Complete OpenMPI (mpirun) keyboard shortcuts and commands reference — 12 shortcuts across 2 categories. Quick reference cheat sheet for Windows & Mac.
OpenMPI (mpirun) is a popular high-performance computing (HPC) communication library used by professionals worldwide. Learning keyboard shortcuts can dramatically speed up your workflow — studies show shortcut users save an average of 8 days per year compared to mouse-only users.
This page covers all 12 OpenMPI (mpirun) shortcuts across 2 categories: Launching, Environment & Debugging. Each shortcut includes a description to help you understand when and how to use it effectively.
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| mpirun -n 4 ./prog | Run N processes | Launch 4 copies of the program across the allocated resources. |
| --hostfile hosts.txt | Host file | Specify a file listing hosts and slot counts to run on. |
| -H host1,host2 | Host list | Comma-delimited list of hosts to launch processes on directly. |
| -N 4 | Processes per node | Launch 4 processes on each allocated node (synonym: --npernode). |
| --map-by node | Mapping policy | Distribute processes round-robin across nodes instead of filling one node first. |
| --bind-to core | CPU binding | Bind each process to a specific CPU core for consistent performance. |
| Shortcut | Action | Description |
|---|---|---|
| -x VAR | Export env variable | Export an environment variable from the launching shell to every process. |
| --mca key value | Set MCA parameter | Pass a Modular Component Architecture parameter to tune Open MPI's behavior. |
| --allow-run-as-root | Allow root | Permit mpirun to launch as the root user; discouraged outside containers. |
| --display-map | Show process map | Print the mapped location of every process before launch, useful for debugging placement. |
| --oversubscribe | Oversubscribe | Allow launching more processes than available CPU slots. |
| -V | Version | Print the Open MPI version and exit. |
The most essential OpenMPI (mpirun) shortcuts are: mpirun -n 4 ./prog (Run N processes), --hostfile hosts.txt (Host file), -H host1,host2 (Host list). These cover the most frequent actions and can significantly speed up your workflow.
OpenMPI (mpirun) has 12 keyboard shortcuts across 2 categories on shortcut-tools.com.
These are command-line commands — type them in your terminal or console. Combine them with shell history search (Ctrl + R) and aliases to work even faster.
The OpenMPI (mpirun) shortcut for run n processes is mpirun -n 4 ./prog. Launch 4 copies of the program across the allocated resources.
Start with the essentials: Learn mpirun -n 4 ./prog (Run N processes) and --hostfile hosts.txt (Host file) first — these are the most commonly used.
Practice daily: Pick 2–3 new shortcuts each day and consciously use them instead of the mouse. Within a week, they become muscle memory.
Print this cheat sheet: Keep a reference nearby until shortcuts become automatic. Focus on the Launching category first.
CLI tip: Create shell aliases for the commands you use most. Combine them with these shortcuts for maximum efficiency.