The user interacts with AMUSE in python, so there is currently no amuse command, though one could imagine
ipython --profile=amuse
instead you will want to import this module (see example below) in your python code and go from there. Internally many components in AMUSE are legacy codes (C,C++,Fortran) running at fantastic speeds.
An example is shown below, and within NEMO there the script amuse_convert.py can be used to convert between different snapshot formats, as long as the format is supported by AMUSE. See also unsio(3NEMO) for another approach to such snapshot conversion.
Here is an example snippet of AMUSE python code creating a Plummer sphere in nbody units and writing the resulting snapshot as a table, much like mkplummer(1NEMO) ,
from amuse.units import nbody_system
from amuse.ic.plummer import new_plummer_model
from amuse.io import write_set_to_file
stars = new_plummer_model(10)
write_set_to_file(stars, ’plummer.txt’, format=’txt’)
This table has mass, radius, velocity and position, one star per row. Notice velocity comes before position! Thus the following NEMO command will convert it to a standard snapshot(5NEMO) file:
nbody=$(tabcols
plummer.txt | wc -l)
tabcols plummer.txt | tabtos - plummer.snap block1=mass,skip,vx,vy,vz,x,y,z
nbody=$nbody
Here is a more NEMO like example, running from the (shell) commandline. If AMUSE is properly installed, the first example creates a Plummer model in memory, the second example creates a text file, of which the first particle is displayed as the 3rd line in this table:
amuse_convert.py
amuse_convert.py -o plummer.txt
head -3 plummer.txt
#mass radius vx vy vz x y z #mass length length * time**-1 length * time**-1
length * time**-1 length length length 0.0078125 0.0 -0.256557735045 0.0863119421344
-0.0484937398944 -0.609540735858 -0.854122523728 0.736476012616
The follow round trip exercise on the txt format causes an error:
fmt=txt amuse_convert.py -o junk1 -O $fmt -n 100 amuse_convert.py -i junk1
-I $fmt -o junk2 -O $fmt amuse.io.base.IoException: IO exception: Number of values
on line ’0.01 0.0 -0.319149817818 0.911387278048 0.00131274766207 -1.22528821614
-0.310636170602 0.0257190619401’ is 8, expected 0
formats like csv, amuse-txt, tsf, dyn all seem to work.
Within NEMO the command
mknemo amuse
will get you started on the install. Note there is a user release that does not need NEMO, which can be a set of pip install. A developer release is recommended with NEMO, the start of which will likely look as follows:
cd $NEMO/local/amuse
./setup develop amuse-framework
./setup develop amuse-bhtree
The AMUSE bhtree code should be the same as the original program bhtree(1NEMO)
in NEMO, allowing for a closer comparison.
amuse HDF5 file amuse-txt text files with AMUSE header format csv comma separated files dyn Starlab binary structured file gadget Gadget binary data file hdf5 HDF5 file nemo NEMO binary structured file starlab Starlab binary structured file tsf NEMO binary structured file txt text file containing a table of values separated by a predefined vts text file containing a table of values separated by a predefined character vtu text file containing a table of values separated by a predefined character
$NEMO/src/scripts/mknemo.d/amuse - example install script (can be run via mknemo) $NEMO/local/amuse - root of source code after install $NEMO/src/scripts/python/amuse_convert.py - also copied to $NEMOBIN during install
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https://www.amusecode.org/
25-may-2025 man page and amuse_convert.py written (MODEST25-SPZ) PJT 27-mar-2025 overhauled installation method PJT