Spack Package Installations

Spack is a unique HPC focused package manager that allows users to install different variations of the same package which can include different versions of the package, compiler builds, dependency options and much more. Spack specs are used to download a specific package with a specific build configuration.

More information of Spack can be accessed here at the: Spack Documentation Page as well as the GitHub documentation page.

Installing Spack Packages

Spack can be loaded as a regular module using the following command:

[abc123@wind ~ ]$ module load spack

Once spack is loaded, you can use the spack install/uninstall commands to either install specific packages with their desired specs.

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack install gzip
[abc123@wind ~]$ spack uninstall gzip

Though packages may be installed directly with the commands shown above, some software may take up a lot of resources. It is recommended that users utilize the spack_install script provided to run their installs on compute nodes to evade the potential issue of excessive resource usage on the login nodes. The spack_install script submits a job for the user which will install the specific packages passed into the parameters.

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack_install gzip

Note: Though the script loads the Spack module for the install, users must then manually load Spack themselves to access the software. 

Users may specify a package by itself or provide additional specs they would like to add to the installation process. This process will then submit a job on behalf of the user and once spack in loaded, the software will be ready to be used.

If a specific version of a package is preferred where multiple arguments are needed, enclosing the specifications into quotes allows for the install script to process everything that needs to be installed.

[abc123@wind ~]$ ./spack_install "py-mpi4py ^python@3.9"
Input spec
--------------------------------
- py-mpi4py
- ^python@3.9
Concretized
--------------------------------
- py-mpi4py@3.1.4%gcc@8.5.0 build_system=python_pip arch=linux-rhel8-x86_64_v 2

The user may also specify a node they want their installation to run on using the -n flag with the node name following.

[abc123@wind ~]$ ./spack_install gzip -n cn32

Additional Spack Commands

After the desired package is installed users may find these commands helpful with managing specific packages.

To install a package, use the spack install command (see spack_install script above)

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack install gzip
==> Installing gzip-1.12-aaksfrav72c234tchtdw5pf57l4ckl2a
==> gzip: Successfully installed gzip-1.12-aaksfrav72c234tchtdw5pf57l4ckl2a

To search for a package or to see all available packages that Spack offers for installation, use the spack list command.

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack list
[abc123@wind ~]$ spack list gzip

To see the specific build configurations of a package, use the spack spec command:

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack spec gzip
Input spec
--------------------------------
 -   gzip

Concretized
--------------------------------
 -   gzip@1.13%gcc@8.5.0 build_system=autotools arch=linux-rhel8-x86_64_v2
[^]      ^gcc-runtime@8.5.0%gcc@8.5.0 build_system=generic arch=linux-rhel8-x86_64_v2
[e]      ^glibc@2.28%gcc@8.5.0 build_system=autotools arch=linux-rhel8-x86_64_v2
[^]      ^gmake@4.4.1%gcc@8.5.0~guile build_system=generic arch=linux-rhel8-x86_64_v2

To see more information about a package, use the spack info command:

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack info gzip
AutotoolsPackage: gzip
Description:
GNU Gzip is a popular data compression program originally written by
Jean-loup Gailly for the GNU project.

To check what packages are currently installed in the active environment, use the spack find command:

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack find gzip
-- linux-rhel8-x86_64_v2 / gcc@8.5.0 ----------------------------
gzip@1.12
==> 1 installed package

Note: The spack find and the spack list commands can be commonly mistaken for each other.

Spack Environments

Spack environments allows for users to work with different packages separately. Unlike Conda environments, Spack environments are not isolated.

You can create a spack environment using the spack env create command:

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack env create -d ./mydir
==> Created environment in /home/abc123/mydir
==> You can activate this environment with:
==> spack env activate /home/abc123/mydir

Once the environment is created, activate it with the spack activate command:

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack env activate /home/abc123/mydir

Additionally, you can deactivate an environment with the spack deactivate command:

[abc123@wind ~]$ spack env deactivate

An abstract spec is only a partially specified configuration of a package. This means that the spec can potentially be used to describe multiple builds of the same package. Abstract specs are useful because the user is able to add these spack to an environment without installing them. The spack add command is environmentally sensitive, meaning the spec will only be added to the current environment.

[abc123@wind ~/mydir]$ spack add gzip
==> Adding gzip to environment /home/abc123/mydir

Even though the specs have been added to an environment with spack add, they are still unable to be processed and installed. The spec has to complete the previous partially specified build of the package (when spack add was used). This can be done with the a process called concretization, and can be accessed by using the spack concretize command:

[abc123@wind ~/mydir]$ spack concretize
==> Concretized gzip
[+] aaksfra gzip@1.12%gcc@8.5.0 build_system=autotools arch=linux-rhel8-x86_64_v2

==> Updating view at /home/abc123/mydir/.spack-env/view

Once the package has been added and concretized, it is ready to be installed. Using the spack find command with the -c flag, it can be seen that the specific package has gained all its required dependencies but it still not actively installed into the environment.

$ spack find -c
==> In environment /home/abc123/mydir
==> Root specs
ip

==> Concretized roots
-- linux-rhel8-x86_64_v2 / gcc@8.5.0 ----------------------------
ip@3.3.3

==> 0 installed packages

The spack install command allows spack to install the packages added and concretized in your environment. This will install the desired package plus any dependencies it might of required. Running the spack find command again after the installation will give you everything you have now installed into your environment.

$ spack install
==> Installing environment /home/abc123/mydir