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XCONTROL(7) Manual Page

NAME

xcontrol - instruction file for `xtb(1)` version 6.0 and newer

SYNOPSIS

xtb -I,--input xcontrol FILE

DESCRIPTION

The xcontrol(7) instruction set is the successor of the set-block present in xtb(1) version 5.8 and earlier. The used instruction set is similar to the data groups in Turbomole or the detailed input structure of ORCA. Every instruction is started by a flag ($) and terminated by the next flag. A instruction is only valid if the flag is in the first column, the instruction name is the rest of the register. A valid instruction opens its blocks with its own options, every option is a key-value pair.

There are two kind of instructions, logical and groups. Logical instructions toggle a specific operation and cannot contain a option block while group instructions only open the option block without any further actions.

A special instruction is the end instruction which is optional, as EOF is a valid alternative in this implementation.

It should be noted that xtb(1) is able to produce xcontrol(7) instructions by itself. You can tell xtb(1) by --copy to save you original instructions, note that this implementation will strip all comments while copying (print what you see, not what you read), to aid debugging.

$fit

logical instruction to set xtb(1) in mfit(1) compatibility mode and prints out further informations. This is a pure development feature and therefore should be absent in every productive run.

$samerand

logical instruction to initialize the random number generator with the same sequence

$chrg int

set the charge of the molecule

$spin int

set Nalpha-Nbeta of the molecule

$cma

shifts molecule to center of mass and transforms cartesian coordinates into the coordinate system of the principle axis (not affected by ‘isotopes’-file).

$constrain

Note
This data group refers to constraining the gradient by appling potentials. Exact fixing is done with the fix data group.
force constant=real

force constant for constraining potential

all bonds=bool

generate potentials to constrain the length of all bonds

all angles=bool

generate potentials to constrain all bond angles

all torsions=bool

generate potentials to constrain the angles of all torsions

elements: symbol|number,…​

constrains all elements of the same type, the atom type is determined by the ordinal number or the element symbol

atoms: list,…​

constrains the atom positions of all atoms in list. Needs at least two atoms since potential is applied on all atoms in list.

distance: i,j,auto|real

constrain the distance between atom i and j to the actual length (auto) or the value real, which has to be given in Ångström.

angle: i,j,k,auto|real

constrain the angle between atom i, j and k to the actual length (auto) or the value real, which has to be given in degrees.

dihedral: i,j,k,l,auto|real

constrain the angle between atom i, j, k and l to the actual length (auto) or the value real, which has to be given in degrees.

center: real,int

implemented and documented as in xtb 5.8, might use fragment1 information from split instruction.

cma[ interface]: auto|real

implemented and documented as in xtb 5.8, might use fragment1/fragment2 information from split instruction.

z: real

implemented and documented as in xtb 5.8, might use fragment1 information from split instruction.

$cube

step=real

grid spacing for cube file

pthr=real

density matrix neglect threshold

boff=real

grid boundary offset (default: 3.0)

cal=int

=1 switches on cube-file output (=0 means writing molden file instead, -1=do nothing)

$embedding

at=int

default atom type for point charges

es=bool

use isotropic electrostatic with point charges

input=file

point charges are read from file (default: pcharge), format is: q x y z [iat|gam], where q is the partial charges, xyz are the position of the partial charge in bohr and iat is the ordinal number of the atom. The corresponding gam-Parameter of the element will be used in the potential. Alternatively the gam value can be given directly as fifth argument, to simulate point charges provide a huge value for gam.

gradient='file

gradient of the point charges is written to file (default: pcgrad)

$external

mopac bin=STRING

path to mopac(1) binary, will search PATH variable for binary if not set

mopac input=STRING

input string used for mopac(1) calculation, make sure it generates an aux file for xtb(1) to read in.

mopac file=STRING

name of the mopac(1) input file

orca bin=STRING

path to orca(1) binary, will search PATH variable for binary if not set

orca input line=STRING

input string used for orca(1) calculation, will use engrad runtyp by default

orca input file=STRING

name of the orca(1) input file

turbodir=STRING

path to your Turbomole directory (usually found in TURBODIR or TURBOIMG variable)

$fix

Note
the fix group refers to exact fixing. For geometry optimizations the gradient is set to zero, while for Hessians no displacements are calculated. Constraining with external potentials is done by the constrain data group.
elements: symbol|number,…​

fixes all elements of the same type, the atom type is determined by the ordinal number or the element symbol. This is automatically deactivated for molecular dynamics since it leads to instabilities.

atoms: list,…​

fixes all atoms in list by setting the gradient to zero. This is automatically deactivated for molecular dynamics since it leads to instabilities.

freeze frequency=real

diagonal element used for freezing atoms in numerical Hessian calculation

freeze: list,…​

freezes all atoms in list for hessian calculation

shake: i,j,…​

use SHAKE to constrain the atompair ij in molecular dynamics.

