For molecular modelers, one recurring bottleneck is the lack of tools tailored exactly to their specific research needs. Whether it’s a custom simulation workflow, a unique visualization method, or a connector to an external computational tool, many scientists end up improvising workarounds, integrating conflicting toolchains manually—or just giving up.
But what if you could develop exactly what you needed, directly inside your modeling environment, and distribute it easily once it’s ready?
SAMSON, the integrative platform for molecular design, offers a powerful solution to this challenge: the SAMSON SDK. This software development kit lets you create your own SAMSON Extensions—modular tools that integrate naturally into SAMSON. These can range from apps and editors to force fields and cloud services.
What You Can Build
With the SAMSON SDK, you’re not limited to small tweaks or cosmetic add-ons. You can:
- Develop new apps with custom user interfaces and workflows
- Create editors for intuitive, interactive modeling operations (e.g. a custom builder or manipulator)
- Implement state updaters for simulation (e.g. Monte Carlo or Molecular Dynamics algorithms)
- Add new force fields, interaction models, or even data visualizations
- Interface with external software or services via APIs or executables
How It Works
Getting started is straightforward. Simply sign in to your account on SAMSON Connect and head over to the Download section to install the SAMSON SDK.
The SDK includes templates and boilerplate code to help you get started quickly with new component development (like apps or editors). You don’t need to reinvent the wheel when designing a plugin. Integrating your own algorithms, visualization outputs, or data processing logic into SAMSON doesn’t require abandoning your existing code: you can wrap what you’ve already written in C++, connect with external python/R workflows, or create entirely new routines.
Distribute and Share
Once your extension is developed, sharing it is just as flexible. Through SAMSON Connect, you can:
- Publish your extension for anyone to download
- Offer it for free, or provide it under a subscription model (managing payments via Stripe)
- Set different pricing tiers for academic and industrial users
You also have the option to join the SAMSON Partner Program, which provides support for commercial distribution and visibility within the community.
Focus on Science, Not Infrastructure
By using the SAMSON SDK, you can delegate the complexity of GUI design, viewport rendering, data serialization, and simulation control to the SAMSON framework. This frees you to concentrate on developing models, algorithms, or whatever your research demands. The SDK is cross-platform, so once developed, your extension can be used across Windows, macOS, and Linux without rework.
Whether you’re looking to solve a personal pain point in your workflow or distribute a tool you’ve built to the broader modeling community, the SAMSON SDK makes development and distribution accessible and seamless.
To get started with building your own SAMSON Extension, visit the official documentation page: SAMSON Extension Guide
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.