Many molecular modelers—especially students and researchers in institutional environments—face a recurring and frustrating challenge: installing advanced software tools on machines where they don’t have administrative privileges. If you’ve ever been excited to try a new modeling platform, only to be stopped by an IT barrier, this post is for you.
Fortunately, SAMSON, the integrative platform for molecular and nanoscale modeling, simulation, and design, has a solution: it doesn’t require admin rights to install or run. That’s right—no need to request elevated permissions or wait for IT approval.
Why Does This Matter?
In universities, shared labs, or corporate research settings, installing new software often requires administrator approval. For time-sensitive work like running simulations, adjusting visualizations, or preparing publication material, this delay can affect productivity and creativity. With SAMSON, modelers can experiment, test, and explore without hitting a wall.
How It Works
SAMSON installs directly in your home directory (~/) and explicitly checks to ensure it’s not being run in administrator mode, encouraging good access control practices. This approach isn’t just user-friendly—it also promotes better platform security and data integrity.
Installation Steps
- Download SAMSON: Go to SAMSON Connect and download the installer for your operating system. You’ll be asked to sign in or create a free account if you don’t have one yet.
- Run the installer: Since no admin rights are required, just execute the downloaded installer as a normal user. For example, on Linux, use:
123cd ~/Downloadschmod +x ./SAMSON-Setup.runQT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb ./SAMSON-Setup.run - Enter credentials: During installation, input the email used for your account and the SAMSON key available in your account settings on SAMSON Connect.
- Start exploring: You’re ready to begin modeling, visualizing, and simulating nanosystems—without needing IT help.
Cross-Platform Support
The no-admin approach works across major operating systems:
- Windows: Windows 10 and 11
- Linux: Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, and others
- macOS: Apple Silicon and Intel systems running Monterey (12) and up
For Linux users, additional packages like libxcb-cursor0 or xcb-util* may need to be installed manually, but these typically also don’t require admin rights, depending on the system configuration.
One More Thing: Virtual Machines
If you plan to use SAMSON inside a virtual machine, make sure to enable GPU acceleration for smoother OpenGL performance. SAMSON relies on OpenGL 4.1 for rendering advanced molecular structures and simulations efficiently.
Conclusion
No-admin-rights installation means freedom: freedom from bottlenecks, freedom to tinker and iterate, and freedom to model the nanoscale world anytime, anywhere. Whether you’re in a restrictive lab environment or working from a borrowed machine, SAMSON empowers you to do more without barriers.
To learn more, visit the official SAMSON Getting Started page.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.