$gbsa

solvent=string

solvent for the generalized born (GB) model with solvent accessable surface area (SASA), requires .param_gbsa.solvent in XTBPATH. Does not activate GBSA (use commandline).

ion_st=real

ion strength for salt screening in GBSA

ion_rad=real

ion radius for salt screening in GBSA

grid=level

changes the grid used for the surface accessable surface area (normal, tight, vtight, extreme are available).

$gfn

method=int

version of the GFN Hamiltonian

dispscale=real

Scale dispersion energy of GFN-FF

$hess

sccacc=real

SCC accuracy level in Hessian runs

step=real

Cartesian displacement increment for numerical Hessian

scale=real

Scaling factor for the hessian elements (default: 1.0)

element mass: int,real,…​

set mass of elements int to real

isotope: int,real,…​ (6.1 only)

set mass of atom number int to real

modify mass: int,real,…​ (6.1 only)

set mass of atom number int to real

scale mass: int,real,…​ (6.1 only)

scale mass of atom number int by real

$metadyn (6.1 only)

save=int

maximal number of structures for rmsd criteria

kpush=real,…​

scaling factor for rmsd criteria can be positive and negative

modify factor=int,real,…​

replace the factor int with real

scale factor=int,real,…​

scales the factor int with real

alp=real

width of the Gaussian potential used in the rmsd criteria

coord=file

external structures to initialize the rmsd criteria (xmol format required)

atoms: list,…​

atoms to include in rmsd calculation, if not present all atoms are taken into account

rmsd: real,…​

target rmsd for biased hessian runs in Ångström

bias input=file

read static bias from file, requires xyz format with factor and width of the potential in the comment line

bias atoms: list,…​

atoms to include in static rmsd calculation, if not present all atoms are taken into account

bias elements: id,…​

elements to include in static rmsd calculation, if not present all atoms are taken into account. Elements can be referenced by their element symbol or their atomic number.

$md

temp=real

MD thermostat/GBSA temperature

time=real

MD run time in ps

dump=real

dump structure in every dump fs

sdump=real

dump structure as scoord.<num> every sdump fs

velo=int

set to 1 if dumps (trj file) should contain velocities

nvt=int

use thermostat (=1, =0 for NVE)

skip=int

skip interval in -mdav, -mdopt

step=real

MD time step in fs (automatically determined if < 0), could be 4-5 fs with shake =2, md_hmass=4

hmass=int

increase hydrogen mass to this value in amu (at const. tot. mass) allowing large time steps (=0 off)

shake=int

shake on (=0: off which is default) for X-H bonds only (=1),

sccacc=real

SCC accuracy level in MD. Every 10th step the SCC is properly converged at sccconv=1.0. sccmd should be < 5 in critical cases, effects may show up as bad thermostating

forcewrrestart=logical

forces the writing of a restart file at each dump step

$modef

n=int

of points along normal mode path scan

step=real

step lengths for scan (should be around 1 because its adjusted internally to mode mass and FC)

updat=real

update search mode with a fraction of the displacement at every step (0.0 means no update, 0.1-0.2 is a good choice)

local=int

use canonical normal modes (=0) or Pipek-Mezey localized ones (=1)

vthr=real

threshold up to which frequency modes are used for mode based conformer search (def. is 300)

prj=int

number of second mode which should be projected out in mode following (normally = 7 ie the TS mode which is fixed then)

mode=int

can set by --modef via cmdline

$oniom

inner logs=bool

to print optimization log files for model region geometry (high.inner_region.log and low.inner_region.log)

derived k=bool

to calculate prefactor k and create jacobian dynamically (see more )

ignore topo=bool

to bypass topology check when breaking bonds

outer=bool

to saturate outer region

silent=bool

to hide the execution runs of external software

$opt

engine=method

method can be rf for ANCopt (default), lbfgs for L-ANCopt or inertial for FIRE.

