4. Licenses and solver executables

The LatticeMind wheel supplies the assistant, its input checks, reports, and Python post-processing libraries. Each product is licensed on its own: install a LatticeMind license to start LatticeMind, a RESCU license on the computer that executes RESCU, and a NanoDCAL license plus the NeutralAtomDatabase if you plan to run NanoDCAL.

4.1. The LatticeMind license

LatticeMind has its own license, separate from RESCU’s. A RESCU license does not activate LatticeMind, and the LatticeMind license does not activate RESCU.

LatticeMind validates its license before latticemind or latticemind-web starts, whichever solver is selected. It looks in the standard Nanoacademic directory for the product:

  • Windows: C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.nanoacademic\LATTICEMIND

  • Linux / macOS: $HOME/.nanoacademic/LATTICEMIND

Put exactly one *.lic or *.license file there. If the file lives elsewhere, or the standard directory contains more than one candidate, select the exact file in .env or an environment variable:

LATTICEMIND_LICENSE_FILE=/path/to/latticemind.lic

If LatticeMind cannot validate the selected license, it displays a License check failed message and stops. Check the file path, expiry date, host eligibility, and whether the standard directory contains multiple candidates. To obtain a license, submit a request through the Nanoacademic Customer Support Center.

4.2. Running RESCU calculations

Input generation does not require a RESCU executable. RESCU execution does, along with an active RESCU license on the computer that runs it.

The simplest way to point LatticeMind at RESCU is:

latticemind setup

Its second question is Where is RESCU? It offers the copy it finds — from your settings, on PATH or in the usual install folders — and saves the path you confirm to ~/.latticemind/.env. It also saves a NanoDCAL or VASP executable it finds. latticemind setup --show prints what it found. In the browser, the setup card’s Solver and execution section is pre-filled the same way, and Save path remembers a path you type.

To set the path by hand instead, use one of:

LATTICEMIND_RESCU_CMD=/opt/esapp/rescu
RESCU_EXECUTABLE=/opt/esapp/rescu

Without a setting, LatticeMind runs rescu from PATH.

Install RESCU from the Nanoacademic Portal and test the command directly before the first LatticeMind execution.

The wheel ships a runtime RESCU pseudopotential bundle. To use a different extracted database, point at the directory containing nano_tm_lda/ and nano_tm_pbe/:

LATTICEMIND_PSEUDO_ROOT=/path/to/pseudopotentials
RESCU_PSEUDO=/path/to/pseudopotentials

The bundled database covers 70 elements under LDA and 51 under PBE. Because LatticeMind uses PBE by default, a material containing one of the LDA-only elements — Ar, Ba, Bi, Br, Cs, F, He, Hg, I, K, Kr, Mn, Ne, Po, Rb, Rn, Sr, Te, Xe — cannot run with the default functional from the bundle alone. LatticeMind reports this before launching rather than silently substituting an LDA potential, which would answer a different question. Supply the missing potential through LATTICEMIND_PSEUDO_ROOT, or request LDA explicitly.

4.3. Running NanoDCAL calculations

The LatticeMind license stays in place; it activates LatticeMind whichever solver you select. To execute a NanoDCAL project, also configure these NanoDCAL components:

  1. The NanoDCAL executable.

  2. A NanoDCAL license on the local or remote computer that runs the calculation, following the NanoDCAL installation instructions.

  3. The extracted NeutralAtomDatabase from the Nanoacademic Portal.

Set the executable and extracted database root in .env:

LATTICEMIND_NANODCAL_CMD=/full/path/to/nanodcal
LATTICEMIND_NANODCAL_DATA_PATH=/full/path/to/NeutralAtomDatabase

latticemind setup saves a NanoDCAL executable it finds. The classic dashboard (/classic in latticemind-web) also has fields for both values, Local NanoDCAL command and NanoDCAL neutral atom data. Point the data setting at the extracted directory, not the downloaded archive. LatticeMind searches that directory recursively for each requested element’s *.nad or *.mat basis file. Missing element coverage blocks launch with the missing symbols listed.

LatticeMind copies the selected basis files into the project so the inputs run unchanged on this machine or a remote one. When sharing a project, please keep those basis files within the scope of your Nanoacademic license.

For remote execution, the selected entry in ~/.latticemind/remote_profiles.toml must define nanodcal_command. The remote computer must have NanoDCAL, its runtime dependencies, and an active NanoDCAL license. See Remote & HPC execution and NanoDCAL support.

4.4. The built-in RESCU documentation

While it builds your calculations, LatticeMind looks things up in the RESCU documentation — and that documentation already ships inside LatticeMind. It works out of the box, offline, the moment you install, so for almost all users there is nothing to set up here.

If you ever want LatticeMind to read the docs from a different local folder (for example a newer RESCU release), add one line to your .env:

RESCU_DOCS_DIR=/path/to/your/rescu_docs
Advanced — use an OpenAI vector store for retrieval instead

The built-in documentation is fully capable on its own and needs no vector store. If you specifically want retrieval to come from an OpenAI vector store (for example to add your own documents later):

  1. Locate the shipped RESCU documents. Run pip show lattice-mind and find the Location: line; the documents are under <Location>/rescu_agent/database/rescu.

  2. On https://platform.openai.com, open Storage → Vector stores, click Create, and name it (e.g. RESCU docs).

  3. Open the store, click Add files, and upload all files from the rescu_agent/database/rescu folder. Wait until each shows as ready.

  4. Copy the store ID (it begins with vs_). Use your own account’s store.

  5. Add to your .env:

    RESCU_RAG_BACKEND=openai
OPENAI_VECTOR_STORE_ID=vs_your_store_id_here
# if your account uses org/project scoping:
OPENAI_ORG_ID=org_...
OPENAI_PROJECT_ID=proj_...

4.5. Do I have everything?

To do this…

You need

Covered by

Start LatticeMind

LatticeMind package + LatticeMind license + AI model (latticemind setup)

this page and Connecting your AI model

Generate & validate inputs

Running LatticeMind; no solver executable required

Getting started

Run RESCU locally

RESCU executable + RESCU license

this page

Run NanoDCAL locally

NanoDCAL executable + NanoDCAL license + NeutralAtomDatabase

this page and NanoDCAL support

Run calculations on HPC

Remote profile + solver and solver license on the remote computer

Remote & HPC execution

With the LatticeMind license, AI provider, and selected solver files in place, continue to Getting started.