OpenIFS Home

What is OpenIFS

The OpenIFS programme at ECMWF provides academic and research institutions with an easy-to-use version of the ECMWF IFS (Integrated Forecasting System) (OpenIFS model), the single column model (SCM) and the offline-surface model (OSM). The OpenIFS model provides the full forecast capability of IFS, supporting software and documentation but without the data assimilation system. OpenIFS has a support team at ECMWF for technical assistance but limited resources for detailed scientific assistance.

About OpenIFS provides more information.

The OpenIFS models and accompanying software is intended for use on computers external to ECMWF, though member state users with time on ECMWF computers can use ECMWF systems.

Getting started

The OpenIFS models are free but require an OpenIFS license. Once a license is granted, download access is provided to the source code and accompanying files and tools. Full installation instructions are provided on this website. Note that other software packages are required to be installed. More information is provided on the following links:

Licensing : OpenIFS licensing, distribution & contribution agreement.
Prerequisites : Software tools/libraries assumed to be available on host systems.
User Guide: How to download, install and run OpenIFS.