Alpaca4d

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Serialize ​

Turns the assembled model into an OpenSees .tcl deck, and optionally writes it to disk.

🔧 Grasshopper component ​

SerializeAlpaca4d ▸ 10_Utility
Serialize component
Inputs
AlpacaModelModelThe model to serialise, from Assemble.
FilePathText(empty)Where to write the file.
SaveBooleanfalseWrite it. Leave false and the deck is produced as text only.
Outputs
TclTextlistThe deck, one line per item.
Plug it into a Panel to read it.

📈 When to use it ​

Use it when

  • You want to see exactly what Alpaca4d is sending to OpenSees. This is the single most useful thing you can do when a result looks wrong.
  • You are handing the model to someone who runs OpenSees directly.
  • You want to run the analysis outside Grasshopper — on a cluster, in a batch, under a script.
  • You want to check a Custom Code block landed where you meant.

Do not use it when

  • You just want to run the analysis → Run Analysis writes its own deck into the AlpacaResults folder beside the Grasshopper file, which you can open afterwards.

Note

The deck Serialize produces is the model — nodes, elements, materials, sections, loads, constraints. It does not include the analysis block; that comes from Analysis Settings and is added by Run Analysis. To run the file standalone, append your own analysis commands, or copy them from the deck Run Analysis wrote.