Installation/Linux/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/Ubuntu

From OpenFOAMWiki

1 Introduction

This page is dedicated to explaining how to install OpenFOAM OF Version 220.png in Ubuntu.

If you do not yet feel comfortable using Linux, then perhaps you better first read the page Working with the Shell and train a bit with the shell/terminal environments, so you can have a better perception of the steps shown below.


2 Copy-Paste steps

A few notes before you start copy-pasting:

  1. Lines that start with # don't have to be copy-pasted. They are just comments to let you know what's going on.
  2. One wrong character is enough for breaking this guide, so make sure you can read the characters properly or that the installed language system does not break the copied characters!


2.1 Ubuntu 10.04

Here you have the following choices:


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

Steps:

  1. Switch to root mode (administrator), to install the necessary packages:
    sudo -s
    • If the 'sudo' command tells you're not in the sudoers list, then run:
      su -
  2. Install the necessary packages:
    apt-get install build-essential flex bison zlib1g-dev qt4-dev-tools libqt4-dev gnuplot libreadline-dev \
    libncurses-dev libxt-dev libopenmpi-dev openmpi-bin
  3. Now exit from the root mode:
    exit
  4. Download and unpack (here you can copy-paste all in single go):
    #OpenFOAM downloading and installation
    cd ~
    mkdir OpenFOAM
    cd OpenFOAM
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
     
    tar -xzf OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz 
    tar -xzf ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
  5. For building OpenFOAM itself, it depends on whether you have installed the i386 or x86_64 architecture of Ubuntu. To check this, run:
    uname -m

    Now, accordingly:

    • For i386:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI \
      foamCompiler=ThirdParty WM_COMPILER=Gcc45 WM_ARCH_OPTION=32
    • For x86_64:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI \
      foamCompiler=ThirdParty WM_COMPILER=Gcc45

    Note: You probably will see a message similar to this one and it's meant to do so until we've built the custom Gcc version:

    Warning in /home/user/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/config/settings.sh:
        Cannot find /home/user/OpenFOAM/ThirdParty-2.2.0/platforms/linux64/gcc-4.5.2 installation.
        Please install this compiler version or if you wish to use the system compiler,
        change the 'foamCompiler' setting to 'system'
  6. Save an alias in the personal .bashrc file, simply by running the following command:
    echo "alias of220='source \$HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc $FOAM_SETTINGS'" >> $HOME/.bashrc
    Note: This last line means that whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, whenever you start a new terminal, you should run:
    of220
    
    For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.
  7. Now we'll have to get all of the scripts we'll need to build GCC and binutils (because OpenFOAM 2.2 requires at least GCC 4.5 and Ubuntu 10.04 only provides up to GCC 4.4):
    cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
    wget "https://raw.github.com/wyldckat/scripts4OpenFOAM3rdParty/master/getGcc"
    wget "https://raw.github.com/wyldckat/ThirdParty-2.0.x/binutils/makeBinutils"
    wget "https://raw.github.com/wyldckat/ThirdParty-2.0.x/binutils/getBinutils"
    chmod +x get* make*
     
    #we need to disable the ''multilib'' functionality, since we won't need to build both 32 and 64bit architectures.
    sed -i -e 's=\(--with-system-zlib \)=\1--disable-multilib =' makeGcc
  8. Now let's get and build Gcc 4.5.2 and company:
    ./getGcc gcc-4.5.2
    ./makeGcc gcc-4.5.2 gmp-5.0.1 mpfr-2.4.2 mpc-0.8.1 > log.mkgcc 2>&1
    wmSET $FOAM_SETTINGS

    If it still gives you the same error message from #3, then something went wrong...

