CLI Reference
Synopsis
aseview [OPTIONS] FILES...
Arguments
| Argument |
Description |
FILES |
One or more input files in any ASE-supported format (xyz, cif, pdb, vasp, etc.) |
Options
| Option |
Short |
Description |
Default |
--index |
-i |
Index or slice for trajectory selection |
All frames |
--format |
-f |
Force file format (auto-detected if not specified) |
Auto |
Index Examples
| Value |
Description |
0 |
First frame only |
-1 |
Last frame only |
: |
All frames |
0:10 |
Frames 0-9 |
::2 |
Every 2nd frame |
10:20:2 |
Frames 10-19, step 2 |
-10: |
Last 10 frames |
Viewer Options
| Option |
Short |
Description |
Default |
--viewer |
-v |
Viewer type: molecular, overlay, normal, frag |
Auto-selected |
Viewer Auto-Selection
- Multiple files →
overlay
- Single file with
--hess → normal
- Otherwise →
molecular
FragSelector (-v frag)
frag is never auto-selected and must be requested explicitly.
When a multi-frame file is provided only the first frame is used.
Style Options
| Option |
Description |
Default |
--style |
Visual style |
cartoon |
Available Styles
| Style |
Description |
default |
Standard CPK coloring |
cartoon |
Cartoon style with black bonds |
neon |
Glowing neon effect |
glossy |
Shiny reflective surface |
metallic |
Metallic appearance |
rowan |
Rowan-inspired style |
grey |
Greyscale rendering |
Overlay Options
| Option |
Description |
Default |
--cmap |
Colormap for gradient coloring |
None |
Available Colormaps
| Colormap |
Description |
viridis |
Perceptually uniform (blue → green → yellow) |
plasma |
Perceptually uniform (purple → orange → yellow) |
coolwarm |
Diverging (blue → white → red) |
jet |
Rainbow (blue → cyan → yellow → red) |
rainbow |
Full spectrum |
grayscale |
Black to white |
Normal Mode Options
| Option |
Description |
Default |
--hess |
Path to Hessian file (ORCA .hess format) |
None |
Fragment Selector Options
| Option |
Short |
Description |
Default |
--bond-threshold |
-bt |
Bond detection scale factor (covalent-radii sum multiplier) |
1.2 |
Output Options
| Option |
Short |
Description |
Default |
--output |
-o |
Save HTML to file instead of serving |
None |
--port |
-p |
HTTP server port |
8080 |
--no-browser |
|
Don't open browser automatically |
False |
Utility Options
| Option |
Short |
Description |
Default |
--kill |
-k |
Kill existing process on port before starting |
False |
--help |
-h |
Show help message |
|
Examples
Basic Viewing
# Single structure
aseview molecule.xyz
# Crystal structure
aseview structure.cif
# Specific style
aseview molecule.xyz --style neon
Trajectory
# All frames with animation
aseview trajectory.xyz
# Subset of frames
aseview trajectory.xyz -i 0:100:5
# Save as HTML
aseview trajectory.xyz -o trajectory.html
Overlay Comparison
# Compare two structures
aseview reactant.xyz product.xyz
# Trajectory overlay with colormap
aseview optimization.xyz -v overlay --cmap viridis
# Multiple files
aseview conf1.xyz conf2.xyz conf3.xyz --cmap plasma
Normal Modes
# ORCA Hessian
aseview molecule.xyz --hess orca.hess
# Explicit viewer type
aseview molecule.xyz --hess orca.hess -v normal
Fragment Selector
# Open interactive 2D+3D fragment selector
aseview molecule.xyz -v frag
# Adjust bond detection threshold
aseview molecule.xyz -v frag --bond-threshold 1.4
# Save as standalone HTML (open in browser later)
aseview molecule.xyz -v frag -o selector.html
Server Options
# Custom port
aseview molecule.xyz -p 9000
# Kill existing server first
aseview molecule.xyz -k -p 8080
# No auto-open browser
aseview molecule.xyz --no-browser
SSH Forwarding
# Server side
aseview molecule.xyz -p 8080 --no-browser
# Client side
ssh -L 8080:localhost:8080 user@server
# Then open http://localhost:8080 in browser