If you’re a molecular modeler working in a restricted computing environment—such as a university lab or a corporate workstation—you’ve likely had this happen: you find a tool that looks ideal for your needs, but it requires administrative privileges to install. You either have to request IT support (and wait) or give up entirely. 🔒
This is a common frustration. But if you’re considering SAMSON, the integrative molecular design platform, there’s good news: you don’t need admin rights to install it. 🎉
Installing Without Admin Rights
SAMSON is designed to be user-friendly, especially in constrained environments. Whether you’re running Windows, macOS, or Linux, the installer will set up SAMSON directly in your user directory—no elevated permissions required. In fact, the software is intentionally programmed to encourage minimal rights: it checks at startup to ensure it’s not running with admin privileges.
This makes SAMSON especially suitable for constrained environments like student laptops, shared lab devices, or HPC clusters where admin rights are locked down.
System Requirements
Even though SAMSON is lightweight to install, there are a few system requirements to keep in mind:
- A 64-bit operating system
- A graphics card with OpenGL 4.1 support
If you’re using NVIDIA or AMD GPUs, make sure proper drivers with OpenGL support are installed. SAMSON can even run within a virtual machine, provided you give it access to hardware GPU acceleration.
Warning
If you’re using SAMSON in a virtual machine, don’t forget to enable hardware GPU acceleration. Otherwise, performance and rendering may suffer.
Post-Installation: Getting Started
Once SAMSON is installed, you can launch it from your standard user folders. Here’s where to find the executable on various platforms:
🪟 Windows
SAMSON can be started from the Start menu, or directly via the following path:
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C:/Users/%USERNAME%/OneAngstrom/SAMSON-Application/10.0.0/Binaries/SAMSON-Core.exe |
🍎 macOS
Launch via Launchpad or the Applications folder. SAMSON installs to:
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$HOME/Applications/SAMSON.app/ |
🐧 Linux
You can start SAMSON via the Apps dashboard or directly by running:
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~/OneAngstrom/SAMSON-Application/10.0.0/Binaries/SAMSON-Core.sh |
For convenience, you can create an alias in your shell config file like this:
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alias samson='$HOME/OneAngstrom/SAMSON-Application/10.0.0/Binaries/SAMSON-Core.sh' |
Perfect for Teaching Environments
This admin-rights-free design makes SAMSON a suitable tool in teaching classrooms, workshops, or self-learning scenarios, where quick setup is essential. Students can get started on their own machines without needing help from IT administrators—a huge time-saver. ⏱️
Final Thoughts
Bringing powerful molecular modeling tools to your fingertips—without bureaucratic hurdles—is a big win for researchers and learners alike. With SAMSON, you can be up and running in minutes, no permissions needed.
To learn more about SAMSON’s installation process and system requirements, consult the official documentation: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/getting-started/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.