Getting Started

Getting Started#

Installation and Setup#

Before using Flow360, you need to:

Sign up for a user account at flow360.simulation.cloud.
Obtain your API key from your account profile.
Install Flow360 Python API and configure your API key.

Package Installation#

It is highly recommended to install and use the Python API in a Python virtual environment. This eliminates the risk of conflicting dependencies with other packages you may have installed on your system and also provides a easy switch between different versions of the Python API.

The Flow360 Python API is available on PyPI and can be installed using pip.

pip install flow360

To verify the successful download, you can run the following command:

flow360 version

This will display the version of the Python API and the available solver versions.

Note

Supported Python versions depend on the Flow360 release you are using:

Version 25.8 and earlier — Python 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, or 3.13
Version 25.9 to 25.12.1 — Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, or 3.13
Version 25.12.2 and later — Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, or 3.14

Python 3.8 and earlier are not supported by any current release. Python 3.15 and later have not yet been tested.

Upgrading the Package#

To upgrade an existing installation of the Flow360 Python API to the latest release, run:

pip install -U flow360

After upgrading, re-run flow360 version to confirm the new version is active.

API Versioning#

The Python API version follows the solver version: to use Flow360 solver version “release-25.8”, install the Python API version “v25.8.*”. A newer Python API can load and submit older cloud resources, but not the reverse. To install a specific version, or to work with projects on several solver versions, see API Versioning.

API Key Configuration#

Most of the functionalities (like uploading mesh and submitting case) of Flow360 Python API requires setting up proper API key for authentication. The API key can be obtained from the Flow360 WebUI by clicking on your avatar on the top right of your workspace then clicking on your Account then Python Authentication. To copy the API key, click on the Show button and then click on the copy icon. If you don’t see any characters shownn, click on New API key to generate a new API key. Please contact customer support for more information.

../../_images/api_key_getting.png — *Accessing your API key.*#

Your Flow360 API key is stored locally in a configuration file at:

~/.flow360/config.toml

Important

The API key is sensitive information and should be kept confidential. Do not share it with anyone.

To setup the API key authentication, you can use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Global Configuration (Recommended)#

In the command line. Run the following command.

flow360 configure --apikey XXX

If you want to configure the API key on Windows, you can run the following command in the command prompt.

flow360 configure --apikey XXX

This will prompt you to enter your API key and store it in ~/.flow360

Method 2: Configure via Python Code#

import flow360 as fl
fl.configure(apikey='XXX')

Testing Your Installation#

To verify your installation is working correctly:

flow360 version       # Display latest versions of Python API.
flow360 show_projects # Should list all projects you have access to if APIKey is configured correctly.

Managing Profiles#

It is possible to check all the current profiles that are set in flow360 by typing the following line in the terminal:

flow360 configure

The first added account will be set as default account. To add an API Key for a profile type:

flow360 configure --apikey XXX --profile my-profile

To use a profile in a python code, change the profile at the beginning of the code by adding the following lines:

import flow360.user_config as uc
uc.UserConfig.set_profile("my-profile")