.. _Chap:InputsAscent:

Ascent
======


`Ascent <https://ascent.readthedocs.io>`_ has been integrated into MFIX-Exa for *in situ* visualization.
MFIX-Exa must be built with Ascent support to use this feature.

The following inputs must be preceded by the prefix ``mfix`` and control frequency of the Ascent pipeline.


+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+-----------+
|                      | Description                                                           |   Type      | Default   |
+======================+=======================================================================+=============+===========+
| ascent_int           | Frequency of ascent pipeline in timesteps; -1 to disable ascent       |    Int      | -1        |
|                      | pipeline based on timesteps.                                          |             |           |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+-----------+
| ascent_per_approx    | Time period of the ascent pipeline in simulation time (approximate);  |    Real     | -1        |
|                      | -1 to disable ascent pipeline based on simulation time.               |             |           |
+----------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+-----------+


The following input must be preceded by the prefix ``ascent``,
and specifies the Ascent actions for fluid and/or particles. The frequency which these are called
is controlled by ``ascent_int`` or ``ascent_per_approx``, see above. Note that if an Ascent pipeline
is being included in a GPU build/run, then you must enable managed memory,i.e., set
``amrex.the_arena_is_managed = true``.


+---------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+-----------+
|                     | Description                                                           |   Type      | Default   |
+=====================+=======================================================================+=============+===========+
| actions             | Name of yaml file of the ascent actions (ex. ascent_actions.yaml). If |  String     |           |
|                     | no file name is provided, then calls to Ascent are skipped.           |             |           |
+---------------------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------+-----------+