Installing Nektar++ on Linux Systems and HPC

Created on July 08, 2025

2025   ·   Nektar++   HPC   Linux   ·   Installation-Guide

Installing Dependencies

Boost, BLAS, LAPACK, and Scotch are mandatory libraries required by Nektar++ along with GCC and CMAKE. You can check if these are already available on your HPC or system using:



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module avail [library]

If they are available, you can load them using:



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module load [library/version]

Otherwise, follow the steps below to install them on your system.

Create a folder nektar-depend where all the dependencies will be downloaded, extracted, and built. This keeps the home directory clean. All the libraries and Nektar++ will be installed in $HOME/local.



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mkdir nektar-depend && cd nektar-depend

Boost

  • Download the source code and extract it:


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wget https://archives.boost.io/release/1.88.0/source/boost_1_88_0.tar.gz
tar -xvzf boost_1_88_0.tar.gz
cd boost_1_88_0
  • Configure the installation:


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./bootstrap.sh --prefix=$HOME/local
  • Install the code:


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./b2 install
  • Export the path to the installation directory. You can add this to your .bashrc:


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export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/local/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
export CPATH=$HOME/local/include:$CPATH
export LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/local/lib:$LIBRARY_PATH
export PATH=$HOME/local/bin:$PATH

BLAS and LAPACK

The OpenBLAS library provides support for both BLAS and LAPACK.

  • Download and extract the source:


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wget https://github.com/OpenMathLib/OpenBLAS/releases/download/v0.3.28/OpenBLAS-0.3.28.tar.gz
tar -xvzf OpenBLAS-0.3.28.tar.gz
cd OpenBLAS-0.3.28
  • Install the code:


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make -j4
make install PREFIX=$HOME/local

Scotch

  • Download and extract the source:


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wget https://gitlab.inria.fr/scotch/scotch/-/archive/v7.0.7/scotch-v7.0.7.tar.gz
tar -xvzf scotch-v7.0.7.tar.gz
cd scotch-v7.0.7
  • Create a build directory:


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mkdir build && cd build
  • Configure the installation:


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cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/local -DCMAKE_POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE=ON -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-fPIC" -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-fPIC"
  • Install the code:


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make -j4 prefix=$HOME/local
make install

ARPACK

ARPACK is required for Linear Stability analysis in Nektar++. It depends on BLAS and LAPACK, so make sure they are installed.

Note:
This library is mandatory for the Linear Stability Solver of Nektar++. Enable NEKTAR_USE_ARPACK during Nektar++ configuration.

  • Download and extract the source:


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wget https://github.com/opencollab/arpack-ng/archive/refs/tags/3.9.1.tar.gz
tar -xvzf 3.9.1.tar.gz
cd arpack-ng-3.9.1
  • Create a build directory:


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mkdir build && cd build
  • Configure and install:


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cmake -DEXAMPLES=ON -DMPI=ON -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=$HOME/local ..
make
make install

OpenCascade (OCCT)

OpenCascade is required for mesh generation and optimization in Nektar++. It is optional if you disable NEKTAR_USE_MESHGEN.

Note:
You may skip this if you do not require mesh generation features.

  • Install OCCT dependencies:


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sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential cmake git \
    freeglut3-dev libx11-dev libxext-dev \
    libxt-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libglu1-mesa-dev \
    libfreetype6-dev libtbb-dev \
    libxmu-dev libxi-dev \
    libpng-dev libglfw3-dev \
    libeigen3-dev libfontconfig1-dev
  • Download and extract the source:


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wget https://github.com/Open-Cascade-SAS/OCCT/archive/refs/tags/V7_9_1.tar.gz
tar -xvzf V7_9_1.tar.gz && cd OCCT-7_9_1
  • Create a build directory:


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mkdir build && cd build
  • Configure the build:


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cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/local \
  -DBUILD_MODULE_Draw=OFF \
  -DBUILD_MODULE_ApplicationFramework=ON \
  -DBUILD_MODULE_DataExchange=ON \
  -DBUILD_MODULE_ModelingData=ON \
  -DBUILD_MODULE_ModelingAlgorithms=ON \
  -DBUILD_MODULE_Visualization=ON \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
  • Install the library:


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make -j4 install

Installing Nektar++

Download and extract the source:



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wget https://www.nektar.info/src/nektar%2B%2B-5.8.0.tar.gz
tar -xvzf nektar++-5.8.0.tar.gz

Create the build directory:



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cd nektar-v5.8.0 && mkdir -p build && cd build

Configure the installation

Initialize the configuration. This enforces the location of dependencies.



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cmake .. \
  -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$HOME/local \
  -DCMAKE_LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/local/lib:$HOME/local/lib64 \
  -DCMAKE_INCLUDE_PATH=$HOME/local/include \
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/local/nektar \
  -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=gcc \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=g++ \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_STANDARD=17 \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-std=c++17" \
  -DMPI_C_COMPILER=mpicc \
  -DMPI_CXX_COMPILER=mpicxx \
  -DNEKTAR_USE_MPI=ON

Modify the configuration:



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ccmake ../
  • Press c to configure.
  • Enable or disable solvers prefixed with NEKTAR_BUILD_.
  • Enable optional libraries prefixed with NEKTAR_USE_.
  • Press c again to configure.
  • Press g to generate makefiles.
CMake GUI used for configuring the installation.

Compile the code:



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make -j4 install

Add Nektar++ to PATH

After installation, add the bin and lib64 folders to your environment variables:



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export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/local/nektar/bin
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$HOME/local/nektar/lib64:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH