Command Line

The command line is the one-row input at the bottom of every preview, directly above the status bar — the same row CAD-Preview has. Anything the toolbar, menus and sidebar forms can do can be typed there: every mesh operation, every view toggle and panel, the exports and the case actions.

> translate dx=1 dy=0         (Tab completes, Enter runs, ? for help)

Press / anywhere in the viewport (or run Kratos MDPA: Focus Command Line, or View ▾ ▸ Command line) to focus it. The line to the right of the input shows the usage of the command you are typing, and afterwards the result of running it.

Syntax

Three spellings, mixable per command:

Form	Example
verb key=value …	smooth method=taubin iterations=10 fixBoundary=false
verb {json} — the CAD-Preview style	translate {"dx": 1, "dz": 3}
verb value … — positional, for the obvious parameter	view top · rotate z 90 · mergeNodes 1e-6 · find Element 12

• A bare flag means true (mergeMesh paths=a.mdpa weld); booleans also take true/false/on/off/yes/no.
• Lists are comma separated or JSON (inputs=A,B, lo=[0,0,0]); id lists accept ranges (ids=1,2,5-10).
• Quote text with spaces: fieldCalc expr="x*2 + y" location=Nodal output=F.
• Names are case-insensitive and unique prefixes work (transl dx=1); an ambiguous prefix lists the candidates.
• A typo is caught before anything is sent: translate dxx=1 answers unknown parameter "dxx" — did you mean dx?. (The host would silently drop an unknown key, so the command line checks it for you.)
• Several steps run one after another with ;: fieldCalc expr="x" location=Nodal output=d ; remesh mode=expr sizeExpr="0.1*d". Each step waits for the host's answer, so a later step sees the model the earlier one produced (the same behaviour as the MCP mesh_transform tool), and the sequence stops at the first failure. Every operation is its own undo entry.

Keys

Key	Action
/	focus the command line (from the viewport)
Enter	run
Tab / Shift+Tab	complete the command, then parameter names, enum values, field names, SubModelPart paths and block names from the open mesh; press again to cycle
↑ / ↓	command history (kept across sessions where the webview's storage is available)
Esc	cancel a running operation (a second press stops waiting); otherwise dismiss the help card, clear the input, then leave the line

While you type here, the single-key view shortcuts (1–6, i) are not triggered. The line is disabled while a recording is in progress.

Help

help shows the syntax, help <command> the usage and an example, list the commands by category (list operation for one category). ? is a short alias: ?rotate.

What it does with a command

• Mesh operations are sent to the host exactly as the sidebar forms send them (applyOp), validated by the same code, recorded in the same operation history (undo, redo, partial revert, recipes) and marked as unsaved edits. A rejected operation is reported with the reason in the result line.
• View, panel and toggle commands call the same functions as the toolbar and menus. wireframe, edges, grid, nodeIds, lod, flatParts, ortho, pan and every panel take an optional on/off (wireframe on); without it they toggle.
• File and export commands (open, save, export vtu, saveProblem, …) open the same host dialogs as the menus — they take no path argument.

Command reference

Mesh operations

Command	What it does
linearToQuadratic	Insert mid-edge nodes (linear to quadratic elements)
linearize	Drop mid-side nodes (quadratic to linear elements)
simplexify	Split hex/wedge/pyramid/quad cells into tetrahedra/triangles
refine [levels=<int>] [select=<json>]	Subdivide cells (uniformly, or selectively with a conforming closure)
removeOrphanNodes	Remove nodes referenced by no cell, part or constraint
mergeNodes tolerance=<number>	Weld nodes closer than a tolerance
crop kind=<bbox|plane> [lo=<vec3>] [hi=<vec3>] [point=<vec3>] [normal=<vec3>] [mode=<all|any>]	Keep the cells inside a box or on one side of a plane
renumber [target=<all|nodes|entities>] [start=<int>]	Compact ids into gapless runs
reorder method=<rcm|morton|hilbert>	Reorder node storage (rcm, morton, hilbert)
partition nparts=<int> [method=<sfc|kahip|auto>] [createParts=<bool>]	Attach a PARTITION_INDEX field (domain decomposition)
scale [sx=<number>] [sy=<number>] [sz=<number>]	Scale the mesh about the origin
translate [dx=<number>] [dy=<number>] [dz=<number>]	Translate the mesh
rotate axis=<x|y|z> [angle=<number>] [cx=<number>] [cy=<number>] [cz=<number>]	Rotate about an axis parallel to x, y or z
deleteSubModelPart path=<part>	Delete a SubModelPart and its entities
renameSubModelPart path=<part> newName=<text>	Rename a SubModelPart
createSubModelPart parentPath=<text> name=<text>	Create an empty SubModelPart (parentPath "" = top level)
moveSubModelPart path=<part> newParentPath=<text>	Move a SubModelPart under another parent
mergeSubModelParts sourcePath=<part> targetPath=<part>	Merge one SubModelPart into another
regionAlgebra operation=<union|intersection|difference> inputs=<list> output=<text>	Union/intersection/difference of SubModelParts into a new one
addSubModelPartEntities path=<part> kind=<nodes|elements|conditions|geometries|constraints> ids=<ids>	Add entities (by id) to a SubModelPart
removeSubModelPartEntities path=<part> kind=<nodes|elements|conditions|geometries|constraints> ids=<ids>	Remove entities (by id) from a SubModelPart
createSubModelPartFromSelection parentPath=<text> name=<text> [elements=<ids>] [conditions=<ids>] [geometries=<ids>] [seed=<json>]	Group entities (explicit ids or a selection seed) into a SubModelPart
deleteEntities [elements=<ids>] [conditions=<ids>] [geometries=<ids>]	Delete elements/conditions/geometries by id
setProperty propertyId=<int> name=<text> value=<json>	Set one Properties value
createProperty [id=<int>] [name=<text>] [value=<json>]	Create a Properties set (optionally with one value)
cloneProperty propertyId=<int> [newId=<int>]	Copy a Properties set to a fresh id
deleteProperty propertyId=<int>	Delete an unreferenced Properties set
assignProperty propertyId=<int> [part=<part>] [kind=<Elements|Conditions|Geometries>] [ids=<ids>]	Point cells at a Properties id (by SubModelPart or explicit ids)
fieldCalc expr=<text> location=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional> output=<text>	Compute a new field from a formula
averageField variable=<field> direction=<nodalToElemental|elementalToNodal> [target=<Elements|Conditions>] [output=<text>]	Move a field between nodes and cells by averaging
renameField kind=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional> variable=<field> newName=<text> [onConflict=<error|overwrite>]	Rename a field
keepFields variables=<list> [kind=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional>]	Keep only the listed fields
dropFields variables=<list> [kind=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional>]	Drop the listed fields
conditionField kind=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional> variable=<field> mode=<clamp|normalize|standardize> [lo=<number>] [hi=<number>] [nanReplacement=<number>] [scope=<component|magnitude>] [nanPolicy=<ignore|replace|fail>] [output=<text>]	Clamp / normalize / standardize a field
convertFieldUnits variable=<field> [density=<number>] [densityField=<json>] [kind=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional>] [output=<text>] [reference=<gauge|absolute>]	Convert kinematic pressure to Pa (explicit density)
reduceField variable=<field> [kind=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional>] reduction=<min|max|minAbs|maxAbs|mean|std|median|sum|count|q1|q3|iqr> [output=<text>]	Record a global scalar (min/max/mean/...) of a field
writeMeshSizeFields target=<nodal|element|both>	Persist NODAL_H / ELEMENT_H into the mesh
markComponents [output=<text>] [fragmentFraction=<number>]	Write COMPONENT_INDEX (connected bodies)
fieldGradient variable=<field> [operator=<gradient|divergence|curl>] [method=<green-gauss|least-squares>] [output=<text>]	Gradient / divergence / curl of a nodal field
fieldHessian variable=<field> [method=<green-gauss|least-squares>] [output=<text>]	Hessian of a scalar nodal field
estimateError variable=<field> [marking=<none|absolute|fraction|dorfler>] [markingValue=<number>] [output=<text>]	Zienkiewicz-Zhu error indicator of a nodal field
sdfDistance [path=<text>] [part=<part>] [skin=<bool>] [sign=<pseudonormal|winding|none>] [band=<number>] [output=<text>]	Signed distance to a surface (file, SubModelPart or the mesh skin)
transferField path=<text> [arrays=<list>] [onConflict=<error|overwrite|suffix>]	Mass-preserving field transfer from another mesh file
compareField path=<text> variable=<field> kind=<Nodal|Elemental|Conditional> [sourceVariable=<text>] [correspondence=<id|spatial>] [output=<text>] [atol=<number>] [rtol=<number>]	Difference field against another mesh file
smooth [method=<laplacian|taubin|odt>] [iterations=<int>] [lambda=<number>] [mu=<number>] [fixBoundary=<bool>] [preserveFeatures=<bool>] [featureAngle=<number>] [guardInversion=<bool>]	Taubin / Laplacian / ODT smoothing
repairSurface [fixOrientation=<bool>] [orientOutward=<bool>] [fillHoles=<bool>] [splitNonManifold=<bool>] [maxHoleEdges=<int>] [weldTolerance=<number>]	Fix winding, fill holes, weld a surface mesh
curvature [mean=<bool>] [gaussian=<bool>] [principal=<bool>] [area=<bool>] [includeBoundary=<bool>] [dualArea=<mixed-voronoi|barycentric>] [outputPrefix=<text>]	Surface curvature fields (mean, gaussian, principal)
shrinkwrap [path=<text>] [part=<part>] [skin=<bool>] [offset=<number>] [blend=<number>] [maxDistance=<number>] [movePart=<part>] [pinPart=<part>] [normalWeight=<angle|area>] [recordDistance=<bool>]	Project nodes onto a target surface (file, SubModelPart or skin)
sobolevDeform variable=<field> lengthScale=<number> [fixedPart=<part>] [fixBoundary=<bool>] [maxIterations=<int>] [tolerance=<number>]	Smooth deformation of the mesh from a displacement field
surfaceRemesh [numClusters=<int>] [metric=<isotropic|quadric|anisotropic>] [gradation=<number>] [maxAnisotropy=<number>] [preserveBoundary=<bool>]	Remesh a surface into N clusters
volumeMesh [cellSize=<number>] [resolution=<text>] [paddingRelative=<number>] [warpFraction=<number>] [maxTets=<int>] [keepSurface=<bool>]	Generate a tetrahedral volume mesh from a surface
optimizeVolume [maxIterations=<int>] [minImprovement=<number>] [relocate=<bool>] [flip=<bool>] [preserveBoundary=<bool>]	Flip/relocate to improve tetrahedra quality
remesh [mode=<factor|hsiz|optimize|expr|aniso>] [factor=<number>] [hsiz=<number>] [sizeExpr=<text>] [sizeParts=<json>] [variable=<field>] [method=<green-gauss|least-squares>] [distanceSurfacePath=<text>] [distanceSurfacePart=<part>] [distanceSurfaceSkin=<bool>] [frozen=<json>] [localSizes=<json>] [hmin=<number>] [hmax=<number>] [hausd=<number>] [hgrad=<number>] [angleDetection=<number>] [nosurf=<bool>] [noinsert=<bool>] [noswap=<bool>] [nomove=<bool>] [module=<mmg3d|mmgs|mmg2d>]	MMG remesh (factor, hsiz, optimize, expr or aniso)
levelset variable=<field> [isovalue=<number>] [isosurf=<bool>] [rmc=<number>] [keepMaterials=<bool>] [noSplit=<json>] [baseRefs=<json>] [hmin=<number>] [hmax=<number>] [hausd=<number>] [hgrad=<number>] [module=<mmg3d|mmgs|mmg2d>]	MMG level-set split along an isovalue of a nodal field
mergeMesh paths=<list> [weld=<bool>] [tolerance=<number>] [name=<text>]	Merge other mesh files into this one
setElementRadius value=<number> mode=<absolute|multiply> [target=<part>]	Set or scale the sphere-element RADIUS

History

Command	What it does
undo	Undo the last operation
redo	Redo the last undone operation
clear	Clear the whole operation history
revert index=<int>	Revert the history to N applied operations
reapply	Re-apply the operations a timeline step skipped
saveOps	Save the applied operations as a JSON recipe
loadOps	Load and replay a JSON recipe
cancel	Cancel the running operation

View and camera

Command	What it does
reset	Frame the whole mesh
view name=<right|left|top|bottom|front|back|iso>	Snap the camera to a standard view
layout id=<1x1|1x2|2x1|2x2>	Split the viewport into 1, 2 or 4 panes
wireframe [state=<on|off>]	Wireframe display
edges [state=<on|off>]	Draw cell edges
grid [state=<on|off>]	Cube axes grid
nodeIds [state=<on|off>]	Node id labels (small meshes only)
lod [state=<on|off>]	Level-of-detail surface preview
flatParts [state=<on|off>]	Flat SubModelPart list in the outline
ortho [state=<on|off>]	Parallel (orthographic) projection
pan [state=<on|off>]	Pan mode for the left mouse button
clip [state=<on|off>] [axis=<x|y|z|free>] [pos=<number>] [normal=<vec3>] [flip=<bool>]	Clip plane of the focused pane
opacity value=<number>	Global model opacity (0..1)
theme name=<text>	Scene theme by name
find type=<Node|Element|Condition|Geometry> id=<int>	Locate and highlight an entity by id
screenshot	Save a screenshot of the viewport

Panels

Command	What it does
quality [state=<on|off>]	Mesh quality panel
field [state=<on|off>]	Field visualization panel
inspect [state=<on|off>]	Click-to-probe Inspect mode
selection [state=<on|off>]	Selection sets panel
plots [state=<on|off>]	Scientific Plots pane
meshSize [state=<on|off>]	Mesh size panel
spheres [state=<on|off>]	Sphere/particle rendering panel
beams [state=<on|off>]	Beam rendering panel
normals [state=<on|off>]	Face normals overlay
integrals [state=<on|off>]	Field integrals panel
streamlines [state=<on|off>]	Streamlines panel
flowBalance [state=<on|off>]	Boundary flow balance panel
linkPreviews [state=<on|off>]	Link two previews
compareSplit [state=<on|off>]	Compare a second mesh in a split pane
exportReport [state=<on|off>]	Export report inspector
dataTable [state=<on|off>]	Data table of nodes/entities
record [state=<on|off>]	Video / frame-sequence recorder
lighting [state=<on|off>]	Lighting controls
propertiesEditor [state=<on|off>]	Properties editor
bookmarks [state=<on|off>]	Camera bookmarks

Files and export

Command	What it does
open	Open a mesh (host file dialog)
save	Save to the source format
saveAs	Save As (host file dialog)
reload	Reload from disk and replay the operations
export format=<ext> [outputFormat=<text>]	Export to a format (host save dialog)
exportPart format=<ext> path=<part>	Export one SubModelPart
exportSkin	Export the boundary skin
exportPartitions	Export one file per partition
splitMesh	Split into components/types/fields
simplify	Export a simplified surface copy
sampleGrid	Sample to a grid / voxelization / SDF volume
exportTable format=<.csv|.xlsx> kind=<Nodes|Elements|Conditions|Geometries> [membership=<bool>] [submodelpart=<part>] [nodeColumns=<bool>]	Export the data table as CSV/XLSX
saveProblem	Save the problem archive (.kratosproblem.zip)
loadProblem	Load a problem archive

Case (problemtype)

Command	What it does
generate	Generate ProjectParameters/materials/MainKratos.py
run	Generate and run the Kratos solve
stop	Stop the running solve
results	Open the latest results

Help

Command	What it does
help [command=<text>]	Show usage of a command (or a summary)
list [category=<text>]	List commands (optionally of one category)

Mesh operation parameters are the ones in Mesh Editing and MMG Remesh; a recipe or MCP mesh_transform call spells the same operations as JSON objects, so a command line and a recipe line are interchangeable (translate {"dx":1} is {"op":"translate","dx":1}).

Not covered

• Path arguments for dialog-driven commands, and the Flowgraph editor (interactive, no text form).
• The command line is UI-only: it is a text front end over capabilities that MCP already exposes (mesh_transform for operations), so it adds no MCP tool.

File paths

open, saveAs, export, exportPart, exportSkin, saveProblem and loadProblem normally open a dialog. Give a path to skip it: open meshes/a.vtu, export vtu to=out/a.vtu, exportPart vtu Inlet to=inlet.vtu, saveProblem to=case.kratosproblem.zip, saveAs to=copy.vtu, exportSkin stl to=skin.stl, loadProblem case.kratosproblem.zip into=unpacked (the overwrite confirmation on extraction still asks). Relative paths resolve against the open mesh's folder; a missing extension is added and a mismatched one is refused. An existing file is not replaced unless you add overwrite=true. Results are reported through the usual notification.