open source.**
- [Worked example](https://github.com/MOBILionSystems/MOBILion_MBI_SDK/tree/main/examples/MBISDK_demo):
  Visual Studio 2022 solution.
- [GitHub organization](https://github.com/MOBILionSystems)

## Data model, in one paragraph

An .mbi file is a sequence of **frames**; each frame is one retention-time point holding a sparse 2-D
array of int32 ion counts indexed by (ion-mobility arrival-time bin, TOF sample index). One row of
that array is a mass spectrum, called a **scan**. TOF sample indices convert to m/z with a
`TofCalibration`; arrival-time bins convert to drift time and optionally CCS with an
`EyeOnCcsCalibration`. **Frame indices are 1-based** (1..GetNumFrames()), but per-frame summary
vectors such as `GetRetentionTimes()` are 0-based, so frame n is at offset n-1 in those.

## Sharp edges worth knowing before writing code

- `MBIFile` does **not** throw — check `GetErrorCode()` after `Init()` and after any fallible call.
  The CCS calibration classes **do** throw. That asymmetry is the SDK's sharpest edge.
- Prefer `GetFrameDataAsCSRArray()` / `GetFrameDataAsCOOArray()` over looping scan-level accessors;
  the vendor names the loop as the most common performance mistake with this SDK.
- In Python, `GetFrameDataAsCSRComponents()` takes no arguments and returns a 4-tuple
  `(ok, data, indices, indptr)` — SciPy's CSR triple exactly. Pass the shape explicitly using
  `GetMaxPointsInScan()`; letting SciPy infer it gives inconsistent per-frame column counts.
- The Linux `.deb`, `.rpm` and Python wheel of release 1.13.1 are **labelled 1.13.0** (filename,
  package metadata and the `libmbisdk.so.1.13.0` soname). The vendor documents the mislabel. Do not
  trust the package version to tell you which build you have.
- The Linux wheel is tagged `cp39-cp39` — pip installs it on **CPython 3.9 only**, despite broader
  classifiers.
- Linux compilation requires `-DLINUX=1`; without it the headers fall through to the MSVC
  `__declspec` path and will not compile under GCC.
- `.NET` is Windows x64 only, must target x64 explicitly, and the .NET 8 build additionally needs
  `Ijwhost.dll` deployed alongside.

## Interoperability

- The container is HDF5; the payload inside it is proprietary and is not self-describing to a generic
  HDF5 reader.
- **mzML** — the HUPO-PSI open interchange standard for this domain — is **not** published by
  MOBILion. Conversion out of .mbi to mzML is done by the third-party
  [ProteoWizard msconvert](https://proteowizard.sourceforge.io/download.html), which lists MOBILion
  alongside AB SCIEX, Agilent, Bruker, Shimadzu, Thermo and Waters.

## Company

- [Website](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/)
- [MOBIE product](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/products/mobie)
- [Workflows](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/workflows): glycan analysis, lipid nanoparticle
  analysis, peptide characterization, PFAS, targeted lipidomics
- [Resources](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/resources): application notes, case studies, posters,
  webinars, white papers
- [News](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/news)
- [Quality management](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/quality-management): ISO 9001:2015, certified
  by DEKRA, achieved 2023-06-09, published expiry 2026-06-08
- [Open source disclosure](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/open-source-software): third-party
  attribution list for the MOBIE instrument software stack
- [Contact](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/contact)
- [Privacy policy](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/privacy-policy)
- [Patents](https://www.mobilionsystems.com/patents)

## Not published

No OpenAPI. No AsyncAPI. No GraphQL. No webhooks or event surface. No MCP server. No A2A agent card.
No `/.well-known/security.txt`, `api-catalog`, `openid-configuration` or `oauth-authorization-server`.
No status page. No SLA. No public pricing or plans. No rate limits (nothing to limit). No CLI. No
Postman collection. No bug-bounty or vulnerability-disclosure program. No trust center. All verified
by probe on 2026-08-25.