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CLI

lst-tools provides the lst-tools command-line interface for the full LST workflow.

General Usage

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lst-tools [options] <subcommand> [<args>]

Global options:

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lst-tools --version
lst-tools --verbose
lst-tools --debug

Show version:

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lst-tools --version

Get help for any subcommand:

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lst-tools <subcommand> --help

Subcommands

init

Generate a default configuration file:

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# create default lst.cfg
lst-tools init

# pre-populate geometry defaults
lst-tools init --geometry cone

# specify output path
lst-tools init --out myconfig.cfg

# merge with flow_conditions.dat
lst-tools init --flow flow_conditions.dat

# overwrite existing config
lst-tools init --force

lastrac

Convert the HDF5 base flow to LASTRAC format:

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lst-tools lastrac

# explicit config path
lst-tools lastrac --cfg myconfig.cfg

setup parsing

Generate input decks for the LST parsing (initial frequency/wavenumber sweep):

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lst-tools setup parsing

# auto-fill parameters (x_s, x_e, i_step, f_min, f_max, d_f, etc.) from the meanflow
lst-tools setup parsing --auto-fill

# auto-fill and overwrite existing values
lst-tools setup parsing --auto-fill --force

# write input deck into another directory/name
lst-tools setup parsing --out runs --name lst_input.dat

setup tracking

Set up tracking calculations (directory structure and input decks):

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lst-tools setup tracking

# auto-fill parameters from the meanflow
lst-tools setup tracking --auto-fill

# auto-fill and overwrite existing values
lst-tools setup tracking --auto-fill --force

# set a fixed initialization frequency
lst-tools setup tracking --finit 120000.0

setup spectra

Generate input decks for spectral analysis at multiple streamwise locations:

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lst-tools setup spectra

# explicit config path
lst-tools setup spectra --cfg myconfig.cfg

process tracking

Post-process tracking calculation results (ridge maxima + optional 3-D volume):

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lst-tools process tracking

# only maxima extraction
lst-tools process tracking --maxima

# only volume assembly
lst-tools process tracking --volume

# process selected kc directories (repeat --dir)
lst-tools process tracking --dir kc_10pt00 --dir kc_20pt00

# enable/disable sub-grid interpolation explicitly
lst-tools process tracking --interpolate
lst-tools process tracking --no-interpolate

process spectra

Post-process spectra calculation results:

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lst-tools process spectra

visualize parsing

Render parsing contours via the cfd-viz LST renderer:

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# use default parsing file and defaults
lst-tools visualize parsing

# explicit input/output paths
lst-tools visualize parsing \
    --input growth_rate_with_nfact_amps.dat \
    --out alpi_contours_parsing

# render one selected k-plane only
lst-tools visualize parsing --single-k --k-index 1

# choose contour policy and level count
lst-tools visualize parsing \
    --levels-policy positive-rounded \
    --levels-count 60

visualize tracking

Render tracking volume contours via the same cfd-viz backend:

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# use default tracking volume file and defaults
lst-tools visualize tracking

# explicit input/output paths
lst-tools visualize tracking \
    --input lst_vol.dat \
    --out viz_tracking

# custom field and variable mapping
lst-tools visualize tracking \
    --field "-im(alpha)" \
    --xvar s \
    --yvar "freq,freq." \
    --kvar beta

Tracking fallback behavior:

  1. If lst_vol.dat exists, lst-tools visualize tracking renders directly from it.
  2. If lst_vol.dat is missing, it discovers kc_* directories and reads growth_rate_with_nfact_amps.dat from each completed case.
  3. In fallback mode, output PNGs are written to alpi_contours_tracking/ in the current working directory with a shared contour scale across all discovered cases.

Note

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The `visualize` wrappers call `cfd-viz` internally. Install `cfd-viz`
in the same Python environment as `lst-tools`.

hpc

Generate run scripts for HPC systems:

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lst-tools hpc

# explicit config path
lst-tools hpc --cfg myconfig.cfg

info

Inspect a LASTRAC meanflow binary:

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lst-tools info meanflow.bin

clean parsing

Remove parsing-generated artifacts from one directory:

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lst-tools clean parsing --dir .
lst-tools clean parsing --dir . --force

clean tracking

Remove solver artifacts from tracking case directories:

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# clean all kc_* directories in current directory
lst-tools clean tracking --force

# clean selected directories only
lst-tools clean tracking --dir kc_10pt00 --dir kc_20pt00 --force

clean spectra

Remove spectra setup outputs:

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lst-tools clean spectra --dir . --force

Typical Workflow

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# 1. initialize config
lst-tools init --geometry cone

# 2. convert base flow to LASTRAC format
lst-tools lastrac

# 3. run parsing sweep
lst-tools setup parsing --auto-fill

# 4. set up and run tracking
lst-tools setup tracking --auto-fill

# 5. post-process tracking results
lst-tools process tracking --interpolate

# 6. set up and run spectra
lst-tools setup spectra

# 7. post-process spectra results
lst-tools process spectra