MdsScope

MdsScope is a C++/Qt desktop application for browsing WebScope-style shot configuration files (*.toml, *.webscp) and plotting MDSplus signal data through MDSIP.

It is intended to be a transparent, open-source alternative to older Java 8 based WebScope-style clients, which can be difficult to maintain on newer Java runtimes. The application is currently EAST-specific: the bundled signal configuration, MDSIP defaults, login flow, and HTTP metadata API target EAST.

Features

• Load TOML and WebScope-style .webscp environment files.
• Plot multiple synchronized MDSplus signal panels.
• Three sampling quality modes: thin (saved EAST preview when available), medium (0.1 ms server-side average), and full (complete data).
• Apply single-shot or batch-shot expressions globally.
• Use EAST HTTP metadata for latest shot and top-bar shot summary.
• Tunnel remote data through OpenSSH and store credentials in the operating system's native credential service.
• Export plotted data as text, CSV, TSV, or JSON.
• Run on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Sampling Quality Modes

MdsScope offers three data sampling modes to balance speed and precision:

• Thin: The fastest choice for routine browsing and rapid shot switching. It uses the prepared EAST _s signal when available and falls back to the Medium strategy otherwise.

• Medium: A balance between speed and signal detail, suitable when peaks, pulses, and trigger shapes matter. It requests an approximately 0.1 ms Average STC result from the EAST server. If the original signal is less dense than 0.1 ms, its native resolution is retained instead of being interpolated.

• Full: Reads all raw data with no sampling. It has the highest transfer and memory cost and is intended for detailed analysis requiring every original sample.

The current mode can be set globally with the top toolbar dropdown, per panel from the panel context menu, or per signal in the source setup dialog. The startup default is applied once when a configuration opens: a higher saved panel/source mode is kept, while a lower or omitted mode is raised to the startup default in memory. After opening, global, panel, and source Rate controls may freely raise or lower their targets.

The global dropdown starts with the saved startup default. To change that default, first select the desired Rate, then right-click the Rate control and choose Set Default. Applying the startup default while opening a configuration does not modify the file. User-initiated global, panel, or source Rate changes remain in memory until the configuration is saved with Save or Ctrl+S; saving then writes the currently effective Rates. Legacy .webscp files do not store Rate settings.

Requirements

• CMake 3.16 or newer
• A C++23 compiler
• Qt 6.4 or newer with Core, Widgets, Network, and Concurrent
• Qt 6 DBus on Linux
• libsecret development files on Linux

Dependency Installation

Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential cmake qt6-base-dev qt6-base-dev-tools libsecret-1-dev

macOS:

xcode-select --install
brew install cmake qt

Windows: install Visual Studio 2022 with the C++ desktop workload, CMake, and a matching Qt 6 MSVC build.

Build and Install

Prebuilt DEB, RPM, Linux portable ZIP, Apple Silicon macOS, and Windows packages are published from Git tags.

Prebuilt Linux Packages

Install the DEB matching the Ubuntu release and architecture:

sudo apt install ./mdsscope-ubuntu24.04.amd64.deb

Install the RPM matching Fedora 44, Enterprise Linux 9, or Enterprise Linux 10:

sudo dnf install ./mdsscope-fedora44.x86_64.rpm
sudo dnf install ./mdsscope-el10.x86_64.rpm

The EL9 package uses Qt 6 from EPEL 9. On Rocky Linux 9 or AlmaLinux 9, enable CRB and EPEL before installing it:

sudo dnf install dnf-plugins-core
sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb
sudo dnf install epel-release
sudo dnf install ./mdsscope-el9.x86_64.rpm

The portable Linux ZIP includes Qt and the other non-system runtime libraries. It does not need to be installed:

unzip mdsscope-linux-x86_64.zip
./MdsScope/MdsScope

Prebuilt macOS Packages

The macOS packages target Apple Silicon (arm64). They are ad-hoc signed for Apple Silicon but are not signed with an Apple Developer ID and are not notarized. Gatekeeper may therefore block the first launch.

For the DMG, open it, drag MdsScope.app into Applications, then Control-click the installed app and select Open. If macOS still blocks it, use Open Anyway under System Settings → Privacy & Security. As a per-app Terminal fallback:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/MdsScope.app
open /Applications/MdsScope.app

For the ZIP binary package, extract and launch it directly:

ditto -x -k mdsscope-macos-arm64.zip .
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine ./MdsScope.app
open ./MdsScope.app

Only remove the quarantine attribute from packages downloaded from the official MdsScope GitHub Releases page. Do not disable Gatekeeper globally.

Prebuilt Windows Package

The Windows ZIP is portable and includes the required Qt DLLs. Extract it and run MdsScope.exe; no installer or setup wizard is required.

