DREID-Forge is a high-performance, pure-Rust library for automated DREIDING force field parameterization. It orchestrates atom typing, partial charge calculation, and potential energy function generation to produce simulation-ready inputs for both biological macromolecules and arbitrary chemical systems—all without leaving the Rust type system.

• Automated atom typing — assigns DREIDING atom types (e.g., C_3, O_R, N_2) based on element, hybridization, and local bonding environment via the dreid-typer crate.
• QEq charge equilibration — computes electronegativity-equalized partial atomic charges using the cheq library, with configurable total charge constraints.
• Comprehensive potential generation — produces bond (harmonic/Morse), angle (theta-harmonic/cosine-harmonic), dihedral, improper, van der Waals (LJ 12-6/Exp-6), and hydrogen bond potentials.
• Format interoperability — reads PDB, mmCIF, MOL2, and SDF structures with optional biomolecular preparation (cleaning, protonation, solvation); exports to BGF and complete LAMMPS simulation packages.
• Rust-first ergonomics — no FFI, no global mutable state, edition 2024, and a carefully designed public API with comprehensive RustDoc documentation.

flowchart LR
    Input[System] --> Intermediate[IntermediateSystem]
    Intermediate --> Typer[Atom Typing]
    Typer --> Charge[Charge Calculation]
    Charge --> ParamGen[Parameter Generation]
    ParamGen --> Output[ForgedSystem]

1. Convert — IntermediateSystem::from_system builds neighbor lists and prepares bonds for physical order assignment.
2. Type — assign_atom_types delegates to dreid-typer to assign DREIDING atom types and enumerate angles, dihedrals, and impropers.
3. Charge — assign_charges optionally computes QEq partial charges via cheq.
4. Generate — generate_parameters produces all bonded and non-bonded potential parameters according to DREIDING rules.
5. Output — The resulting ForgedSystem is ready for export to BGF or LAMMPS formats.

Install the latest DREID-Forge CLI binary from the releases page or via cargo:

cargo install dreid-forge

Once the dforge binary is installed, you can parameterize a molecule in a single step:

dforge bio -i input.pdb -o output.bgf

Explore the complete parameterization pipeline and more options in the user manual and browse the examples directory for runnable walkthroughs.

DREID-Forge is also available as a library crate. Add it to your Cargo.toml dependencies:

[dependencies]
dreid-forge = "0.2.0"

use dreid_forge::{Atom, Bond, BondOrder, Element, System};
use dreid_forge::{forge, ForgeConfig, ChargeMethod, QeqConfig, ForgeError};

fn main() -> Result<(), ForgeError> {
    // Build a water molecule
    let mut system = System::new();
    system.atoms.push(Atom::new(Element::O, [0.0, 0.0, 0.0]));
    system.atoms.push(Atom::new(Element::H, [0.9575, 0.0, 0.0]));
    system.atoms.push(Atom::new(Element::H, [-0.2399, 0.9272, 0.0]));
    system.bonds.push(Bond::new(0, 1, BondOrder::Single));
    system.bonds.push(Bond::new(0, 2, BondOrder::Single));

    // Parameterize with QEq charges
    let config = ForgeConfig {
        charge_method: ChargeMethod::Qeq(QeqConfig::default()),
        ..Default::default()
    };
    let forged = forge(&system, &config)?;

    // Inspect results
    println!("Atom types: {:?}", forged.atom_types);
    println!("Bonds: {}", forged.potentials.bonds.len());
    println!("Angles: {}", forged.potentials.angles.len());

    // Oxygen should be negatively charged, hydrogens positive
    assert!(forged.atom_properties[0].charge < 0.0);
    assert!(forged.atom_properties[1].charge > 0.0);

    Ok(())
}

use std::fs::File;
use std::io::{BufReader, BufWriter};

use dreid_forge::{forge, ForgeConfig};
use dreid_forge::io::{
    BioReader, Format, CleanConfig, ProtonationConfig,
    write_lammps_package, LammpsConfig,
};

fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
    // Read and prepare a PDB structure
    let file = File::open("protein.pdb")?;
    let system = BioReader::new(BufReader::new(file), Format::Pdb)
        .clean(CleanConfig { remove_water: true, remove_ions: true, ..Default::default() })
        .protonate(ProtonationConfig::default())
        .read()?;

    // Parameterize with DREIDING force field
    let forged = forge(&system, &ForgeConfig::default())?;

    // Write LAMMPS data and settings files
    let mut data = BufWriter::new(File::create("system.data")?);
    let mut settings = BufWriter::new(File::create("system.in.settings")?);
    write_lammps_package(&mut data, &mut settings, &forged, &LammpsConfig::default())?;

    Ok(())
}

Tip: For small molecules without biological context, use ChemReader with MOL2 or SDF formats instead.

For detailed usage instructions and configuration options, refer to the API Documentation.

• CLI User Manual — detailed explanation of command-line usage and options.
• API Documentation — comprehensive reference for all public types and functions.
• Architecture Overview — detailed explanation of the internal design, algorithms, and data flow.

dreid-forge builds on several specialized crates:

This project is licensed under the MIT License — see the LICENSE file for details.