The Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) is the world repository of small molecule organic and metal-organic crystal structures. The CSD is the central focus of the CSDSystem, which also comprises software for database access, structure visualisation and data analysis, and structural knowledge bases derived from the CSD.
All existing academic users of the CSD-System also have access to all other CCDC software with the CSD-Enterprise suite.
WebCSD can be accessed by going to: https://www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/structures
The system may be able to be accessed on the University Managed Desktop (UMD) computers throughout the University & in Colleges.
For all computer platforms
The current, online installers below are for the 2024.1 full CSD System release. This occupies around 40GB of disk space.
The CCDC have moved to using a very small installer file which then performs an online installation on your computer.
- Read the Release and Installation notes here. Pay particular attention to the Supported Platforms notes.
- Remove all previous CSD System installations from the CCDC.
- You will be asked for an Activation key which can be given before or after installation. Click this link for the required information.
Windows
- Download the online installer from here.
- The wizard will then guide you through the installation steps.
OS X
- Download the online installer from here.
- Open the .dmg file to show the package installer icon.
- Double-click the installer file "csds-osx".
Linux
- Download the .tar file from here and extract it.
- Find, the file "csds-linux-x64.run" and make it executable with the command "chmod a+x"
- Run the installer with the command "./csds-linux-x64.run".
- Click through, accepting the defaults, or modifying to your needs.
Please refer to the CCDC documentation for information on accessing and using the IsoStar software.
CSD System Data & Software Updates
Desktop software and data updates can be applied by using the CCDC maintenance tool in the installation folder, or by selecting the Check for Updates option in any of the desktop tools.
If you are using software version 2022.3 or earlier, or if this is your first time installing CSD software, you will need to install the software following the notes on this page.
This is proprietary software. The Department has a site licence.
Extensive HTML and PDF documentation is available, including tutorials and worked examples. The CCDC Support pages have been thoroughly remodelled and include a knowledgebase derived from product questions & answers.