Build from Source

To build from source:

Linux:

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build -j
./build/MdsScope

macOS:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix qt)"
cmake --build build -j
open ./build/MdsScope.app

Windows:

cmake -S . -B build -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64
cmake --build build --config Release
.\build\Release\MdsScope.exe

Install from a source build when needed:

Linux:

cmake --install build

For non-root Linux installs, the default command-line prefix is ~/.local.

macOS:

# GUI app bundle
cmake --install build --prefix "$HOME/Applications" --component app

# Command-line tools and shared resources
cmake --install build --prefix "$HOME/.local" --component tools

Configuration

On first run, MdsScope creates a user configuration directory and copies bundled templates if it is empty:

Linux:   ~/.config/mdsscope/
macOS:   ~/Library/Application Support/mdsscope/
Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\MdsScope\

Configuration Formats

MdsScope uses TOML as its native configuration format and also supports legacy WebScope-compatible .webscp files. Saving from the GUI writes same-named TOML and WebSCP files so a layout can still be opened by the old client. WebSCP only contains settings supported by the legacy format; MdsScope extensions such as per-source Rate remain in TOML. When both init.toml and init.webscp exist, MdsScope prefers the TOML file.

Example TOML:

version = 1

[[panels]]
column = 1
row = 1
title = "Plasma current"
x_label = "s"
y_label = "kA"

[[panels.signals]]
tree = "pcs_east"
server = "202.127.204.12"
y = "\\pcrl01"
read_mode = "full"

Panels use the shot shown in the MdsScope UI. A signal-level shot value is only needed for explicit per-signal shot overrides, such as shot comparison.

Shot fields support single shots, semicolon lists, ranges, and mixed expressions:

143850
143850;143851;143853
143850-143858
143850-143858;143865

Useful signal options include shot, hidden = true, and read_mode = "thin", read_mode = "medium", or read_mode = "full" for per-signal data mode overrides. Omitting read_mode makes the source inherit the saved startup/global Rate without rewriting the TOML file.

Convert legacy .webscp files with transfer:

./build/transfer resources/environment/init.webscp
./build/transfer --recursive resources/environment

On Windows source builds, use the executable under build\Release:

.\build\Release\transfer.exe ".\resources\environment\init.webscp"
.\build\Release\transfer.exe --recursive --out-dir ".\converted" ".\resources\environment"

Connectivity

Credential Storage

MdsScope stores API credentials and SSH settings in the operating system's native credential service: Linux Secret Service, macOS Keychain, or Windows Credential Manager.

Existing auth.cache data is migrated and removed only after a successful native-store commit; new installations do not create it.

SSH private keys remain managed by OpenSSH—MdsScope stores only the selected identity-file path.

EAST HTTP Metadata API

The EAST HTTP metadata endpoint is stored in resources/APIurl. It is used for latest shot lookup and the top-bar summary. Plot data continues to come from EAST MDSIP.

SSH Remote Access

Use the SSH button next to Login to tunnel MDSIP data and EAST metadata when they are only reachable from an internal network. Linux, macOS, and Windows are supported when a system OpenSSH client is available. The SSH server may run on any platform, but it must allow TCP forwarding and reach the required internal services.

Authentication supports a password, a selected identity file, or the default OpenSSH configuration and ssh-agent when both are left empty.

SSH access is slower than a direct internal-network connection because of unavoidable network, encryption, and compression overhead. Users are responsible for using only trusted, authorized SSH hosts and for complying with applicable network and security policies.

Web Bookmarks

The browser button next to SSH lets users save named HTTP or HTTPS addresses, edit them, and open them in the system default browser. No target addresses are included by default. When an SSH data tunnel is already connected, saved web addresses use the same SSH forwarding path; otherwise they open normally. URLs with explicit ports are supported.

Data Export

Data export supports text, CSV, TSV, and JSON formats. By default, exported files are written under:

Linux:   ~/Downloads/mdsscope/output/
macOS:   ~/Downloads/mdsscope/output/
Windows: %USERPROFILE%\Downloads\mdsscope\output\  (usual location)

Benchmark Mode

MdsScope includes a simple benchmark mode for MDS data loading:

./build/MdsScope --benchmark resources/environment/your_config.webscp --summary

Architecture

The module dependency graph, responsibility boundaries, and strict build profile are documented in docs/architecture.md.

Run the strict build and its checks with:

cmake -S . -B build-strict \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DMDS_SCOPE_STRICT_COMPILE=ON \
  -DMDS_SCOPE_BUILD_TESTS=ON
cmake --build build-strict --parallel
ctest --test-dir build-strict --output-on-failure

Repository Hygiene

Do not commit:

• access tokens
• local auth caches
• build artifacts

The EAST API URL is intentionally stored in resources/APIurl; do not commit personal tokens or cache files.

Disclaimer

This software is provided for research, engineering, and data visualization workflows. It is provided "as is", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of correctness, reliability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

The authors and contributors are not responsible for incorrect analysis, operational decisions, data loss, service disruption, unauthorized access, or any other direct or indirect consequences arising from use of this software, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

SSH forwarding and web bookmarks are general-purpose, user-configured features. The project provides no target web addresses, credentials, or access authorization, and does not operate destination systems or relay user traffic. Users are solely responsible for accessing only authorized systems and complying with applicable laws and institutional policies.

References

The original EAST web-based MDSplus/WebScope workflow is described in:

Yang, F.; Xiao, B. J. A web based MDSplus data analysis and visualization system for EAST. Fusion Engineering and Design 2012, 87(12), 2161-2165.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2012.09.015

License

Copyright (C) 2026 Weikang Wang.

MdsScope is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later. See COPYING for the full GNU General Public License version 3 text.