  9. Now let's get and build a custom GNU Binutils:
    ./getBinutils
    ./makeBinutils gcc-4.5.2 > log.mkbinutils 2>&1
  10. Now let's build OpenFOAM:
    (Warning: this may take somewhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on your machine.)
    #Go into OpenFOAM's main source folder
    cd $WM_PROJECT_DIR
     
    # This next command will take a while... somewhere between 30 minutes to 3-6 hours.
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
     
    #Run it a second time for getting a summary of the installation
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
  11. To check if everything went well:
    1. Check if icoFoam is working, by running this command:
      icoFoam -help

      which should tell you something like this:

      Usage: icoFoam [OPTIONS]
      options:
        -case <dir>       specify alternate case directory, default is the cwd
        -noFunctionObjects
                          do not execute functionObjects
        -parallel         run in parallel
        -roots <(dir1 .. dirN)>
                          slave root directories for distributed running
        -srcDoc           display source code in browser
        -doc              display application documentation in browser
        -help             print the usage

      Note: And keep in mind that you need to be careful with the letter case of the command. It's icoFoam, not icoFOAM.

    2. If the previous command failed to work properly, then edit the file log.make and check if there are any error messages. A few examples on how you can edit this file:
      • By using kwrite:
        kwrite log.make
      • By using gedit:
        gedit log.make
      • By using nano:
        nano log.make

        You can then exit by using the key combination Ctrl+X and following any instructions it gives you.

      Note: It's the first error message that matters.

    3. If you don't understand the output, then please compress the log-file log.make and attach the compressed file to a post in the designated thread.
      If you do not know how to create a compressed file, then try one of the following examples:
      • You can compress the file with gzip by running this command:
        gzip < log.make > log.make.gz

        Then attach the resulting package file named log.make.gz to a post in the designated thread.

      • Or you can compress one or more log-files into a tarball package file, by running this command:
        tar -czf logs.tar.gz log.*

        Then attach the resulting package file named logs.tar.gz to a post in the designated thread.

    4. Instructions on how to further diagnose the issue yourself, have a look at the section Common errors when building OpenFOAM from source code in the page FAQ/Installation and Running.
  12. Ubuntu 10.04 comes with CMake 2.8.0, but that version has a bug that makes it impossible to build ParaView 3.12.0. Therefore, we'll need to do a custom build:
    cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
    wget "https://raw.github.com/wyldckat/scripts4OpenFOAM3rdParty/master/getCmake"
    chmod +x getCmake
    ./getCmake
    ./makeCmake
    wmSET $FOAM_SETTINGS
  13. Now, in order to build ParaView 3.12.0 that comes with OpenFOAM:
    cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
    ./makeParaView
     
    cd $FOAM_UTILITIES/postProcessing/graphics/PV3Readers 
    wmSET $FOAM_SETTINGS
    ./Allwclean 
    ./Allwmake
  14. Now you can go read the User Guide: official OpenFOAM User Guide


Reminder: Whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, run the following command whenever you start a new terminal:
of220
For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

2.2 Ubuntu 12.04

Here you have at least two choices:


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

Steps:

  1. Switch to root mode (administrator), to install the necessary packages:
    sudo -s
    • If the 'sudo' command tells you're not in the sudoers list, then run:
      su -
  2. Install the necessary packages:
    apt-get install build-essential cmake flex bison zlib1g-dev qt4-dev-tools libqt4-dev gnuplot libreadline-dev \
    libncurses-dev libxt-dev libopenmpi-dev openmpi-bin
  3. Now exit from the root mode:
    exit
  4. Download and unpack (here you can copy-paste all in single go):
    #OpenFOAM downloading and installation
    cd ~
    mkdir OpenFOAM
    cd OpenFOAM
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
     
    tar -xzf OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz 
    tar -xzf ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
  5. For building OpenFOAM itself, it depends on whether you have installed the i686 or x86_64 architecture of Ubuntu. To check this, run:
    uname -m

    Now, accordingly:

    • For i686:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI WM_ARCH_OPTION=32
    • For x86_64:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI
  6. Save an alias in the personal .bashrc file, simply by running the following command:
    echo "alias of220='source \$HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc $FOAM_SETTINGS'" >> $HOME/.bashrc
    Note: This last line means that whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, whenever you start a new terminal, you should run:
    of220
    
    For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.
  7. Now let's build OpenFOAM:
    (Warning: this may take somewhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on your machine.)
    #Go into OpenFOAM's main source folder
    cd OpenFOAM-2.2.0
     
