---
tags:
  - Academic
catalog:
  name: AMS-GUI
  description: AMS integrated GUI
  license_type: Academic
  disciplines:
    - Chemistry
  available_on:
    - Puhti
    - Mahti
    - Roihu
---

# AMS-GUI

[AMS](ams.md) comes with an integrated GUI (Graphical User Interface)
that makes it easy to set up, run and analyze modelling tasks. You can test
the GUI via the supercomputer web interfaces, but for more extensive use we
recommend installing the GUI on your own laptop/workstation.

## License

See [the License section of AMS](ams.md#license).

## Usage

### Use via your browser

=== "Roihu-CPU"

    Go to the [Roihu web interface](../computing/webinterface/index.md) using
    a web browser and login using your CSC user account.

    1. From there [launch a Desktop](../computing/webinterface/desktop.md#launching).
       When launching, request a few CPU cores (e.g. 4) for your Desktop
       session if you intend to run short jobs directly from the GUI — this
       also makes the 3D display noticeably smoother.
    2. Open a `Terminal` and move to a suitable working directory.
    3. Load the AMS module `module load ams/2026.104`.
    4. Start the input builder `amsinput`. The startup may take some time, so
       please be patient.

        !!! info "Note"
            The message `Slurm setup failed: SLURM_TASKS_PER_NODE is not set`
            printed at startup is harmless and can be ignored.

    5. Build your job and save it (`File-> Run`).

    Short jobs can be started directly from the GUI (`File-> Run`), but longer
    jobs should be submitted to the batch queue. All saved jobs, both
    calculated and uncalculated, can be found in the GUI under `SCM-> Jobs`.
    Before you submit a job to the batch queue you have to define what
    resources it needs (time, memory, number of cores etc.)

    1. Under `SCM-> Jobs`, select `Queue -> New -> SLURM`
    2. `Queue Name: My_testqueue`. You can save queues with different names
       corresponding to different resource requests
    3. `Remote host:`. Leave empty
    4. `Remote user:`. Leave empty
    5. `Remote job directory:`. Leave empty
    6. `Run command: sbatch --partition=test --ntasks=8 --mem-per-cpu=1500M --account=<yourproject> --time=00:15:00 "$job"`
       Please replace `<yourproject>` with a proper project name. You can use
       the same command line options as in the
       [AMS batch script examples](ams.md#example-batch-scripts). Note that
       on Roihu memory is requested independently of the number of cores,
       e.g. with `--mem-per-cpu`.
    7. `Use Local Batch: yes`
    8. `Prolog command: export SCM_TMPDIR=/scratch/<yourproject>; source /appl/soft/manual/chem/x86_64/AMS/ams2026.104/ams_csc.bash`
       This initiates the AMS environment. Set `SCM_TMPDIR` to the scratch
       directory you want to use; if you belong to several projects, choose
       the appropriate `/scratch/project_XXXXXXX`.

    Select the job you want to submit (`SCM-> Jobs`), the queue you want to
    use (`Queue`) and submit the job `Job-> Run`.

=== "Puhti"

    !!! warning
        Puhti is being decommissioned in stages during 2026. New work should
        be started on Roihu.

    Go to [puhti.csc.fi](https://puhti.csc.fi) using a web browser and login
    using your CSC user account.

    1. From there [launch a Desktop](../computing/webinterface/desktop.md#launching).
    2. Open a `Terminal` and move to a suitable working directory.
    3. Load the AMS module `module load ams/2025.105`.
    4. Start the input builder `amsinput`. The startup may take some time, so
       please be patient.
    5. Build your job and save it (`File-> Save As ...`).

    Short jobs can be started directly from the GUI (`File-> Run`), but longer
    jobs should be submitted to the batch queue. All saved jobs, both
    calculated and uncalculated, can be found in the GUI under `SCM-> Jobs`.
    Before you submit a job to the batch queue you have to define what
    resources it needs (time, memory, number of cores etc.)

    1. Under `SCM-> Jobs`, select `Queue -> New -> SLURM`
    2. `Queue Name: My_testqueue`. You can save queues with different names
       corresponding to different resource requests
    3. `Remote host:`. Leave empty
    4. `Remote user:`. Leave empty
    5. `Remote job directory:`. Leave empty
    6. `Run command: sbatch --partition=test --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=40 --account=<yourproject> --time=00:10:00 "$job"`
       Please replace `<yourproject>` with a proper project name. You can use
       the same command line options as in a normal batch job script.
    7. `Use Local Batch: yes`
    8. `Prolog command: source /appl/profile/zz-csc-env.sh; module load ams/2025.105; export SCM_TMPDIR=$PWD; export FORT_TMPDIR=$SCM_TMPDIR`
       This initiates the AMS environment.

