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 2024.3 full CSD System release made in December with 1,308,545 unique structures. 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, including managed Windows machines
- Download the online Windows installer from here.
- Double-click on the installer .exe file. The installer menu will take you through the steps necessary to complete the installation..
- Admin privileges are not required for User installation.
- We do not provide a packaged version (WPKG) of this software for managed Windows machines - the online installer should be used.
OS X
- Download the online macOS installer from here.
- Double-click on the installer .dmg file to mount it, then double click on the installer exe.
- The installer menu will take you through the steps necessary to complete the installation.
Linux, including managed Linux machines
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Download the online Linux installer from here.
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Make the installer executable as follows
chmod a+x ./CSDSInstaller-linux -
In a terminal window, in the same directory, type
./CSDInstaller-linux -
Follow the instructions in the installer application
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.
