Command Line

The moldenViz CLI offers a fast way to inspect Molden files and explore bundled examples. Run moldenViz -h for a full option list; the tables and recipes below summarise each capability.

Primary Options

Flag / Argument	Description	Default
FILE	Positional argument; path to a Molden file to visualise.	None (required unless --example is used)
-e, --example	Load a bundled example molecule (co, o2, co2, h2o, benzene, prismane, pyridine, furan, acrolein).	None
-m, --only-molecule	Skip orbital surfaces and render only the nuclear framework.	False
-h, --help	Display inline help and exit.	—

Basic Rendering

Render molecular orbitals from a Molden file:

moldenViz path/to/file.molden

Show only the molecular structure (skip orbital surfaces):

moldenViz path/to/file.molden -m

Bundled Examples

Use one of the shipped example molecules when you just want to explore the plotting experience:

moldenViz -e co

Tips

• Combine -e with -m to explore only the geometry of an example.

• Use configuration overrides (see details) to change colors, bond lengths, or orbital contours before launching the CLI.

Common recipes

Use the following patterns as building blocks:

# Only plot the molecule inside my.molden
moldenViz my.molden -m

# Plot only the molecule of one of the examples
moldenViz -e co -m

For additional Python-based export options, see Exporting Volumetric Data (v1.1+) in the Python API guide.