    Select the job you want to submit (`SCM-> Jobs`), the queue you want to
    use (`Queue`) and submit the job `Job-> Run`.

### Install your own GUI

The AMS license acquired by CSC allows CSC's academic customers to install the
AMS-GUI on their local computer. In this way the user can conveniently build
and set up a computing model. Once the model is ready, the actual computing
task is sent to and performed by CSC's servers. The results can then be
retrieved and analyzed on the local computer. Note that the license for the
local installation only covers the AMS-GUI, and it is only valid for academic
usage (not government or commercial research).

#### 1. Request credentials

Request the credentials for downloading the AMS-GUI from
[CSC Service Desk](../support/contact.md). Please include the tag `AMS-GUI`
in the subject field. Note that the license covers only academic usage at CSC
(not government or commercial research). The credentials will be reset every
6 months.

#### 2. Download

Get the right binary for your machine from
[the SCM website](https://www.scm.com/support/downloads/) using:

- **SCM User ID:** `<the User ID you got from servicedesk@csc.fi>`
- **Password:** `<the password you got from servicedesk@csc.fi>`

The download starts without entering a user ID and the password for users of
Safari on Mac.

#### 3. Install

*a. Windows:* run the exe with Administrator privileges, accepting all defaults.
*b. Mac:* open the dmg and drag the AMS2026.xxx item to the Applications directory.
*c. Linux:* untar the tgz and source the `amsbashrc.sh` in the AMS installation directory.

For more detailed information, see the
[AMS installation manual](https://www.scm.com/doc/Installation/index.html).

#### 4. Run

*a. Windows:* double-click the **AMSjobs** shortcut
*b. Mac:* run the **AMS2026.xxx** application
*c. Linux:* set up your environment (`source $HOME/ams2026.xxx/amsbashrc.sh`), run `amsjobs`

When you start AMS for the first time you will be prompted for your username,
password, and email address. The license should be automatically fetched from
the internet.

#### 5. Control batch jobs

In order to manage remote jobs you need to set up SSH access between your
workstation and the supercomputer, see
[Setting up SSH keys](../computing/connecting/ssh-keys.md).

!!! warning "Roihu requires SSH certificates"
    To connect to Roihu over SSH, you must
    [sign your public key in MyCSC](../computing/connecting/ssh-keys.md#signing-public-key)
    to obtain a time-based SSH certificate. Each certificate is valid for
    24 hours, after which it must be renewed. Plain public keys in
    `~/.ssh/authorized_keys` will **not** work on Roihu, so remote job
    management from the AMS-GUI only works while your certificate is valid.

All saved jobs, both calculated and uncalculated, can be found in the GUI
under `SCM-> Jobs`. Before you submit a job to the batch queue you have to
define what resources it needs (time, memory, number of cores etc.)

=== "Roihu-CPU"

    1. Select `Queue -> New -> SLURM`
    2. `Queue Name: My_testqueue`. You can save queues with different names
       corresponding to different resource requests
    3. `Remote host: roihu-cpu.csc.fi`.
    4. `Remote user: <your CSC username>`
    5. `Remote job directory: /scratch/<yourproject>`
    6. `Run command: sbatch --partition=test --ntasks=8 --mem-per-cpu=1500M --account=<yourproject> --time=00:15:00 "$job"`
       Please replace `<yourproject>` with a proper project name. You can use
       the same command line options as in the
       [AMS batch script examples](ams.md#example-batch-scripts).
    7. `Use Local Batch: no`
    8. `Prolog command: export SCM_TMPDIR=/scratch/<yourproject>; source /appl/soft/manual/chem/x86_64/AMS/ams2026.104/ams_csc.bash`

=== "Puhti"

    1. Select `Queue -> New -> SLURM`
    2. `Queue Name: My_testqueue`. You can save queues with different names
       corresponding to different resource requests
    3. `Remote host: puhti.csc.fi`.
    4. `Remote user: <your CSC username>`
    5. `Remote job directory: /scratch/<yourproject>`
    6. `Run command: sbatch --partition=test --nodes=1 --ntasks-per-node=40 --account=<yourproject> --time=00:10:00 "$job"`
       Please replace `<yourproject>` with a proper project name. You can use
       the same command line options as in a normal batch job script.
    7. `Use Local Batch: no`
    8. `Prolog command: source /appl/profile/zz-csc-env.sh;source /appl/soft/chem/AMS/ams2025.105/ams_csc.bash;export SCM_TMPDIR=/scratch/<yourproject>; export FORT_TMPDIR=$SCM_TMPDIR`
