g4install

Environment modules, installation scripts, container images, and CVMFS distribution for Geant4 — with seamless coexistence of multiple Geant4 versions.

This repository provides:

• Environment Modules + installation scripts for Geant4
• Multi-architecture Docker images (amd64, arm64)
• CVMFS distribution of Geant4 builds

Why use g4install?

g4install is designed to let you:

• Install multiple Geant4 versions side-by-side
• Switch between versions quickly using module load / module switch
• Automatically load required dependencies (CLHEP, Xerces-C)
• Use consistent environments across local systems, Docker, and CVMFS

This is especially useful when validating applications against different Geant4 releases (e.g. 11.3.x vs 11.4.x).

Quick Start (Local Installation)

Prerequisites

Install Environment Modules:

• Linux: install environment-modules using your package manager
• macOS: brew install modules

Clone and enable modules

git clone https://github.com/gemc/g4install
module use /path/to/g4install

List available Geant4 versions

module avail geant4

Install a Geant4 version (example: 11.4.0)

module load sim_system
install_geant4 11.4.0

Load a Geant4 version

module load geant4/11.4.0

Notice, this also loads:

• CLHEP
• Xerces-C

Verify active version

geant4-config --version
which geant4-config

Seamless Multi-Version Switching

One of the main features of g4install is the ability to keep multiple versions installed and switch between them without conflicts.

module load geant4/11.3.2
# build/test project A

module switch geant4/11.3.2 geant4/11.4.0
# build/test project B

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Docker Images

Images are built by CI and published to the GitHub Container Registry.

Highlights

• Multi-arch tags (same tag works on Intel and Apple Silicon)
• Batch mode and GUI mode (VNC / noVNC)
• Includes Geant4 and ROOT

Batch mode example

docker run --rm -it ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.4.0-ubuntu-24.04 bash -li

GUI mode example (VNC / noVNC)

VPORTS=(-p 6080:6080 -p 5900:5900)
VNC_PASS=(-e X11VNC_PASSWORD=change-me)
VNC_BIND=(-e VNC_BIND=0.0.0.0)
GEO_FLAGS=(-e GEOMETRY=1920x1200)

docker run --rm -it $VPORTS $VNC_BIND $VNC_PASS $GEO_FLAGS ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.4.0-ubuntu-24.04

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Supported Images (current examples)

Geant4 11.4.0

OS	Pull Command	arm64	amd64
ubuntu 24.04	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.4.0-ubuntu24	yes	yes
fedora 40	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.4.0-fedora40	yes	yes
almalinux 9.4	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.4.0-almalinux9.4	yes	yes
debian 12	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.4.0-debian-12	yes	yes
archlinux latest	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.4.0-archlinux-latest	no	yes

Geant4 11.3.2

OS	Pull Command	arm64	amd64
ubuntu 24.04	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.3.2-ubuntu24	yes	yes
fedora 40	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.3.2-fedora40	yes	yes
almalinux 9.4	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.3.2-almalinux9.4	yes	yes
debian 12	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.3.2-debian-12	yes	yes
archlinux latest	docker pull ghcr.io/gemc/g4install:11.3.2-archlinux-latest	no	yes

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CVMFS Distribution

Geant4 libraries are distributed via CVMFS at:

/cvmfs/jlab.opensciencegrid.org/geant4/g4install

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Detailed Documentation

• Multi-version workflow / switching guide: multi-version-workflow.md

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CI Status