SPLASH(1)

💖 SPLASH(1) 💖

okay so this is the splash manual page, and yes it lives in the User Commands section (section 1, as the (1) is giving), so buckle up bestie 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

splash — the manual page for splash, the visualisation tool. (there's also a whole ascii-art moment with underscores hiding in here, and honestly? iconic. keep scrolling, you'll see 👀)

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

splash file1 file2 file3...

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

SPLASH: A visualisation tool for SPH data (c)2004-2026 Daniel Price and contributors v3.12.0 [16th Mar 2026] — no cap, that's the whole vibe, it's literally a visualiser for SPH data and it has been since 2004 💅

Usage with flags:

splash [-f format] [-p fileprefix] [-ev]

       [-x col] [-y col] [-r col] [-cont col] file1 file2 ...

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🔥 Command line options 🔥

• -f format — the input file format you want read (the default is ascii, and --formats will hand you the full list)
• -p fileprefix — swap the prefix on ALL the settings files that splash reads and writes
• -e, -ev — use the default options best suited for line plotting (that's your .ev files, bestie)
• -360 — sets the default options suited to 360 video
• -b, --buffer — buffer all the data files into memory
• -o pixformat — dump the pixel map in the format you specify (just use -o on its own and it'll list the formats for you)

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🎀 Command line plotting mode 🎀

• -x column — x axis
• -y column — y axis
• -r[ender] column — the column to render (it'll use 1 and 2 as x,y if -x,-y aren't specified)
• -vec[tor] column — the vector quantity to plot with arrows
• -c[ontour] column — the contoured quantity
• -multi — multiplot
• -dev device — specify the plotting device right on the command line (e.g. -dev /xw)
• --movie — shortcut for -dev /mp4 so you can make a movie from a plot sequence ✨
• --xsec=1.0 — specify the location of a cross section slice
• --kappa=1.0 — specify the opacity, and turn on opacity rendering
• --anglex=30 — rotate around the x axis (similarly --angley, --anglez)
• --code — enforce code units (also --codeunits)
• --sink=1 — centre on sink particle number 1
• --origin=1,0,0 — centre on the x,y,z coordinates you specify
• --origin=666 — set the coordinate system origin to particle number 666 😈
• --origin=maxdens — set the coordinate system origin to the particle at maximum density
• --track=666 — track particle number 666
• --track=maxdens — track the particle at maximum density
• --exact=file1,f2 — read and plot the exact solution from the ascii files file1 and f2
• --sort — sort filenames for comparison (e.g. snap_000 snap1_000 snap2_000)
• --sortpad — sort filenames and pad all sequences to the same length

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🌈 Example data formats 🌈

(type --formats for the full list)

• -ascii,-csv — ascii text/csv format (the default)
• -phantom -sphng — Phantom and sphNG codes (auto)
• -vtk — vtk legacy binary format (auto)
• -ndspmhd — ndspmhd code (auto)
• -gandalf,-seren — Gandalf/Seren code
• -shamrock — Shamrock code
• -gadget — Gadget code (auto)

🚨 This build does not support HDF5. Compile with HDF5=yes to change this.

🚨 This build does not support FITS. Compile with FITS=yes to change this.

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💜 Convert mode 💜

• splash to ascii — convert to ascii; type "splash to" for other formats

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🧚 Grid conversion mode 🧚

• splash to grid — interpolate to grid; type "splash to" for details

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⭐ Analysis mode ⭐

• splash calc <mode> — type "splash calc" for details

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Userguide: https://splash-viz.readthedocs.io

and now, the moment you've all been waiting for, the ascii art that ate 💅✨

       _(_)   ___ _ __ | | __ _ ___| |__   (_)     _ (_)

       _ (_)  _   / __| '_ \| |/ _` / __| '_ \      _  (_)

       (_)    _ (_)  \__ \ |_) | | (_| \__ \ | | |  _ (_)  _

       (_)    _  |___/ .__/|_|\__,_|___/_| |_| (_)  _ (_)

       (_)    (_)|_| (_) (_)  (_)(_) (_)(_) (_)(_)

              ( B | y ) ( D | a | n | i | e | l ) ( P | r | i | c | e )

              ( v3.12.0 [16th Mar 2026] Copyright (C) 2005-2025 )

              * SPLASH comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. This is

              free software; can redistribute w/conditions (see LICENSE) *

              https://splash-viz.readthedocs.io

              Please cite Price (2007), PASA 24, 159 if you use SPLASH in print

              splash.defaults not found: using default settings

💀 that last line is literally splash telling you it could not find splash.defaults, so it's rolling with the default settings. periodt.

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👑 Usage 👑

splash snap_0*

(or use splash.filenames to list files)

splash --help

(for all the command line options)

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🫶 SEE ALSO 🫶

The full documentation for splash is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and splash programs are properly installed at your site, then this command

info splash

should give you access to the complete manual. slay 🩷

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okay that's the whole page bestie, love that for you 💖 this was splash in SPLASH(1), dated March 2026, running v3.12.0 [16th Mar 2026], copyright (C) 2005-2025. go forth and visualise some SPH data, mwah 💅🌈