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McStas / McXtrace User Tools Cheat Sheet
Source: McCode/tools/Python (plus McCode/tools/matlab for the legacy Matlab/Octave/iFit variants)
Naming convention: almost everything named mc<something> on the McStas
side has a direct mx<something> counterpart on the McXtrace side, built
from the same source, with the neutron/photon ("particle") wording
and a few McStas-only options (e.g. --gravity, time-of-flight mode)
adjusted accordingly. Where a tool has several rendering variants
(html / matplotlib / pyqtgraph / webgl / ...), the variant is appended after
a dash, e.g. mcplot-html / mxplot-html.
On the commandline: Most tools accept --help
Tool-class pages
| Page | Covers |
|---|---|
| Code generators | mcstas/mcxtrace, mcstas-pygen/mcxtrace-pygen, mcstas-jupylab/mcxtrace-jupylab |
| mcgui | mcgui / mxgui |
| mcrun | mcrun / mxrun |
| mcplot family | mcplot / mxplot, mcplotdiff / mxplotdiff, mccoplot / mxcoplot — html / matplotlib / pyqtgraph / matlab variants |
| mcdisplay family | mcdisplay / mxdisplay — pyqtgraph (default) / matplotlib / webgl / webgl-classic / cad / matlab variants |
| mctest family | mctest / mxtest, mcviewtest / mxviewtest |
| mcdoc | mcdoc / mxdoc |
Quick reference: which tool for which job?
| I want to... | Use |
|---|---|
Compile an .instr file to C directly (rarely needed by hand) |
mcstas / mcxtrace |
Convert an .instr model to Python for use with McStasScript |
mcstas-pygen / mcxtrace-pygen |
| Explore an instrument interactively in Jupyter via McStasScript | mcstas-jupylab / mcxtrace-jupylab |
| Edit/compile/run instruments interactively | mcgui / mxgui |
| Run a simulation from the command line, or a parameter scan/optimisation | mcrun / mxrun |
| Plot one simulation's results | mcplot-{html,matplotlib,pyqtgraph} mxplot-{html,matplotlib,pyqtgraph} |
Compare exactly two simulations (a - b) |
mcplotdiff-{html,matplotlib,pyqtgraph} mxplotdiff-{html,matplotlib,pyqtgraph} |
| Overlay 2+ simulations for direct comparison | mccoplot-{html,matplotlib,pyqtgraph} mxcoplot-{html,matplotlib,pyqtgraph} |
| Visualise instrument geometry + particle trajectories | mcdisplay-{pyqtgraph,matplotlib,webgl,webgl-classic} mxdisplay-{pyqtgraph,matplotlib,webgl,webgl-classic} |
| Export instrument geometry to a CAD file | mcdisplay-cad mxdisplay-cad |
| Plot/display results in Matlab, Octave, or iFit instead | mcplot-matlab / mxplot-matlab mcdisplay-matlab / mxdisplay-matlab |
| Test/benchmark the whole instrument library against a McCode installation | mctest / mxtest |
Build a browsable pass/fail + diff report from mctest results |
mcviewtest / mxviewtest |
| Generate/browse instrument & component documentation | mcdoc / mxdoc |
