Pathfinder

Pathfinder is an interactive A* (A-Star) pathfinding algorithm visualization tool built with Python and Pygame. It demonstrates how the A* algorithm intelligently navigates through obstacles to find the optimal shortest path between two points on a grid, using configurable heuristic functions.

Features

• A Algorithm Implementation*: Visual demonstration of the A* pathfinding algorithm in action
• Multiple Heuristics: Choose between Manhattan, Euclidean, and Diagonal distance heuristics
• Interactive Grid: Click to place start/end points and draw obstacles
• Real-time Visualization: Watch the algorithm explore nodes (open/closed lists) and calculate the optimal path

Quick Start

python3.11 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python3.11 main.py

How it works

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Screenshot:

• The green start node and red target node
• White barrier walls creating obstacles
• Yellow/green nodes showing the open list (being explored)
• Gray nodes showing the closed list (already evaluated)
• Blue path showing the final optimal route