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GMX-HBOND(1)			     GROMACS			    GMX-HBOND(1)

NAME
     gmx-hbond - Compute and analyze hydrogen bonds.

SYNOPSIS
	gmx hbond [-f [<.xtc/.trr/...>]] [-s [<.tpr/.gro/...>]] [-n [<.ndx>]]
		  [-o [<.ndx>]] [-num [<.xvg>]] [-dist [<.xvg>]]
		  [-ang [<.xvg>]] [-dan [<.xvg>]] [-b <time>] [-e <time>]
		  [-dt <time>] [-tu <enum>] [-fgroup <selection>]
		  [-xvg <enum>] [-[no]rmpbc] [-[no]pbc] [-sf <file>]
		  [-selrpos <enum>] [-seltype <enum>] [-r <selection>]
		  [-t <selection>] [-[no]m] [-[no]pf] [-cutoff <real>]
		  [-hbr <real>] [-hba <real>] [-de <string>] [-ae <string>]

DESCRIPTION
     gmx  hbond  allows  using	geometric definition of hydrogen bonds to define
     them throughout the structure.

     -r specifies reference selection, relative to which the search for hydrogen
     bonds in target selection will develop. Note that all  atoms  in  reference
     and target selections should be either absolutely identical or non-overlap-
     ping at all. Accepts dynamic selection.

     -t  specifies  target  selection, relative to which the search for hydrogen
     bonds in reference selection will develop. Note that all atoms in reference
     and target selections should be either absolutely identical or non-overlap-
     ping at all. Accepts dynamic selection.

     -m forces to merge together information in output index file about hydrogen
     bonds if they differ only in hydrogen indices. This also means that  infor-
     mation  about  hydrogen atoms in the hydrogen bonds would not be written in
     output index file at all.

     -pf forces to write hydrogen bonds for each  frame  separately  instead  of
     writing  hydrogen bonds for the whole system. Each information about hydro-
     gen bonds in new frame will be stored in its own section of the output  in-
     dex file.

     -cutoff  is  a real value that defines distance from donor to acceptor (and
     vice versa) that used in neighbor search. Minimum	(and  also  recommended)
     value is 0.35.

     -hbr Sets the cutoff that is used when calculating hydrogen bond distances.
     Recommended value: 0.35.

     -hba  Sets  the  cutoff that is used when calculating hydrogen bond angles.
     Recommended value: 30.

     -de Specifies the atomic elements that will be selected from  the	topology
     to check if a given element is a potential hydrogen bond donor.

     -ae  Specifies  the atomic elements that will be selected from the topology
     to check if a given element is a potential hydrogen bond acceptor.

     -num allows you to get a plot of the number of hydrogen bonds as a function
     of time at the output.

     -dist allows you to get a plot of the distance distribution of all hydrogen
     bonds at the output.

     -ang allows you to get a plot of the angular distribution of  all	hydrogen
     bonds at the output.

     -dan  allows  you to get a plot of the number of analyzed donors and accep-
     tors for each frame at the output.

     Note that this is a new implementation of the hbond utility added	in  GRO-
     MACS 2024. If you need the old one, use gmx hbond-legacy.

OPTIONS
     Options to specify input files:

     -f [<.xtc/.trr/...>] (traj.xtc) (Optional)
	    Input  trajectory  or  single configuration: xtc trr cpt gro g96 pdb
	    tng h5md

     -s [<.tpr/.gro/...>] (topol.tpr) (Optional)
	    Input structure: tpr gro g96 pdb brk ent

     -n [<.ndx>] (index.ndx) (Optional)
	    Extra index groups

     Options to specify output files:

     -o [<.ndx>] (hbond.ndx)
	    Index file that contains selected groups', acceptors',  donors'  and
	    hydrogens'	indices  and  hydrogen	bond pairs between or within se-
	    lected groups.

     -num [<.xvg>] (hbnum.xvg) (Optional)
	    Number of hydrogen bonds as a function of time.

     -dist [<.xvg>] (hbdist.xvg) (Optional)
	    Distance distribution of all hydrogen bonds.

     -ang [<.xvg>] (hbang.xvg) (Optional)
	    Angle distribution of all hydrogen bonds.

     -dan [<.xvg>] (hbdan.xvg) (Optional)
	    Number of donors and acceptors analyzed for each frame.

     Other options:

     -b <time> (0)
	    First frame (ps) to read from trajectory

     -e <time> (0)
	    Last frame (ps) to read from trajectory

     -dt <time> (0)
	    Only use frame if t MOD dt == first time (ps)

     -tu <enum> (ps)
	    Unit for time values: fs, ps, ns, us, ms, s

     -fgroup <selection>
	    Atoms stored in the trajectory file (if  not  set,	assume	first  N
	    atoms)

     -xvg <enum> (xmgrace)
	    Plot formatting: xmgrace, xmgr, none

     -[no]rmpbc (yes)
	    Make molecules whole for each frame

     -[no]pbc (yes)
	    Use periodic boundary conditions for distance calculation

     -sf <file>
	    Provide selections from files

     -selrpos <enum> (atom)
	    Selection  reference  positions:  atom,  res_com,  res_cog, mol_com,
	    mol_cog, whole_res_com, whole_res_cog, whole_mol_com, whole_mol_cog,
	    part_res_com, part_res_cog, part_mol_com, part_mol_cog, dyn_res_com,
	    dyn_res_cog, dyn_mol_com, dyn_mol_cog

     -seltype <enum> (atom)
	    Default selection output positions: atom, res_com, res_cog, mol_com,
	    mol_cog, whole_res_com, whole_res_cog, whole_mol_com, whole_mol_cog,
	    part_res_com, part_res_cog, part_mol_com, part_mol_cog, dyn_res_com,
	    dyn_res_cog, dyn_mol_com, dyn_mol_cog

     -r <selection>
	    Reference selection, relative to which the search for hydrogen bonds
	    in target selection will develop.

     -t <selection>
	    Target selection, relative to which the search for hydrogen bonds in
	    reference selection will develop.

     -[no]m (no)
	    Merge together information about hydrogen bonds if they differ  only
	    in hydrogen indices.

     -[no]pf (no)
	    Write  hydrogen  bonds  for each frame separately instead of writing
	    hydrogen bonds for the whole system.

     -cutoff <real> (0.35)
	    Distance from donor to acceptor (and vice versa) that used in neigh-
	    bor search (nm). Must be > 0.

     -hbr <real> (0.35)
	    Hydrogen bond cutoff distance, between donor and acceptor (nm).  The
	    value must not exceed the neighbor search cutoff and must be > 0.

     -hba <real> (30)
	    A-D-H hydrogen bond cutoff angle (degrees). Must be > 0.

     -de <string> (N O)
	    Donor elements. Default elements: N, O.

     -ae <string> (N O)
	    Acceptor elements. Default elements: N, O.

SEE ALSO
     gmx(1)

     More information about GROMACS is available at <http://www.gromacs.org/>.

COPYRIGHT
     2026, GROMACS development team

2026.3				  Jun 25, 2026			    GMX-HBOND(1)

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