Gmsh: a three-dimensional finite element mesh generator with built-in pre- and post-processing facilities

Christophe Geuzaine and Jean-François Remacle

Version 1.63, 29 January 2006

Description

Gmsh is an automatic 3D finite element grid generator (primarily Delaunay) with a build-in CAD engine and post-processor. Its design goal is to provide a simple meshing tool for academic problems with parametric input and advanced visualization capabilities.

Gmsh is built around four modules: geometry, mesh, solver and post-processing. The specification of any input to these modules is done either interactively using the graphical user interface or in ASCII text files using Gmsh's own scripting language.

See Gmsh's reference manual for a more thorough overview of Gmsh's capabilities.

Documentation

Reference manual (also available in postscript, pdf, text, html and info formats)
Graphical user interface tutorials:
- how to create a simple 2D model (also available in pdf format)
- how to visualize deformations (also available in pdf format)
- how to use post-processing plugins (also available in pdf format)
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Version history
Credits

We need your help to build a library of examples! (username: gmsh, password: wiki)

Mailing lists

gmsh is the public mailing list for Gmsh users. You should send all questions, bug reports, requests or pleas for changes related to Gmsh to this list. The list is archived here.
gmsh-announce is a moderated (i.e. "read-only") list for announcements about significant Gmsh events. You should subscribe to this list to get information about software releases, important bug fixes and other Gmsh-specific news. The list is archived here.

Download

Gmsh is distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). Pre-compiled binaries¹ are available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. The tutorial and demo files are included in the archives.

Older versions are also still available: sources, binaries. If you use Gmsh, we would appreciate if you could mention it in your work (books, articles, reports, etc.).

Authors and credits

Gmsh is developed by Christophe Geuzaine (currently with Case Western Reserve University) and Jean-François Remacle (currently with the Catholic University of Louvain). The CREDITS file has more information.

Please use gmsh@geuz.org to send questions or bug reports.

Licensing

In short, this means that everyone is free to use Gmsh and to redistribute it on a free basis. Gmsh is not in the public domain; it is copyrighted and there are restrictions on its distribution (see the license and its associated FAQ). For example, you cannot integrate this version of Gmsh (in full or in parts) in any closed-source software you plan to distribute (commercially or not).

If you want to integrate Gmsh into a closed-source software, or want to sell a modified closed-source version of Gmsh, please contact us in person. You can purchase a version of Gmsh under a different license, with "no strings attached" (for example allowing you to take parts of Gmsh and integrate them into your own proprietary code).

Screenshots

Various screen captures: pict1 (small), pict2 (small), pict3 (small), pict4 (small).
Mesh selection: pict1.
Mesh cut: pict1, pict2, pict3.
Streamlines: pict1, pict2 (P. Geuzaine).
Lenna as background mesh: pict1.
Turbomachine: pict1 (P. Geuzaine).
Parts of a magnetron: pict1, pict2, pict3, pict4 (P. Lefèvre).
Part of a shoulder bone: pict1, pict2, pict3, pict4, pict5, pict6 (J. Fatemi).
Circuit breaker: pict1 (S. K. Choi).
Clipping planes: pict1, pict2.
Mechanical part in the demo files: pict1, pict2, pict3.
Electrical machine: pict1 (J. Gyselinck).
Mach number on a Boeing 747: pict1 (P. Geuzaine).
Log-periodic antenna in the demo files: pict1.
Breads: pict1, pict2 (D. Colignon).
Various colormaps: pict1, pict2, pict3.
Structured and unstructured grids of an extruded geometry: pict1.

Links

Check out GetDP, a scientific computation software for the numerical solution of integro-differential equations, using finite element and integral type methods.

Gmsh can use Jonathan Shewchuk's Triangle as an alternative 2D mesh generator and Joachim Schöberl's Netgen as an alternative 3D mesh generator/optimizer.

Gmsh's high quality vector PostScript and PDF output is produced by GL2PS.

Gmsh's cross-platform graphical user interface is based on FLTK and OpenGL.

¹You need the OpenGL libraries installed on your system (and in the path of the library loader). A free replacement for OpenGL can be found at http://mesa3d.sourceforge.net. Remember that you may have to reconfigure the loader (ldconfig under Linux) or modify the LD_LIBRARY_PATH/SHLIB_PATH/etc. environment variable in order for Gmsh to find the libraries.

²You need the GSL (>= 1.2) and FLTK (1.1.x) libraries properly installed on your system in order to compile Gmsh. Non-graphical versions can be compiled without FLTK. Compiling the Windows version requires the Cygwin tools and compilers.

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