    # This next command will take a while... somewhere between 30 minutes to 3-6 hours.
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
     
    #Run it a second time for getting a summary of the installation
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
  8. To check if everything went well:
    1. Check if icoFoam is working, by running this command:
      icoFoam -help

      which should tell you something like this:

      Usage: icoFoam [OPTIONS]
      options:
        -case <dir>       specify alternate case directory, default is the cwd
        -noFunctionObjects
                          do not execute functionObjects
        -parallel         run in parallel
        -roots <(dir1 .. dirN)>
                          slave root directories for distributed running
        -srcDoc           display source code in browser
        -doc              display application documentation in browser
        -help             print the usage

      Note: And keep in mind that you need to be careful with the letter case of the command. It's icoFoam, not icoFOAM.

    2. If the previous command failed to work properly, then edit the file log.make and check if there are any error messages. A few examples on how you can edit this file:
      • By using kwrite:
        kwrite log.make
      • By using gedit:
        gedit log.make
      • By using nano:
        nano log.make

        You can then exit by using the key combination Ctrl+X and following any instructions it gives you.

      Note: It's the first error message that matters.

    3. If you don't understand the output, then please compress the log-file log.make and attach the compressed file to a post in the designated thread.
      If you do not know how to create a compressed file, then try one of the following examples:
      • You can compress the file with gzip by running this command:
        gzip < log.make > log.make.gz

        Then attach the resulting package file named log.make.gz to a post in the designated thread.

      • Or you can compress one or more log-files into a tarball package file, by running this command:
        tar -czf logs.tar.gz log.*

        Then attach the resulting package file named logs.tar.gz to a post in the designated thread.

    4. Instructions on how to further diagnose the issue yourself, have a look at the section Common errors when building OpenFOAM from source code in the page FAQ/Installation and Running.
  9. Now, in order to build ParaView 3.12.0 that comes with OpenFOAM:
    cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
    ./makeParaView
     
    cd $FOAM_UTILITIES/postProcessing/graphics/PV3Readers 
    wmSET $FOAM_SETTINGS
    ./Allwclean 
    ./Allwmake
  10. Now you can go read the User Guide: official OpenFOAM User Guide


Reminder: Whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, run the following command whenever you start a new terminal:
of220
For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

2.3 Ubuntu 12.10

Here you have at least two choices:


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

Steps:

  1. Switch to root mode (administrator), to install the necessary packages:
    sudo -s
    • If the 'sudo' command tells you're not in the sudoers list, then run:
      su -
  2. Install the necessary packages:
    apt-get install build-essential cmake flex bison zlib1g-dev qt4-dev-tools libqt4-dev gnuplot libreadline-dev \
    libncurses-dev libxt-dev libopenmpi-dev openmpi-bin
  3. Now exit from the root mode:
    exit
  4. Download and unpack (here you can copy-paste all in single go):
    #OpenFOAM downloading and installation
    cd ~
    mkdir OpenFOAM
    cd OpenFOAM
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
     
    tar -xzf OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz 
    tar -xzf ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
  5. For building OpenFOAM itself, it depends on whether you have installed the i686 or x86_64 architecture of Ubuntu. To check this, run:
    uname -m

    Now, accordingly:

    • For i686:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI WM_ARCH_OPTION=32
    • For x86_64:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI
  6. Save an alias in the personal .bashrc file, simply by running the following command:
    echo "alias of220='source \$HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc $FOAM_SETTINGS'" >> $HOME/.bashrc
    Note: This last line means that whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, whenever you start a new terminal, you should run:
    of220
    
    For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.
  7. Now let's build OpenFOAM:
    (Warning: this may take somewhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on your machine.)
    #Go into OpenFOAM's main source folder
    cd OpenFOAM-2.2.0
     
    # This next command will take a while... somewhere between 30 minutes to 3-6 hours.
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
     
    #Run it a second time for getting a summary of the installation
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
  8. To check if everything went well:
    1. Check if icoFoam is working, by running this command:
      icoFoam -help

      which should tell you something like this:

      Usage: icoFoam [OPTIONS]
      options:
        -case <dir>       specify alternate case directory, default is the cwd
        -noFunctionObjects
                          do not execute functionObjects
        -parallel         run in parallel
        -roots <(dir1 .. dirN)>
                          slave root directories for distributed running
        -srcDoc           display source code in browser
        -doc              display application documentation in browser
        -help             print the usage

      Note: And keep in mind that you need to be careful with the letter case of the command. It's icoFoam, not icoFOAM.