output=file

redirect output of optimization to file

logfile='file

write optimization log to file (default: xtbopt.log)

optlevel=level

convergence thresholds for the ancopt(3): crude = -3, sloppy = -2, loose = -1, normal = 0, tight = 1, verytight = 2, extreme = 3

microcycle=int

number of optimization cycles before new ANC are made (default=25)

maxcycle=int

total number of opt. cycles, 0 means automatically determined

hlow=real

lowest force constant in ANC generation (should be > 0.005)

maxdispl=real

maximum coordinate displacement in ancopt(3)

average conv=bool

average the energy and gradient before checking for convergence to accelerate numerically noisy potential energy surfaces (default: false).

s6=real

dispersion scaling in ANC generation

hessian=lindh-d2|lindh|swart

model hessian for generation of ANC used in optimization

kstretch=real

stretch force constant in model hessian

kbend=real

bend force constant in model hessian

ktorsion=real

torsion force constant in model hessian

koutofp=real

out-of-plain force constant to model hessian

kvdw=real

additional vdW-contribution (lindh|swart only)

kes=real

electrostatic contribution to model hessian by EEQ model

rcut=real

distance cutoff for bonds in model hessian

exact rf=bool

use better solver during the rational function optimization

$path (6.1 only)

nrun=int

number of runs for pathfinder

nopt=int

number of points on the path to optimize

anopt=int

number of steps to optimize the points on the path

kpush=real

factor for RMSD criterium pushing away from the reactant structure

kpull=real

factor for RMSD criterium pulling towards the product structure

alp=real

width of the RMSD criterium

product=file

file name of the product structure

$scan

mode=sequential|concerted

scans all constraints at once (concerted) or after each other (sequential). in sequential mode the final value of the scanned constraint is kept in place. in concerted mode all steps for the scans have to be the same.

int: start,end,steps

where start and end are real values and steps is an integer value. Defines a scan along constraint int (which has to be defined before, of course), from start to end in a certain number of steps. There is no limitation in the number of steps as in 5.8.

name: values; start,end,steps

defines the constrain name on which the scan is performed. See above and the the constrain group for more information, since name (e.g. distance) and values (e.g. i,j,value) are handed internally to the constrain parser.

Note
the scan parser will always terminate in error if the instruction could not be parsed correctly, while the constrain parser is able to skip instructions with wrong input by raising a warning.

$scc

temp, etemp=real

electronic temperature for the Fermi smearing

broydamp=real

damping for the Broyden convergence accelerator

guess=gasteiger|goedecker|sad

different possible guess charges for GFN2-xTB SCC calculation

iterations, maxiterations=int

adjusts the number of SCC iterations in the first/last SCC calculation

$split

fragment1: list,…​

defines atoms belonging to fragment 1

fragment2: list,…​

defines atoms belonging to fragment 2

fragment: i,list,…​

defines atoms belonging to fragment i

$stm (6.1 only)

activate by $write/stm=true

broadening=real

width of tip DOS energy broadening (eV)

current=real

constant current value (arb.u.)

grid=real

grid width (Bohr), half that value along Z

thr=real

integral and density matrix neglect threshold

potential=real

potential of tip vs. molecule, negative values let e flow from mol to tip i.e. occ space of mol is probed

$symmetry

desy=real

point group symmetrization threshold

maxat=int

point group determination skipped if # atoms > this value (i.e. desymaxat 0 switches it off)

$thermo

temp=real

temperature for thermostatistical calculation (default: 298.15 K)

imagthr=real

threshold for inverting imaginary frequencies for thermo in cm-1 (default: -20.0)

scale=real

scaling factor for frequencies in vibrational partition function (default: 1.0)

sthr=real

rotor cut-off (cm-1) in thermo (default: 50.0)

$wall

potential=logfermi|polynomial

sets kind of wall potential used (default: polynomial)

alpha=int

exponent of polynomial wall potential (default: 30)

beta=real

exponent of logfermi bias potential (default: 6.0)

autoscale=real

scales axis of automatic determined wall potentials by real

axisshift=real

constant offset used in automatic dermined wall potential axis (default: 3.5)

temp=real

temperature of the logfermi wall (default: 300.0 K), wall energy of logfermi is multiplied with kT.

sphere: auto|real,all|list,…​

set up a spherical wall potential for all or the atoms in list with the radius real or an automatical determined sphere radius

ellipsoid: auto|real,auto|real,auto|real,all|list,…​

set up a ellipsoid wall potential for all or the atoms in list with the radii real or an automatical determined sphere radius If auto is chosen for axes, sphere potential is applied, no ellipsoid!!!

sandwich: auto|real,all|list,…​

set up a sandwich wall potential for all or the atoms in list with the radius real or an automatical determined sandwich radius in Bohr Only potential=logfermi ist available. diameter=2*radius+2*4A safety buffer

