What are Modules?

Environment Modules - (referred to as just Modules) is the system the cluster uses to select which software to use. It also allows you to choose which version if multiple versions of a given software exist. Modules does this by adding software paths to your environment PATH variable.

1. Using Pre-Installed Software in Modules

All software on the cluster that is installed by DiscoveryIT staff is available via a tool called “modules”.

A. To view all available modules run the command:

module avail

B. Access Software in Modules

To load a module, the command will follow a format like the line below.

module load {MODULE_NAME}

Where your module name is one from the list of available modules. You’ll just need to replace {MODULE_NAME} with the name and version of the module you want. For example, I could load cuda-11-8 with this command:

module load cuda_11_8

To view all the loaded programs, you can run the command:

module list

C. Unload Software in Modules

If you no longer want to use a specific software installation, you can “unload” the software module with the following command:

module unload {MODULE_NAME}

If you want to clear your command line environment and start over, run the following:

module purge