    2. If the previous command failed to work properly, then edit the file log.make and check if there are any error messages. A few examples on how you can edit this file:
      • By using kwrite:
        kwrite log.make
      • By using gedit:
        gedit log.make
      • By using nano:
        nano log.make

        You can then exit by using the key combination Ctrl+X and following any instructions it gives you.

      Note: It's the first error message that matters.

    3. If you don't understand the output, then please compress the log-file log.make and attach the compressed file to a post in the designated thread.
      If you do not know how to create a compressed file, then try one of the following examples:
      • You can compress the file with gzip by running this command:
        gzip < log.make > log.make.gz

        Then attach the resulting package file named log.make.gz to a post in the designated thread.

      • Or you can compress one or more log-files into a tarball package file, by running this command:
        tar -czf logs.tar.gz log.*

        Then attach the resulting package file named logs.tar.gz to a post in the designated thread.

    4. Instructions on how to further diagnose the issue yourself, have a look at the section Common errors when building OpenFOAM from source code in the page FAQ/Installation and Running.
  9. Now, in order to build ParaView 3.12.0 that comes with OpenFOAM:
    cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
    ./makeParaView
     
    cd $FOAM_UTILITIES/postProcessing/graphics/PV3Readers 
    wmSET $FOAM_SETTINGS
    ./Allwclean 
    ./Allwmake
  10. Now you can go read the User Guide: official OpenFOAM User Guide


Reminder: Whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, run the following command whenever you start a new terminal:
of220
For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

2.4 Ubuntu 13.04

Here you have at least two choices:

  • You can install the Deb packages, which provide a quick and easy way for having a working installation of OpenFOAM 2.2.0. This is the quickest solution for beginners and instructions are provided here: Ubuntu Deb Pack Installation
    • WARNING: Ubuntu Raring is (probably) not yet officially supported using these Deb packages. You'll have to use a hack, where this line:
      VERS=$(lsb_release -cs)
      should be replaced with this one:
      VERS=quantal
    • Note: If are getting an error when trying to install the packages for Ubuntu, then check this FAQ: Why am I not able to install the official OpenFOAM Deb packages on Ubuntu ?
  • You can install from source, by either:
    • Following the official instructions from here: Source Pack Installation
    • Or by following the detailed step-by-step instructions below...


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

Steps:

  1. Switch to root mode (administrator), to install the necessary packages:
    sudo -s
    • If the 'sudo' command tells you're not in the sudoers list, then run:
      su -
  2. Install the necessary packages:
    apt-get install build-essential cmake flex bison zlib1g-dev qt4-dev-tools libqt4-dev gnuplot libreadline-dev \
    libncurses-dev libxt-dev libopenmpi-dev openmpi-bin
  3. Now exit from the root mode:
    exit
  4. Download and unpack (here you can copy-paste all in single go):
    #OpenFOAM downloading and installation
    cd ~
    mkdir OpenFOAM
    cd OpenFOAM
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
     
    tar -xzf OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz 
    tar -xzf ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
  5. For building OpenFOAM itself, it depends on whether you have installed the i686 or x86_64 architecture of Ubuntu. To check this, run:
    uname -m

    Now, accordingly:

    • For i686:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI WM_ARCH_OPTION=32
    • For x86_64:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI
  6. Save an alias in the personal .bashrc file, simply by running the following command:
    echo "alias of220='source \$HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc $FOAM_SETTINGS'" >> $HOME/.bashrc
    Note: This last line means that whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, whenever you start a new terminal, you should run:
    of220
    
