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Software setup

  • Software setup
    • The short version
    • In this section
      • Quick installation
        • Requirements at a glance
        • Install
        • Check that it worked
        • Start the interface
        • The sample data
        • Next
      • Installation in detail
        • Background: why conda and not pip
        • Requirements
        • Installation routes
        • QGIS and the two-interpreter problem
        • Project directory layout
        • When something goes wrong
        • Building the documentation locally
      • Installation
        • Installation with Git Bash/GUI
        • Update with Git Bash/GUI (re- pull)
        • Launch River Architect
      • Package structure, requirements and logfiles
        • File structure
        • Program environment setup and batchfile modification
        • Requirements and dependencies
        • Logfiles
    • Requirements at a glance
    • Where things live
    • Logfiles

Usage (Quick Start)

  • Usage (Quick Start)
    • The order the modules go in
    • Units
    • In this section
      • The worked example: the whole chain on the sample reach
        • Before you start
        • 1. Prepare the condition
        • 2. Lifespan and design mapping
        • 3. Best feature per cell
        • 4. Terraforming and earthworks
        • 5. Habitat suitability and usable area (SHArC)
        • 6. Stranding risk
        • 7. Riparian recruitment
        • 8. Maps
        • Before trusting this on your own data
      • Quickstart
        • Reading and combining rasters
        • Wetted area and fish stranding risk
        • Interpolating a water surface
        • Earthworks quantities
        • Producing maps
        • Normalising input NoData
      • The graphical interface
        • Starting it
        • Two front ends
        • Finding QGIS
        • Tabs
        • Menus
        • Not yet in the interface
        • Everything is also a Python API
      • Tutorial: lifespan mapping and fish stranding
        • The data
        • Part 1: lifespan and design mapping
        • Part 2: fish stranding risk
        • What to do with the output
        • The packaged equivalents
        • Next

Get started

  • Get started, terminology and signposts
    • Conditions
    • Geofile conventions
    • Input definition files
    • Prepare input rasters
    • Analyze flows
    • Map extent definition files
    • Reference
      • Get Started and Signposts
      • Get Started
        • Create New Condition
        • Populate Condition
        • Create a spatial subset of a Condition
        • Analyze Flows
        • Generate Input File(s) (.inp)
        • Map extent input definition files
        • Align Input Rasters
      • Geofile (Raster) conventions
      • Manual input data preparation
      • 2100 Sample files

Modules

  • Modules
    • Lifespans
      • Lifespan Design
        • The criteria
        • Threshold values
        • Relation to the original
      • Max Lifespan
      • In this section
        • Feature lifespan and design assessment
        • Introduction to lifespan and design mapping
        • Quick GUIde to lifespan and design maps
        • Lifespan design: parameter hypotheses
        • Parameter hypotheses
        • River design and restoration features
        • Introduction and Feature Groups
        • Pre-defined features and hypotheses
        • Define new and modify existing features
        • Lifespan design: code extension and modification
        • Code extension and modification
        • Maximum Lifespan Assessment (MaxLifespan)
        • Introduction to maxium (best) lifespan mapping
        • Quick GUIde to maximum lifespan maps
        • Working principle
        • Code modification: Add feature sets for maximum lifespan maps
    • Morphology (Terraforming)
      • Terraforming
        • Inputs and outputs
      • River Builder
      • Volume Assessment
      • River reaches
      • In this section
        • Volumes and earthworks
        • Modify Terrain (terraforming)
        • Introduction
        • Quick GUIde to terrain modifications
        • Threshold value-based terraforming: Widening and Grading options
        • River Builder
        • River Builder
        • Introduction to River Builder
        • Create Input Files
        • Select Input Files
        • Run River Builder within River Architect
        • Output
        • About
        • Volume Change Assessment
        • Introduction
        • Quick GUIde to Volume Assessment
        • Working principles
        • Code modification: Change sensitivity threshold (lod) for terrain modification detection
        • River reach definitions
    • Ecohydraulics
      • Habitat Area (SHArC)
        • Cover
        • Species and lifestages
        • Relation to the original
      • Stranding Risk
      • Riparian Seedling Recruitment
      • In this section
        • Seasonal Habitat Area Calculator (SHArC)
        • Introduction to Habitat Suitability evaluation
        • Quick GUIde to habitat suitability evaluation
        • SHArC - Working Principles
        • Working principles
        • SHArC - Code modification
        • Fish species and lifestages
        • Changing the structure of Fish.xlsx
        • Stranding Risk Assessment
        • Introduction to Stranding Risk Module
        • Quick GUIde to Stranding Risk Assessment
        • Defining Travel Thresholds
        • Methodology
        • References
        • Riparian Seedling Recruitment (RSR)
        • Introduction to Riparian Seedling Recruitment Module
        • Quick GUIde to Riparian Recruitment Assessment
        • Defining Criteria
        • Methodology
        • References
    • Maps
      • Finding QGIS
      • In this section
        • QGIS mapping
        • Mapping
        • About Mapping with River Architect
    • Project Maker
      • The two halves
      • The rates
      • Reading the result
      • In this section
        • Project Maker
        • Introduction to the Project Maker module
        • Quick GUIde to a project assessment
        • Cost quantity assessment and the cost master workbook
        • Mapping of construction elements
        • Ecological benefit asessment (Calculate SHArea)

Tools

  • Tools
    • Available now
      • Reconcile NoData
      • lyrx2qml
      • Flow analysis
      • File renaming
    • Not ported
    • In this section
      • River Architect Tools
      • Main Tool scripts
      • Class and Function files

FAQ

  • FAQ
    • Legacy page
      • Frequently asked questions (legacy)

Troubleshooting

  • Troubleshooting and error message handling
    • Known issues
    • How to troubleshoot
    • Error messages
    • Warning messages
    • Getting help
    • Legacy page
      • Error messages and Troubleshooting
      • Known issues
      • How to trace Error and Warning messages
      • Error and Warning message generation
      • Error messages
      • Warning messages

Development

  • Development
    • Principles
    • Adding a module
      • 1. The analysis, as a plain module
      • 2. Tests
      • 3. A tab in both front ends
      • 4. Documentation
      • 5. The changelog
    • Conventions
    • The layout
    • Contributing
    • In this section
      • Migrating from arcpy
        • Inventory of the original dependency
        • Semantics that silently produce wrong results
        • Function-by-function mapping
        • Where there is no clean equivalent
        • Defects found during the migration
        • Fidelity gaps found by running the whole chain
      • API reference
        • riverarchitect.raster
        • riverarchitect.condition
        • riverarchitect.preprocessing
        • riverarchitect.lifespan
        • riverarchitect.maxlifespan
        • riverarchitect.terraforming
        • riverarchitect.riverbuilder
        • riverarchitect.volume
        • riverarchitect.volume_assessment
        • riverarchitect.sharc
        • riverarchitect.stranding
        • riverarchitect.recruitment
        • riverarchitect.flows
        • riverarchitect.projectmaker
        • riverarchitect.mapping
        • riverarchitect.config
        • riverarchitect.guide
        • riverarchitect.tools
        • riverarchitect.gui

About

  • License
    • Full text
    • Citing River Architect
    • Third-party components
  • Acknowledgment and funding
  • DISCLAIMER
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© Copyright 2026, River Architect Development Team. Last updated on 2026-07-30.

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