Getting Started

This tutorial is intended for someone that has never used STEPWAT2 before. If you have used STEPWAT2 and want to learn more about creating custom simulations I suggest you check out the modules page.

What you will do

By the end of this tutorial you will know how to compile and execute both the gridded mode and the non-gridded mode of STEPWAT2.

What you will need

A computer running either OSX or Linux. If you are on windows additional steps are required
GNU make. This comes pre-installed on virtually every computer, but make sure you have the latest version.
The STEPWAT2 source code. Click here if you are unfamiliar with how to download software on GitHub.

Running non-gridded mode

From the command line navigate to your STEPWAT2 directory.
Compile the source code using make:

make

Once the compilation is complete, navigate to the non-gridded directory:

cd testing.sagebrush.master/Stepwat_Inputs

Run STEPWAT2 with a progress bar:

./stepwat -f files.in -p

The program should take a few minutes to complete. The -p flag you used will print a progress bar to the terminal to give you an idea of how much longer it will take.
One the program is done you can view the output in the Output folder:

cd Output/

Inside the Output folder you should see files for biomass and mortality statistics.
And just like that, you have successfully run STEPWAT2 non-gridded mode!

Running gridded mode

From the command line navigate to your STEPWAT2 directory.
Compile the source code using make: (Note that you do not have to use make if you already compiled the program for non-gridded mode)

make

Once the compilation is complete, navigate to the gridded mode directory:

cd testing.sagebrush.master/

Run STEPWAT2 in gridded mode with a progress bar:

./stepwat -f files.in -g -p

The program should take a few minutes to complete. The -p flag you used will print a progress bar to the terminal to give you an idea of how much longer it will take.
One the program is done you can view the output in the Output folder:

cd Output/

Inside the Output folder you should see files for biomass and mortality statistics.
And just like that, you have successfully run STEPWAT2 gridded mode!

Next Steps

Now that you have STEPWAT2 working you probably want to modify the input parameters to run a unique simulation. See the Modules page to learn what can be customized in STEPWAT2.