Binary installer for Windows#

Windows users can use a traditional .exe installer which can be downloaded from https://downloads.openquake.org/pkgs/windows/oq-engine/ and includes Python 3.10 and all dependencies. However users needing to develop with the engine are better off with the universal installation script, even on Windows.

Universal installation script#

Since version 3.11 of the OpenQuake-engine, there is a universal installation script that works on any platform, provided you have a suitable Python installed. The script allows the user to select between different kinds of installation:

  1. user installation (Windows, macOS, and Linux)

  2. devel installation (Windows, macOS, and Linux)

  3. server installation (only available for Linux)

  4. devel_server installation (only available for Linux)

NOTES:

Note 1. On some Linux distributions (e.g. Ubuntu) you may need to install the package python3-venv before running the installer
Note 2. New Macs with the M1 CPU are supported only if you’re on macOS 12.x or MacOS 13.x and for python3.10.
Apple ships its own version of Python with OS X. However, we strongly recommend installing the official Python distribution. Alternatively, use Python from one of the OS X package managers (Homebrew, MacPorts, Fink).
Note 3. For user and devel installation methods, the virtual environment openquake will be created in the home directory. Make sure you have no folder called openquakein your home directory that can cause conflicts.
Users with no knowledge of virtual environments are referred to this page of the Python tutorial: https://docs.python.org/3/tutorial/venv.html
Note 4. This script will install the OpenQuake engine in its own virtual environment. Users who need to use any additional Python packages (eg. Jupyter, Spyder) along with the OpenQuake-engine should install those packages within this virtual environment.
Note 5. Conda is not supported; some users have been able to run the OpenQuake-engine with Conda, but GEM is not using and not testing conda; you are on your own.
Note 6. On Windows installations we require Python 3.10, while the Microsoft App Store suggests Python 3.11 which is not supported yet, so you have to be careful and search for Python 3.10 on the App Store or on the Python official download page.

After installing, you can get the location of the engine virtual enviroment with the command

$ oq info venv

user installation#

If you do not need to modify the engine codebase or develop new features with the engine, but intend to use it as an application, you should perform a user installation (on Windows / macOS) or a server installation (on Linux). The user installation is also the recommended option for Linux, in the case where you do not have root permissions on the machine.

You just need to download the installation script as:

on Windows:

C:\>curl.exe -L -O https://github.com/gem/oq-engine/raw/engine-3.19/install.py
C:\>python.exe install.py user

on macOS:

Note 1: Make sure to run the script located under /Applications/Python 3.X/Install Certificates.command, after Python has been installed, to update the SSL certificates bundle see see FAQ.

$ curl -L -O https://github.com/gem/oq-engine/raw/engine-3.19/install.py
$ python3.10 install.py user

on Linux:

$ curl -L -O https://github.com/gem/oq-engine/raw/engine-3.19/install.py
$ /usr/bin/python3 install.py user

This installation method will create a Python virtual environment in $HOME/openquake and will install the engine on it. After that, you can activate the virtual environment with

on Windows:

C:\>%USERPROFILE%\openquake\Scripts\activate.bat

or, when using PowerShell,

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
C:\>%USERPROFILE%\openquake\Scripts\activate.ps1

on macOS and Linux:

$ source $HOME/openquake/bin/activate

You can also invoke the oq command without activating the virtual environment by directly calling

on Windows:

C:\>%USERPROFILE%\openquake\Scripts\oq

on macOS and Linux:

$HOME/openquake/bin/oq

Calculation data will be stored in $HOME/oqdata.

devel installation#

Users who intend to modify the engine codebase or add new features for the engine should use the devel installation:

on Windows:

You will need to have git installed on your PC to clone the engine codebase and periodically keep it up to date. You can check if you already have git installed by trying to run git from the command prompt:

C:\> git --version

If you don’t have git installed already, you can install it from https://git-scm.com/download/win, before proceeding to the following steps in a new command prompt window or in Git Bash.

C:\> git clone https://github.com/gem/oq-engine.git
C:\> cd oq-engine 
C:\> python.exe install.py devel

If using PowerShell you may have to give the command

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

on macOS:

You will need to have git installed on your Mac to clone the engine codebase and periodically keep it up to date. You can check if you already have git installed by trying to run git from the Terminal:

$ git --version

If you don’t have git installed already, macOS will prompt you to install it through the Xcode Command Line Tools; simply follow the instructions.

Note 1: Make sure to run the script located under /Applications/Python 3.X/Install Certificates.command, after Python has been installed, to update the SSL certificates bundle see see FAQ.

$ git clone https://github.com/gem/oq-engine.git
$ cd oq-engine
$ python3.10 install.py devel

on Linux:

$ git clone https://github.com/gem/oq-engine.git
$ cd oq-engine && /usr/bin/python3 install.py devel

This installation method will create a Python virtual environment in $HOME/openquake and will install the engine in development mode in this environment. Then, activate the virtual environment with

on Windows:

C:\>%USERPROFILE%\openquake\Scripts\activate.bat

or, when using PowerShell,

C:\>%USERPROFILE%\openquake\Scripts\activate.ps1

on macOS and Linux:

$ source $HOME/openquake/bin/activate

It should now be possible to develop with the engine. Calculation data will be stored in $HOME/oqdata.

server installation#

If you are on a Linux machine and you have root permissions, the recommended installation method is server. In this case, the engine will work with multiple users and two system V services will be automatically installed and started: openquake-dbserver and openquake-webui.

$ curl -L -O https://github.com/gem/oq-engine/raw/engine-3.19/install.py
$ sudo -H /usr/bin/python3 install.py server

The installation script will automatically create a user called openquake and will install the engine in the directory /opt/openquake. Calculation data will be stored in /var/lib/openquake/oqdata.

NB: if you already have an engine installation made with debian or rpm packages, before installing the new version you must uninstall the old version, make sure that the dbserver and webui services are actually stopped and then also remove the directory /opt/openquake and the configuration file /etc/openquake/openquake.cfg. If you want to preserve some configuration (like the [zworkers] section which is needed on a cluster) you should keep a copy of /etc/openquake/openquake.cfg and move it inside /opt/openquake once the new installation is finished.

devel_server installation#

This method adds to server installation the possibility to run the engine from a git repository. If you are on a Linux machine and you have root permissions

$ git clone https://github.com/gem/oq-engine.git
$ cd oq-engine && sudo -H /usr/bin/python3 install.py devel_server

Cluster installation#

It is possible to install the engine on a Linux cluster, but it requires additional steps. You should see the page about clusters.

Cloud installation#

A set of Docker containers is available for installing the engine in the cloud.

Downgrading an installation#

By default, in user and server mode the script will install the latest stable release of the engine. If for some reason you want to use an older version you can specify the version number with the --version option:

$ python3 install.py user --version=3.10

Uninstalling the engine#

To uninstall the engine, use the –remove flag:

on Windows: Depending on the type of installation, please choose one of the following commands:

C:\>cd %USERPROFILE%
C:\>python install.py devel --remove
C:\>python install.py user --remove

on macOS and Linux: Depending on the type of installation, please choose one of the following commands:

$ python3 install.py user --remove
$ python3 install.py devel --remove
$ sudo -H python3 install.py server --remove

The calculation data (in the $HOME/oqdata directory) WILL NOT be removed. You will have to remove the data manually, if desired.

Getting help#

If you need help or have questions/comments/feedback for us, you can:

  • Subscribe to the OpenQuake users mailing list: https://groups.google.com/u/0/g/openquake-users

  • Contact us on IRC: irc.freenode.net, channel #openquake