OpenIFS license

The models provided under the OpenIFS licence are not open source (despite the name).

A license per institute is to be completed before any software is provided. The license is not intended to be a barrier to the use of the OpenIFS models and the OpenIFS support team can help with any licensing queries.

To request a license:

• Please complete the form on the Releases page to register your interest,
• or, email openifs-support@ecmwf.int.

The key points of the OpenIFS licence are:

• licensed per institute and requires an authoritative signature from the host institution. It is not available with a personal license.
• free for educational and research use to research and academic institutions. Commercial use of OpenIFS models is not permitted.
• a perpetual license, it does not need to be renewed once signed. The license can be terminated at any time by the licensee.
• dissemination of real-time forecast products using OpenIFS models is forbidden (e.g. web based forecasts).
• redistribution of OpenIFS supplied software to any non-licensed institute outside the licensed institute is forbidden.

Licensed users are granted write access to the user forums on this wiki site and can create their own 'space' under User spaces, which we encourage for sharing information with other OpenIFS user groups.

Access to data

Initial data for the models is provided by the OpenIFS support team or users can create their own using the freely available ECMWF reanalyses.

Access to any other data is normally provided through existing channels via national Met Services.

Contact openifs-support@ecmwf.int to discuss your data requirements.

Member State users may apply for an account on the ECMWF system through their National Met Service in the normal way. Please contact openifs-support@ecmwf.int in case of any queries.

Terms and conditions

Use of OpenIFS models is governed by these terms and conditions .

Access to ECMWF computers is governed by these terms and conditions.

Access to ECMWF archive products is governed by these terms and conditions.

For more details, please email: openifs-support@ecmwf.int.