    For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.
  7. Now let's build OpenFOAM:
    (Warning: this may take somewhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on your machine.)
    #Go into OpenFOAM's main source folder
    cd OpenFOAM-2.2.0
     
    # This next command will take a while... somewhere between 30 minutes to 3-6 hours.
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
     
    #Run it a second time for getting a summary of the installation
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
  8. To check if everything went well:
    1. Check if icoFoam is working, by running this command:
      icoFoam -help

      which should tell you something like this:

      Usage: icoFoam [OPTIONS]
      options:
        -case <dir>       specify alternate case directory, default is the cwd
        -noFunctionObjects
                          do not execute functionObjects
        -parallel         run in parallel
        -roots <(dir1 .. dirN)>
                          slave root directories for distributed running
        -srcDoc           display source code in browser
        -doc              display application documentation in browser
        -help             print the usage

      Note: And keep in mind that you need to be careful with the letter case of the command. It's icoFoam, not icoFOAM.

    2. If the previous command failed to work properly, then edit the file log.make and check if there are any error messages. A few examples on how you can edit this file:
      • By using kwrite:
        kwrite log.make
      • By using gedit:
        gedit log.make
      • By using nano:
        nano log.make

        You can then exit by using the key combination Ctrl+X and following any instructions it gives you.

      Note: It's the first error message that matters.

    3. If you don't understand the output, then please compress the log-file log.make and attach the compressed file to a post in the designated thread.
      If you do not know how to create a compressed file, then try one of the following examples:
      • You can compress the file with gzip by running this command:
        gzip < log.make > log.make.gz

        Then attach the resulting package file named log.make.gz to a post in the designated thread.

      • Or you can compress one or more log-files into a tarball package file, by running this command:
        tar -czf logs.tar.gz log.*

        Then attach the resulting package file named logs.tar.gz to a post in the designated thread.

    4. Instructions on how to further diagnose the issue yourself, have a look at the section Common errors when building OpenFOAM from source code in the page FAQ/Installation and Running.
  9. Now, in order to build ParaView 3.12.0 that comes with OpenFOAM:
    cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
    ./makeParaView
     
    cd $FOAM_UTILITIES/postProcessing/graphics/PV3Readers 
    wmSET $FOAM_SETTINGS
    ./Allwclean 
    ./Allwmake
  10. Now you can go read the User Guide: official OpenFOAM User Guide


Reminder: Whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, run the following command whenever you start a new terminal:
of220
For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

2.5 Ubuntu 13.10

Here you have at least two choices:

  • You can install the Deb packages, which provide a quick and easy way for having a working installation of OpenFOAM 2.2.0. This is the quickest solution for beginners and instructions are provided here: Ubuntu Deb Pack Installation
    • WARNING: Ubuntu Saucy is (probably) not yet officially supported using these Deb packages. You'll have to use a hack, where this line:
      VERS=$(lsb_release -cs)
      should be replaced with this one:
      VERS=quantal
    • Note: If are getting an error when trying to install the packages for Ubuntu, then check this FAQ: Why am I not able to install the official OpenFOAM Deb packages on Ubuntu ?
  • You can install from source, by either:
    • Following the official instructions from here: Source Pack Installation
    • Or by following the detailed step-by-step instructions below...


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.

Steps:

  1. Switch to root mode (administrator), to install the necessary packages:
    sudo -s
    • If the 'sudo' command tells you're not in the sudoers list, then run:
      su -
  2. Install the necessary packages:
    apt-get install build-essential cmake flex bison zlib1g-dev qt4-dev-tools libqt4-dev gnuplot libreadline-dev \
    libncurses-dev libxt-dev libopenmpi-dev openmpi-bin
  3. Now exit from the root mode:
    exit
  4. Download and unpack (here you can copy-paste all in single go):
    #OpenFOAM downloading and installation
    cd ~
    mkdir OpenFOAM
    cd OpenFOAM
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz
    wget "http://downloads.sourceforge.net/foam/ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz?use_mirror=mesh" -O ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
     
    tar -xzf OpenFOAM-2.2.0.tgz 
    tar -xzf ThirdParty-2.2.0.tgz
  5. For building OpenFOAM itself, it depends on whether you have installed the i686 or x86_64 architecture of Ubuntu. To check this, run:
    uname -m

