Why Your SAMSON Extension Might Not Load (And What To Do About It)

Ever wondered why a SAMSON Extension suddenly stops loading after an update — or doesn’t appear at all after installation? If you’ve been developing or using Extensions in the SAMSON molecular design platform, you might have run into confusing compatibility issues. Understanding how version compatibility works in SAMSON can help you save hours of debugging or frustration. Here’s a practical overview of why an Extension might not load, and how using correct SDK versions makes all the difference.

What problem are we solving?

Let’s say you’ve downloaded a new SAMSON Extension to visualize molecular orbitals or simulate protein-ligand interactions. You launch SAMSON, and nothing shows up — or worse, your previously installed Extension no longer works after an update. For a molecular modeler working under tight project deadlines, this creates unnecessary delays.

This behavior often results from version mismatches between the Extension and the SAMSON SDK it’s built with.

Behind the scenes: Version matching

Each SAMSON Extension is built using a specific version of the SAMSON Software Development Kit (SDK). When SAMSON starts up, it performs a version check to ensure it can safely load every Extension. This is essential to prevent runtime errors from using incompatible software components.

Compatibility between an Extension and SAMSON depends solely on the SDK version used to build the Extension, not on the Extension’s own version number.

What defines compatibility?

The rules are simple but strict:

  • The major version number of the SDK used to build the Extension must be identical to SAMSON’s own major version.
  • The minor version of the SDK must be less than or equal to SAMSON’s minor version.

If either condition is not met, the Extension will not load.

Real-world example

Assume your SAMSON version is 1.7.8. The following SDK versions ensure compatibility:

  • 1.3.5 ✅ Compatible
  • 1.7.7 ✅ Compatible
  • 1.8.5 ❌ Incompatible

This happens because the last Extension was built using a minor SDK version higher than SAMSON’s, which may rely on functionalities that the SAMSON version doesn’t yet provide.

How automatic updates help

Thanks to SAMSON’s automatic update feature, you don’t generally need to track Extension updates manually. If SAMSON detects a newer compatible version of an Extension on SAMSON Connect and you have an Internet connection, it updates it during startup — as long as compatibility conditions are satisfied.

However, if a new Extension version is built using a newer major SDK release (e.g. SDK 2.0.0, while you’re using SAMSON 1.7.8), it won’t be updated. In such cases, updating SAMSON to match the newer major version is necessary to benefit from the latest Extension features.

Best practices

  • Keep SAMSON up to date to ensure maximum compatibility with Extensions.
  • When developing Extensions, clearly document the SDK version used — this helps users manage their environment accordingly.
  • If you encounter issues with Extension loading, check the major and minor SDK versions for a quick diagnostic.

This smart versioning system protects users from incompatibility issues while enabling rapid improvements through modular Extensions. Understanding how it works can make your daily modeling work smoother and save you time getting insights from molecules.

To learn more about SAMSON’s versioning and compatibility rules, visit the full versioning documentation page.

SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.

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