Welcome!

shapeXT is a next-generation 3D visualization program for crystal structures and structural models. It combines the efficient use of the possibilities of today's hardware with modern software technologies, some of which originate from the gaming industry.

For more information please visit the shapeXT website.

Please download the appropriate package for your operating system from the beta directory and follow the installation instructions below.

Available Package: shapeXT-v2026.XX.X-git-Windows-x86_64.zip

Currently, the Windows version is provided as a portable ZIP archive without a dedicated installer.

1. Extract: Download the .zip file and extract its contents to a folder of your choice (e.g., your Desktop or C:\Program Files\).
2. Run: Open the extracted folder and double-click shapeXT.exe to launch the application.
3. Security Warning: Since the executable is not yet digitally signed (code signing will be added before the public release), Windows Defender SmartScreen might display a blue warning box saying “Windows protected your PC”. To bypass this, click on More info and then select Run anyway.
4. File Association: To automatically open structure files with shapeXT, simply launch the program and navigate to the menu bar: click on Options → Open Files with shapeXT… and select the file formats you want to associate.

Available Package: shapeXT-v2026.XX.X-git-macOS-arm64.dmg

The macOS version comes as a standard disk image and is fully signed and notarized by Apple.

1. Install: Download and double-click the .dmg file to mount it.
2. Copy: Drag and drop the shapeXT application icon into your Applications folder.
3. File Association: Common crystallography and chemistry file formats (.sxt, .jsxt, .cif, .res, .diamdoc) are automatically associated with shapeXT right after the installation. You can start opening files right away!

Available Packages:

• shapeXT-v2026.XX.X-git-Ubuntu2404-x86_64.tar.gz
• shapeXT-v2026.XX.X-git-Debian13-x86_64.tar.gz

Note: While these packages are built for Ubuntu 24.04 and Debian 13, they should generally work on other modern distributions like Fedora as well. A universal .AppImage will be provided in a future update.

1. Extract: Download the appropriate .tar.gz archive for your system and extract it to a directory of your choice (e.g., ~/shapeXT or /opt/shapeXT).
2. Run: Open your file manager or terminal, navigate to the extracted directory, and execute the shapeXT.sh script.
3. Desktop Integration: When you run shapeXT for the first time, it will ask if you want to apply desktop integration. If you agree, the software will install a .desktop file and register the corresponding MIME types. This will add shapeXT to your system's application launcher and enable double-click support for structure files.
4. Manual Integration: If you skipped the initial prompt, you can always integrate shapeXT into your desktop environment later by navigating to Options → Create Desktop Entry… within the application.

shapeXT is currently available for Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux. macOS support is in development and will be released later.

• CPU:
  • Supported 64-bit architectures:
    • x86-64 with AVX2 instruction set
    • Apple silicon (M series SoCs)
  • Supported CPUs:
    • AMD (x86-64):
      • Ryzen (all generations)
      • Ryzen Threadripper (all generations)
      • Epyc (all generations)
    • Intel (x86-64):
      • Core (4th generation or newer)
      • Xeon (Sandy Bridge or newer)
    • Apple (Apple silicon):
      • Apple M1/M2/M3/M4
• OS:
  • Microsoft Windows 10/11 (64-bit)¹⁾
  • macOS 15+
  • GNU/Linux (see supported GNU/Linux distributions)
• Graphics card:
  • Vulkan 1.3 or higher compatible (see supported graphics card)
  • Video Memory: 4 GiB
• Memory: 8 GiB RAM
• Storage: 100 MB available space

• AMD
  • Radeon RX 9000 series
  • Radeon RX 7000 series
  • Radeon RX 6000 series
  • Radeon RX 5000 series
  • Radeon RX 600 series
  • Radeon RX 500 series
  • Radeon RX 400 series
  • Radeon RX Vega series
• Nvidia
  • GeForce 50 series
  • GeForce 40 series
  • GeForce 30 series
  • GeForce 20 series
  • GeForce 10 series
  • GeForce 900 series
• Intel Arc
• AMD (integrated graphics)
• Intel (integrated graphics)
• Apple Silicon (integrated graphics)

Note that only larger and up-to-date GNU/Linux distributions are officially supported. Thus, the list of supported GNU/Linux distributions may change in the future. Please note also that shapeXT is only supported on GNU/Linux distributions running on the x86-64 platform.

As of June 2026, the list of supported GNU/Linux distributions is as follows:

• Debian 13
• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
• Fedora Linux 43