pymapdl-cli

PyMAPDL CLI

The pymapdl CLI lets you manage MAPDL instances and execute APDL commands directly from the terminal. It is installed automatically with the ansys-mapdl-core Python package and requires the click dependency (included by default).

A typical session looks like this:

pymapdl start                          # launch a solver instance
pymapdl exec -c /prep7 -c "K,1,0,0,0" # send commands to it
pymapdl exec --file model.inp          # or send a whole script
pymapdl stop                           # shut it down

All commands print human-readable output to stdout and errors to stderr. Exit code is 0 on success, 1 on failure.

Commands at a glance

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pymapdl start

Launch a new MAPDL gRPC server. Prints the IP, port, and PID on success.

pymapdl start [OPTIONS]

Key options

Example — start on a custom port with 4 CPUs:

pymapdl start --port 50055 --nproc 4
# Success: Launched an MAPDL instance (PID=12345) at 127.0.0.1:50055

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pymapdl stop

Stop running MAPDL instances. By default targets port 50052.

pymapdl stop [OPTIONS]

Options

Examples:

pymapdl stop                  # stop instance on default port 50052
pymapdl stop --port 50055     # stop instance on port 50055
pymapdl stop --pid 12345      # stop a specific process tree
pymapdl stop --all            # stop all MAPDL processes

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pymapdl list

List MAPDL processes currently running on the machine.

pymapdl list [OPTIONS]

Options

Example:

pymapdl list -i
# Name          Status    gRPC port    PID
# ANSYS241.exe  running       50052  41644

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pymapdl exec

Send APDL commands to an already running MAPDL instance and print the solver output. This command never starts a new instance — use pymapdl start first.

pymapdl exec [OPTIONS] [-]

Three input modes (mutually exclusive)

1. Repeated -c / --command (recommended for scripting and LLM use):

   pymapdl exec -c /prep7 -c "BLOCK,0,1,0,1,0,1" -c SAVE
   

   Each -c value is one APDL command. They are joined with newlines and sent as a single input_strings() block for maximum performance.

2. File with --file / -f:

   pymapdl exec --file model.inp
   

3. Stdin by passing - as a positional argument:

   # Linux / macOS
   cat model.inp | pymapdl exec -
   
   # Windows PowerShell
   Get-Content model.inp | pymapdl exec -
   

Options

Behavior notes

• Successive calls share state. Because --clear-on-connect is off by default, you can split a workflow across multiple pymapdl exec invocations and the model/mesh/results persist between them.
• Output goes to stdout, errors to stderr — ideal for piping, logging, or LLM consumption.
• Windows paths are safe. Backslash sequences like C:\new\file are preserved verbatim; no mangling occurs.

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pymapdl convert

Convert an APDL script to a PyMAPDL Python script.

pymapdl convert [OPTIONS]

Key options

Example:

pymapdl convert -f model.inp -o model.py

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Environment variables

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Common workflows

Interactive modeling session

pymapdl start --port 50055
pymapdl exec --port 50055 -c /prep7
pymapdl exec --port 50055 -c "ET,1,186" -c "BLOCK,0,1,0,1,0,1" -c "VMESH,ALL"
pymapdl exec --port 50055 --file boundary_conditions.inp
pymapdl exec --port 50055 -c /solu -c SOLVE
pymapdl stop --port 50055

Run a full script in one shot

pymapdl start
pymapdl exec --file full_model.inp
pymapdl stop

Pipe commands from another tool

# Generate APDL dynamically and pipe it in
python generate_mesh.py | pymapdl exec -

Fresh database each time

pymapdl exec --clear-on-connect -c /prep7 -c "K,1,0,0,0"