DAKOTA stands for “Design Analysis toolKit for Optimization and Terascale Applications”. This open-source software is one of the most powerful and versatile tools available to support R&D departments in the design of new products.
With this tool, it is possible to perform:

• Design optimization
• Parameters estimation
• Uncertainty quantification
• Sensitivity analisys

In this section, we will guide you through the compilation procedure on Linux Kubuntu 2404.
The INSTALL file contains a detailed description of the compilation procedure; please refer to the Source Quick Start section.
Vompared to other open-source projects, DAKOTA does not have complex dependancies and it follows a very simple and straighforward compilation process. To compile the Dakota source distribution, use CMake to populate a build tree for the target platform with the appropriate Makefiles, and then run 'make'.

• Download the latest DAKOTA source code from the officially download page into your local download directory. For example:

  /home/userName/downloads/opt/DAKOTA
  

  We recommend using the Command Line Only version.

  

• Decompress the DAKOTA source archive using the following command:

  bashCopy

  tar -zxvf dakota-6.23.0-public-src-cli.tar.gz

• Navigate the DAKOTA src source folder and create the build directory:

  bashCopy

  cd dakota-6.23.0-public-src-cli/
  mkdir build
  cd build/

• Copy the DAKOTA build configuration file from the ../cmake/examples directory into this folder and rename it BuildDakotaCustom.cmake. In most cases, no change are required; however, consult the documentation if any specific requirements apply.

  bashCopy

  cp ../cmake/examples/BuildDakotaTemplate.cmake BuildDakotaCustom.cmake

• By default, DAKOTA is installaed in /usr/local. To change the installation directory, specify the following option:
  -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/path_where_to_install_DAKOTA.
  You may now run the standard build process:

  bashCopy

  cmake -C BuildDakotaCustom.cmake ../
  
  make -j 8
  
  sudo make install

• Now leave the DAKOTA download directory, return to the user home directory, and verify your installation with the following commands:

  bashCopy

  cd ~
  
  dakota -v

• DAKOTA will return the following output:

  bashCopy

  Dakota version 6.23 released Nov. 17 2025.
  Repository revision a3b2eb477 (2025-11-12) built Jan 14 2026 12:27:01.

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