Skip to the navigation links
Search the CIAO website or contact the CXC HelpDesk
Last modified: 2 February 2010

URL: http://cxc.harvard.edu/ciao4.2/download/index.html

Downloading CIAO 4.2

WHAT'S NEW | WATCH OUT

The ciao-install script is designed to simplify and automate the installation and upgrade of the CIAO and the Chandra Calibration DataBase (CALDB).

ciao-install FTPs the selected files to your computer, verifies them via md5sum, and unpacks them. The script configures CIAO, sets up the command-line ahelp system, and (optionally) runs the CIAO smoke tests.

The ciao-install.README file had detailed information on the script. For a summary of options, run the script with the "--help" option.

Quick Installation | Custom Installation

Quick Installation

This method allows ciao-install to determine what platform you are using, then downloads and installs the standard CIAO installation: CIAO tools, ChIPS and Sherpa, the CALDB (except for ACIS blank-sky files and the PSF libraries), and the contributed science scripts.

This option will not choose one of the beta 64-bit builds even if you are on a 64-bit system. To install 64-bit CIAO, use the Custom Installation option.

  2. Run the script: 

    unix% bash /<path>/ciao-install

    For detailed instructions, refer to the ciao-install thread page.

Custom Installation

Select the CIAO and CALDB packages you need, then download the custom ciao-install script to install them.

Step 1: Choose a Platform

The default setting - "Autodetect Platform" - allows ciao-install to determine what platform you are using and to select the appropriate build of CIAO. The autodetect option will not choose one of the beta 64-bit builds even if you are on a 64-bit system; you must select it manually from the menu.

The Platform Support page has more information on the officially supported CIAO platforms.

Step 2: Customize your Software Installation

Standard CIAO installation
  • Selects a complete binary installation of CIAO tools, ChIPS and Sherpa, the CALDB (except for ACIS blank-sky files and the PSF libraries), and the contributed science scripts.
Binary Packages
  • CIAO analysis tools
  • Sherpa modeling and fitting package
  • Chips plotting package
  • Prism file-browsing GUI
  • Observation Visualizer (ObsVis) for proposal planning
Calibration Database (CALDB)

The CALDB contains all the calibration files required for Chandra data analysis.

  • CALDB v4.2.0
  • ACIS blank-sky background files
  • ACIS PSF libraries
  • HRC PSF libraries
Contributed Science Scripts

The contributed science tarfile contains analysis scripts and modules that extend the functionality of CIAO.

  • Contributed Scripts
Source Build

The source build option is for users who wish to compile CIAO themselves. Refer to the 4.2 INSTALL_SOURCE file for instructions and the bug page for known source build issues.

  • Full source build
  • Source files for the selected binary packages

Step 3: Download the Installation Script

If a version of ciao-install exists in your download directory, some browsers will save the new script with a number in filename, e.g. "ciao-install(2)". Be sure you are running the newest download of your script.

Run the script: 

unix% bash /<path>/ciao-install

For detailed instructions, refer to the ciao-install thread page.


Last modified: 2 February 2010