---
title: "How to Install/Update Abaci"
---


## Prerequisites

The following software is required to use abaci:

1. Abaqus
2. Intel Fortran Compiler

```{note}
To use abaci, Abaqus and the Intel Fortran compiler need to be available within
your command line environment.

- On Windows you can use the 'Abaqus Command + iFort' link from the start menu
- On Linux, you can add the appropriate environment module or source the setvars
script from your Intel compiler installation.
```

### Check Environment

You can check that all prerequisites are available by running the following
commands in your terminal:

```shell
  abaqus information=version
  ifort --version
```

which should output information about the current Abaqus and Intel Fortran compiler versions.
If either of these commands fails, then you should first check your environment is setup correctly.



## Option 1 (Recommended): Installers

Self-contained installers are available to download for Windows and Linux from the [latest release page](https://github.com/BristolCompositesInstitute/abaci/releases/latest).

```{hint}
You __do not need to be an administrator__ to use the Abaci installers, since they will install for the local user only.
```

### Windows

Simply download the `abaci-installer.exe` executable from the [latest release page](https://github.com/BristolCompositesInstitute/abaci/releases/latest)
and run the installer.

- It is recommended to leave the default destination folder unchanged

![image](../../media/windows-installer.png)

### On Linux

Download the `abaci-installer.sh` script from the [latest release page](https://github.com/BristolCompositesInstitute/abaci/releases/latest)
and then enable execution with:

```shell
  chmod u+x abaci-installer.sh
```

Then execute with:

```shell
  ./abaci-installer.sh
```

The Linux installer will install abaci to `$HOME/.local/bin`, so you should ensure that this folder is on your path if not already;
you can do this by adding the following line to the end of your `$HOME/.bash_profile` file:

```shell
export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.local/bin
```


## Option 2: Clone the Repository

First clone the repository with git:

```shell
  git clone https://github.com/BristolCompositesInstitute/abaci.git
```

Then run one of the installation scripts in the `scripts` subfolder:

- `./scripts/install` on Linux
- `./scripts/install-windows.cmd` on Windows

The Linux installer will install abaci to `$HOME/.local/bin`, so you should ensure that this folder is on your path if not already.


## Check Your Installation

After following the installations instruction above, you can verify your abaci installation
by opening a command window and running:

```shell
  abaci --version
```

which should output version information for abaci.



## Update your Abaci Installation


### Option 1: Command Line (Requires git)

If you have git installed, then you can easily update Abaci from the command line with the following command:

```shell
  abaci --update
```

As with installing abaci, this command does not require administrator rights.

You may update from a specific release version or GitHub branch with:

```shell
  abaci --update <ref>
```

where `<ref>` is either a git commit, tag or upstream branch.
See the [command line reference](../reference/cli) for more information.


After following the installations instruction above, you can verify your abaci installation
by opening a command window and running:

```shell
  abaci --version
```

which should output version information for abaci.



### Option 2: Reinstall (Git not required)

Download the latest installer from [latest release page](https://github.com/BristolCompositesInstitute/abaci/releases/latest)
and rerun - this will overwrite and update any existing Abaci installation.


## Install Locations

The self-contained Windows installer will install Abaci files to
`c:\Users\<username>\AppData\BCI\abaci` by default.

The Windows installer script (`install-windows.cmd`) and will place
the launcher script in `c:\SIMULIA\Commands` (with the abaqus launcher).

The Linux installer script will install Abaci files to `$HOME/.local/lib/abaci` and will place
the launcher script in `$HOME/.local/bin`.