Get started with FRI3D

FRI3D is a fire modeling and visualization platform that uses industry standard codes like CFAST and FDS to perform advanced fire modeling and Fire probabilistic Risk Analysis

FRI3D runs permanently on all your physical/virtual servers, desktops, cloud deployments. It currently runs on Windows distributions with no administrator previleges required.

System Requirements

FRI3D is a 64-bit Windows desktop application built with Qt 6. The requirements below cover both the general application (3D modeling and analysis) and the optional NVIDIA-accelerated fire/smoke volume visualization.

At a glance: FRI3D requires 64-bit Windows 10 version 1809 or later (or Windows 11), a 64-bit multi-core processor, 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended), 3 GB free disk space, and a graphics card supporting OpenGL 4.3 with an actively maintained driver — integrated or dedicated (Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA). GPUs whose manufacturer no longer publishes driver updates (e.g. Intel "Haswell" HD 4000-series graphics, last driver 2016) are not supported even though they advertise OpenGL 4.3 — see the graphics notes below. A dedicated NVIDIA GPU is required only for 3D fire/smoke visualization.

Minimum System Requirements

Component	Requirement
Operating system	Microsoft Windows 10 version 1809 (64-bit) or later, or Windows 11 (64-bit). 32-bit Windows is not supported.
Processor	64-bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor
Memory	8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended)
Disk space	3 GB free for installation
Graphics	Graphics card (Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA — integrated or dedicated) supporting OpenGL 4.3, with an actively maintained manufacturer driver installed. The GPU must still receive driver updates from its manufacturer — see the graphics notes below for known-incompatible legacy GPUs
Runtime	Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 Redistributable (x64) — included with the FRI3D installer

Graphics notes

• The 3D viewport requires an OpenGL 4.3-capable GPU with a current driver. This is independent of GPU brand — modern integrated Intel and AMD graphics work as well as dedicated cards.
• Most GPUs released since ~2015 meet the requirement, including Intel HD/UHD/Iris/Arc (6th-generation Core "Skylake" or newer), AMD Radeon, and NVIDIA GeForce/Quadro/RTX.
• Known incompatible: Intel 4th-generation Core ("Haswell", 2013–2014) integrated graphics — HD 4200/4400/4600/5000/5200. These GPUs advertise OpenGL 4.3, but Intel shipped their final driver (20.19.15.x) in September 2016 and no longer maintains it. FRI3D's 3D environment is not compatible with this discontinued driver, and because Intel no longer provides updates for these GPUs, the recommended path is different graphics hardware: any dedicated GPU (entry-level is sufficient for modeling) or a machine with newer integrated graphics.
• Keep graphics drivers up to date. Many display problems (blank or non-updating 3D windows) are caused by outdated GPU drivers rather than the hardware itself. Update to the latest driver from Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA before reporting a graphics issue.

Supported Operating Systems

• Microsoft Windows 10, version 1809 or later — 64-bit editions
• Microsoft Windows 11 — 64-bit editions

Recommended System Specifications

• 16 GB RAM
• For 3D fire/smoke volume visualization, a dedicated NVIDIA GPU with:
  • CUDA compute capability 5.0 or higher
  • NVIDIA Pascal generation or later
  • NVIDIA driver version 471.11 or later
  • 2 GB or more of GPU memory (visualization memory needs are scene-specific)

Notes

• Windows on ARM (ARM64) is not supported. FRI3D is distributed as a 64-bit x86_64 application; FRI3D and its dependencies are built for x86_64 only.
• The operating-system and runtime floor is set by Qt 6.10 (the framework FRI3D is built on): Windows 10 version 1809 / 64-bit / Microsoft Visual C++ 2022 runtime. A capable GPU does not lift this floor — FRI3D will not launch on Windows 8/8.1 or pre-1809 Windows 10.

References

• Qt 6.10 — Supported Platforms
• Qt for Windows

Request an Evaluation

Request an evaluation

Install on Windows using a rar/zip package (Evaluation)

✅ Offline Installation:
No internet connection is required for ZIP package installation. The package is completely self-contained with all dependencies included.

If you receive a bundled zip file, this is usually done for evaluation licenses. Unzip locally and run FRI3D.exe from the unzip folder. All required components are included in the package - no additional downloads or internet access needed.

Install on Windows using an exe installer package (Installer)

✅ Offline Installation:
No internet connection is required for the EXE installer. The installer package is completely self-contained with all dependencies, libraries, and components included. You can install FRI3D on systems without internet access.

Run the bundled installer FRI3D_Windows.exe

Follow the prompts. Specify the Installation folder to a custom user folder if you don't have Administrator access or access to <Program Files> folder. The default is C:\Program Files\FRI3D. Select FRI3D component. Accept License Agreement.

After installation, set up your license. Full steps: Licensing.

License

Licensing (Evaluation)

1. Save the license file you received as FRI3D.ini.
2. Copy it into the FRI3D installation folder.
3. Start FRI3D.

Licensing (Device/User)

1. Save the license file you received as FRI3D.ini.
2. Copy it into the FRI3D installation folder.
3. Start FRI3D.

Licensing (Floating/Networked)

1. Set up the license server with NLicense Manager — see Licensing.
2. On this PC, install NLicense Tools and open NLicense Server Settings → enter the server name and port 46346 → Save → Test connection.
3. Start FRI3D. Do not copy FRI3D.ini to this PC.

What's next?