ARCHIVED: On Big Red at IU, how can I use SoftEnv to customize my software environment?
The SoftEnv environment management system is used on Big Red at Indiana University to simplify application and environment configuration for users and administrators.
When you log into Big Red for the first time, a
~/.soft
file, defining system defaults, will be created
for you. These defaults, such as Intel's C/C++ and Fortran
compilers and OpenMPI, may suffice, but if they don't, you can add
additional packages, such as MPICH.
On this page:
Viewing available software packages
The softenv
command will show you the software
available on the system, and the keywords for accessing each software
package. At the command prompt, enter:
softenv | less
Keywords and the associated software are listed with a preceding
"+
" (plus sign). Macros (pre-defined lists of keywords)
have a preceding "@
" (at sign).
Default ~/.soft
file
By default, your Big Red ~/.soft
file contains only
the @bigred
macro.
Changing your environment
You can add and remove keywords (i.e., software packages) from your environment either temporarily or permanently. For example, you can remove a keyword associated with software you never use, add a keyword associated with software you expect to use regularly, or make temporary changes for testing.
Temporary changes
To temporarily add a keyword (i.e., software package) to your
environment, first use softenv
(as described above) to determine whether the package you want is
available and, if it is, identify the keyword associated with
it. Then, use the soft
command as follows, replacing
keyword
with the appropriate keyword:
soft add +keyword
To temporarily remove a keyword from your environment, use:
soft delete +keyword
To restore your environment to the default settings in your
~/.soft
file, use the resoft
command:
resoft
Permanent changes
To permanently change your environment, edit your
~/.soft
file, adding or removing keywords and macros. For
the changes to take effect, enter resoft
, or log
out and then log in again.
Note: If you want to prepend @remove
lines (e.g., @remove +keyword
) or other software paths to
your environment, place them at the beginning of the file, before any
keywords or macros.
This is document avmx in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 15:48:01.