[v0.1.8] 2025-10-15

## PlantArchitecture
- Added custom plant building API with `addPlantInstance()`, `addBaseStemShoot()`, and `addChildShoot()`
- Added collision detection support with `plantDoesCollide()`
- Added `AxisRotation` data type for shoot rotation control
- Expanded plant library to 28 models (added apple_fruitingwall, asparagus, tomato)
- Added `plantarch_custom_building_sample.py`, `plantarch_collision_sample.py`, `plantarch_file_io_sample.py`

Author: bnbailey-psl

.github/workflows/build-wheels.yml

@@ -167,7 +167,8 @@ jobs:
 
           # Skip 32-bit builds and Python 3.8 on ARM64 due to cross-compilation issues
           # Python 3.8 lacks official ARM64 support, causing OpenMP linking issues in cibuildwheel
-          CIBW_SKIP: "*-win32 *-manylinux_i686 *-musllinux* cp38-macosx_arm64"
+          # Python 3.8 on Windows has known ctypes instantiation issues (BPO 41021)
+          CIBW_SKIP: "*-win32 *-manylinux_i686 *-musllinux* cp38-macosx_arm64 cp38-win_amd64"
 
           # Architecture configuration based on runner
           CIBW_ARCHS: ${{ matrix.arch }}
@@ -665,8 +666,6 @@ jobs:
             python-version: '3.8'
           - os: ubuntu-22.04
             python-version: '3.11'
-          - os: windows-2022
-            python-version: '3.8'
           - os: windows-2022
             python-version: '3.11'
           - os: macos-14

README.md

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ PyHelios provides a Python interface to the powerful Helios C++ library for 3D p
 📖 **[Complete Documentation](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/)**
 
 ⚠️Note that this is a work in progress. Not all Helios functionality has been implemented in PyHelios ⚠️
+
 ⚠️Help make PyHelios better by reporting issues: https://github.com/PlantSimulationLab/PyHelios/issues ⚠️
 
 See the Helios C++ documentation for a more in-depth description of Helios: https://baileylab.ucdavis.edu/software/helios
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ If you need to customize plugins or build from source:
 
 **Prerequisites:**
 - Visual Studio 2019+ or Build Tools for Visual Studio
-- Python 3.7+
+- Python 3.9+ (Python 3.8 not supported on Windows due to ctypes issues)
 
 ```bash
 # Clone repository
@@ -151,12 +152,12 @@ print(f"Created patch: {patch_uuid}")
 
 ## Documentation
 
-| Section | Description |
-|---------|-------------|
-| **[Getting Started](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/getting_started.html)** | Installation, setup, and first steps |
-| **[User Guide](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/user_guide.html)** | Core concepts, API reference, and examples |
-| **[Cross-Platform](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/cross_platform.html)** | Platform-specific usage and deployment |
-| **[Plugin System](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/plugin_system.html)** | Available plugins and configuration |
+| Section                                                                                  | Description |
+|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------|
+| **[Getting Started](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/GettingStarted.html)** | Installation, setup, and first steps |
+| **[User Guide](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/UserGuide.html)**           | Core concepts, API reference, and examples |
+| **[Cross-Platform](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/CrossPlatform.html)**   | Platform-specific usage and deployment |
+| **[Plugin System](https://plantsimulationlab.github.io/PyHelios/PluginSystem.html)**     | Available plugins and configuration |
 
 ## Key Features
 
@@ -169,7 +170,17 @@ print(f"Created patch: {patch_uuid}")
 
 ## Updating PyHelios
 
-To update your PyHelios installation with the latest changes:
+### PyPI Installation
+
+If you installed via pip, simply upgrade to the latest version:
+
+```bash
+pip install --upgrade pyhelios3d
+```
+
+### Source Installation
+
+If you built PyHelios from source, update with the latest changes:
 
 ```bash
 # Update main repository and submodules recursively

docs/CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,16 @@
 # Changelog
 
+# [v0.1.8] 2025-10-15
+
+- Updated helios-core to v1.3.55
+
+## PlantArchitecture
+- Added custom plant building API with `addPlantInstance()`, `addBaseStemShoot()`, and `addChildShoot()`
+- Added collision detection support with `plantDoesCollide()`
+- Added `AxisRotation` data type for shoot rotation control
+- Expanded plant library to 28 models (added apple_fruitingwall, asparagus, tomato)
+- Added `plantarch_custom_building_sample.py`, `plantarch_collision_sample.py`, `plantarch_file_io_sample.py`
+
 # [v0.1.7] 2025-10-11
 
 - Updated helios-core to v1.3.53, which includes a number of upgrades to the visualizer