    Now, accordingly:

    • For i686:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI WM_ARCH_OPTION=32
    • For x86_64:
      #here you can change 4 to the number of cores you've got
      source $HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc WM_NCOMPPROCS=4 WM_MPLIB=SYSTEMOPENMPI
  6. Save an alias in the personal .bashrc file, simply by running the following command:
    echo "alias of220='source \$HOME/OpenFOAM/OpenFOAM-2.2.0/etc/bashrc $FOAM_SETTINGS'" >> $HOME/.bashrc
    Note: This last line means that whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, whenever you start a new terminal, you should run:
    of220
    
    For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.
  7. Fix the build options of Scotch:
    sed -i -e 's=-lz -lm -lrt=-Xlinker --no-as-needed -lz -lm -lrt=' \
      ThirdParty-2.2.0/etc/wmakeFiles/scotch/Makefile.inc.i686_pc_linux2.shlib-OpenFOAM-*
  8. Now let's build OpenFOAM:
    (Warning: this may take somewhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on your machine.)
    #Go into OpenFOAM's main source folder
    cd OpenFOAM-2.2.0
     
    # This next command will take a while... somewhere between 30 minutes to 3-6 hours.
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
     
    #Run it a second time for getting a summary of the installation
    ./Allwmake > log.make 2>&1
  9. To check if everything went well:
    1. Check if icoFoam is working, by running this command:
      icoFoam -help

      which should tell you something like this:

      Usage: icoFoam [OPTIONS]
      options:
        -case <dir>       specify alternate case directory, default is the cwd
        -noFunctionObjects
                          do not execute functionObjects
        -parallel         run in parallel
        -roots <(dir1 .. dirN)>
                          slave root directories for distributed running
        -srcDoc           display source code in browser
        -doc              display application documentation in browser
        -help             print the usage

      Note: And keep in mind that you need to be careful with the letter case of the command. It's icoFoam, not icoFOAM.

    2. If the previous command failed to work properly, then edit the file log.make and check if there are any error messages. A few examples on how you can edit this file:
      • By using kwrite:
        kwrite log.make
      • By using gedit:
        gedit log.make
      • By using nano:
        nano log.make

        You can then exit by using the key combination Ctrl+X and following any instructions it gives you.

      Note: It's the first error message that matters.

    3. If you don't understand the output, then please compress the log-file log.make and attach the compressed file to a post in the designated thread.
      If you do not know how to create a compressed file, then try one of the following examples:
      • You can compress the file with gzip by running this command:
        gzip < log.make > log.make.gz

        Then attach the resulting package file named log.make.gz to a post in the designated thread.

      • Or you can compress one or more log-files into a tarball package file, by running this command:
        tar -czf logs.tar.gz log.*

        Then attach the resulting package file named logs.tar.gz to a post in the designated thread.

    4. Instructions on how to further diagnose the issue yourself, have a look at the section Common errors when building OpenFOAM from source code in the page FAQ/Installation and Running.
  10. Now, in order to build ParaView 3.12.0 that comes with OpenFOAM:
    cd $WM_THIRD_PARTY_DIR
    ./makeParaView
     
    cd $FOAM_UTILITIES/postProcessing/graphics/PV3Readers 
    wmSET $FOAM_SETTINGS
    ./Allwclean 
    ./Allwmake
  11. Now you can go read the User Guide: official OpenFOAM User Guide


Reminder: Whenever you start a new terminal window or tab, you should run the alias command associated to the OpenFOAM 2.2.0 shell environment. In other words, run the following command whenever you start a new terminal:
of220
For more information on this topic, read section Using aliases to help manage multiple OpenFOAM versions in the page Installation/Working with the Shell.


Discussion thread where you can ask questions about these steps: No thread available. Please a create a new thread in the forum.