Installing with Conda#

Conda is a package manager built by the Anaconda company. There are several distributions of Python that include conda, including Anaconda and miniforge. If you do not have conda installed, we highly recommend using miniforge.

Attention

The legacy Matlab Cantera interface is discontinued and removed in Cantera 3.1. Users requiring support of legacy Matlab Cantera code should continue using Cantera 3.0 packages, or migrate their code base to the experimental Matlab toolbox that is currently under development.

Both Anaconda and miniforge include the conda package manager. The main difference is that miniforge configures conda-forge as the default channel. The conda-forge channel includes many more, up-to-date, packages than the default channel in Anaconda. For more details on how to use conda, see the conda documentation.

For instructions on upgrading an existing conda-based installation of Cantera, see Upgrading from an earlier Cantera version.

Tip

To dramatically improve install speed, we recommend using the libmamba dependency solver. To configure the libmamba solver, you can run:

conda config --set solver libmamba

Python interface#

Cantera’s Python interface can be installed from the popular conda-forge channel. Packages are available for the following platforms:

  • Windows (64-bit Intel)

  • Linux (64-bit Intel, 64-bit ARM, and 64-bit PPCLE)

  • macOS (64-bit Intel and 64-bit ARM (Apple Silicon))

Option 1: Create a new environment for Cantera#

The following instructions will create a conda environment where you can use Cantera from Python. For this example, the environment is named ct-env. From the command line (or the Anaconda Prompt on Windows), run:

conda create --name ct-env --channel conda-forge cantera ipython matplotlib jupyter

This will create an environment named ct-env with Cantera, IPython, Matplotlib, and all their dependencies installed.

To use the scripts and modules installed in the ct-env environment, including Jupyter, you must activate it it by running:

conda activate ct-env

Option 2: Create a new environment using an environment file#

This option is similar to Option 1 but includes a few other packages that you may find helpful as you’re working with Cantera. Copy and paste the contents of the file shown below into a file called environment.yaml. Then, save the the file somewhere and remember that location.

name: ct-env
channels:
- conda-forge
dependencies:
- python  # Cantera supports Python 3.8 and up
- cantera
- ipython  # optional (needed for nicer interactive command line)
- jupyter  # optional (needed for Jupyter Notebook)
- matplotlib  # optional (needed for plots)
- python-graphviz  # optional (needed for reaction path diagrams)
- pandas  # optional (needed for pandas interface)

From the command line (or the Anaconda Prompt on Windows), change directory into the folder where you saved environment.yaml:

cd folder/where/you/saved

and then run:

conda env create -f environment.yaml

This will create an environment called ct-env. Once you’ve done that, you need to activate the environment before using any scripts or modules that you just installed:

conda activate ct-env

Option 3: Install the development version of Cantera#

To install a recent development snapshot (that is, an alpha or beta version) of Cantera, use the conda-forge/label/cantera_dev channel. Assuming you have an environment named ct-dev, you can type:

conda activate ct-dev
conda install --channel conda-forge/label/cantera_dev cantera

If you later want to revert back to the stable version in that environment, first remove and then reinstall Cantera:

conda activate ct-dev
conda remove cantera
conda install --channel conda-forge cantera

Alternatively, you can remove the ct-dev environment and follow Options 1 or 2 above to create a new environment.

Upgrading from an earlier Cantera version#

If you already have Cantera installed in a conda environment (named, for example, ct-dev), you can upgrade it to the latest version available by running the commands:

conda activate ct-dev
conda update --channel conda-forge cantera

Development (C++ & Fortran 90) Interface#

The Cantera development interface provides header files and libraries needed to compile your own C++, C, or Fortran applications that link to Cantera. It also provides several sample programs and build scripts that you can adapt for your own applications.

From the command line (or the Anaconda Prompt on Windows), create a new conda environment named ct-dev using:

conda create --name ct-dev --channel conda-forge libcantera-devel

C++ header and libraries are installed within the ct-dev environment folder, which itself depends on the type of conda installation, and is abbreviated as path/to/conda/envs below. Within the ct-dev folder, locations follow conda recommendations for a given operating system.

Linux and macOS Systems#

Installation folders are:

library files         path/to/conda/envs/ct-dev/lib
pkg-config            path/to/conda/envs/ct-dev/lib/pkgconfig
C++ headers           path/to/conda/envs/ct-dev/include
Fortran module files  path/to/conda/envs/ct-dev/include/cantera
samples               path/to/conda/envs/ct-dev/share/cantera/samples
data files            path/to/conda/envs/ct-dev/share/cantera/data

In addition to libcantera-devel, installation of additional packages is recommended:

conda activate ct-dev
conda install --channel conda-forge cmake scons pkg-config

C++ programs can be compiled according to instructions outlined in the C++ Guide. Sample folders for C, C++ and Fortran include pre-configured instruction files to facilitate compilation using the build tools SCons and CMake, for example:

cd /path/to/conda/envs/ct-dev/share/cantera/samples/cxx/demo
scons  # uses SConstruct; or
cmake . && cmake --build .  # uses CMakeLists.txt

In addition, individual C++ Cantera sample programs can also be compiled using the pkg-config build system:

g++ demo.cpp -o demo $(pkg-config --cflags --libs cantera)

In all cases, the build process yields the executable demo, which is run as:

./demo

Windows Systems#

Installation folders are:

library files               path\to\conda\envs\ct-dev\Library\lib
C++ headers                 path\to\conda\envs\ct-dev\Library\include
samples                     path\to\conda\envs\ct-dev\share\cantera\samples
data files                  path\to\conda\envs\ct-dev\share\cantera\data

C++ programs can be compiled according to instructions outlined in the C++ Guide. Sample folders for C and C++ programs include preconfigured instruction files to facilitate compilation using the build tools SCons and CMake, for example:

cd path\to\conda\envs\ct-dev\share\cantera\samples\cxx\demo
scons  # uses SConstruct; or
cmake . && cmake --build . --config Release  # uses CMakeLists.txt

Fortran 90 support is not provided for Windows.

Upgrading from an earlier Cantera version#

If you already have the Cantera development interface installed in a conda environment (named, for example, ct-dev), you can upgrade it to the latest version available by running the commands:

conda activate ct-dev
conda update --channel conda-forge libcantera-devel
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