$write

esp=bool

calculate and print electrostatic potential, this will create a data file and a cosmo file

gridfile=file

read gridpoints for ESP calculation from file.

mos=bool

print molden file

lmo=bool

localize orbitals and print out LMO centers

density=bool

calculate density on a cube grid

spin population=bool

spin population analysis

spin density=bool

calculate spin density on a cube grid

fod=bool

calculate FOD on a cube grid (set electronic temperature to at least 12500 K)

wiberg=bool

calculate and print Wiberg bond order

dipole=bool

calculate and print dipole moment

charges=bool

print charges file

mulliken=bool

print mulliken population analysis

orbital energies=bool

print orbital energies and occupation numbers

stm=bool

creates an STM image of the molecule, see stm group (6.1 only)

geosum=bool

old style geometry summary

inertia=bool

geometry summary on moments on inertia and rotational constants (available with --define)

distances=bool

geometry summary on distances and bonds (available with --define)

angles=bool

geometry summary on angles (available with --define)

torsions=bool

geometry summary on dihedral angles and torsions (available with --define)

vib_normal_modes=bool

write normal modes as Turbomole vibrational modes data group

hessian.out=bool

write DFTB+ style hessian.out file containing the unprojected hessian

LEGACY

To ensure compatibility with older versions of the xtb(1) prior to version 6.0 a group instruction set is allowed which accepts the same syntax as the original set-block. Here we provide a list of set-block commands and their corresponding instructions in xcontrol(7).

Note
xtb(1) can read a set-block by itself and will print out a equivalent instruction set. This feature will be deprecated in future versions since the set-block is less flexible than xcontrol(7) and might be deactived without prior announcement!
broydamp

use broydamp in scc group instead

chrg, charge

use chrg logical instead

constrainallbo, constralltbo

currently not supported

constrainalltors, constralltors

currently not supported

constrain

use constrain group instead

constrainel

currently not supported

constrfc

use force constant in constrain group instead

constrxyz

use atoms in fix group instead

cube_cal

use cal in cube group instead

cube_pthr

use pthr in cube group instead

cube_step

use step in cube group instead

desymaxat

use maxat in symmetry group instead

desy

use desy in symmetry group instead

ellips

use ellipsoid in wall group instead

etemp

use temp in scc group instead

ex_open_HS

currently not supported

ex_open_LS

currently not supported

fit

use fit logical instead

fix

use atoms in fix/constrain group instead

fixfc

use force constant in constrain group instead

fragment1

use fragment1 in split group instead

fragment2

use fragment1 in split group instead

gbsa

use solvent in gbsa group instead

gfnver

use version in gfn group instead

hessa

currently not supported

hessf

use freeze in fix group instead

hlowopt

use hlow in opt group instead

ion_rad

use ion_rad in gbas group instead

ion_st

use ion_st in gbsa group instead

maxdispl

use maxdipl in opt group instead

maxopt

use maxcycle in opt group instead

mddumpxyz

use dump in md group instead

md_hmass

use hmass in md group instead

mdskip

use skip in md group instead

mdstep

use step in md group instead

mdtemp

use temp in md group instead

mdtime

use time in md group instead

microopt

use mircocycle in opt group instead

mode_local

use local in modef group instead

mode_n

use n in modef group instead

mode_prj

use prj in *modef group instead

mode_step

use step in modef group instead

mode_updat

use updat in modef group instead

mode_vthr

use vthr in modef group instead

nvt

use nvt in md group instead

optlev

use optlevel in opt group intead

orca_exe

currently not supported

orca_line

currently not supported

orca_mpi

currently not supported

restartmd, mdrestart

use restart in md group

runtyp

please use the commandline instead, might still work

s6opt

use s6 in opt group instead

samerand

use samerand logical instead

scan

use scan group instead

scchess

use sccacc in hess group instead

sccmd

use sccacc in md group instead

shake

use shake in md group instead

sphere

use sphere in sphere group instead

springexp

use springexp in fix group instead

stephess

use step in *hess group instead

thermo_sthr

use sthr in thermo group instead

thermo

use temp in thermo group instead

uhf

use uhf logical instead

velodump

use velo in md group instead

BUGS

Please report all bugs with an example input, --copy dump of internal settings and the used geometry, as well as the --verbose output to xtb@thch.uni-bonn.de

RESOURCES

COPYING

Copyright (C) 2015-2020 S. Grimme. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0).