The PLUTO Code



Code Version: 4.4-patch2 (Jun 2021)

PLUTO is a freely-distributed software for the numerical solution of mixed hyperbolic/parabolic systems of partial differential equations (conservation laws) targeting high Mach number flows in astrophysical fluid dynamics. The code is designed with a modular and flexible structure whereby different numerical algorithms can be separately combined to solve systems of conservation laws using the finite volume or finite difference approach based on Godunov-type schemes.

Equations are discretized and solved on a structured mesh that can be either static or adaptive. The AMR interface relies on the Chombo library for parallel calculations over block-structured, adaptively refined grids.

The code is written in the C programming language while the AMR interface also requires also C++ and Fortran.

PLUTO is a highly portable software and can run from a single workstation up to several thousands processors using the Message Passing Interface (MPI) to achieve highly scalable parallel performance.

The software is developed at the Dipartimento di Fisica, Torino University in a joint collaboration with INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino and the SCAI Department of CINECA.

The current release adds Particles support, Hall MHD, forced turbulence and RK-Legendre time stepping for parabolic problems. 

Terms of use.

PLUTO is distributed freely under the GNU general public license. Codes development and support requires a great deal of work and for this reason we expect PLUTO to be referenced and acknowledged by authors who use it for their publications. Co-authorship may be solicited for those publications demanding considerable additional support and/or changes to the code.


  • Static grid method paper: "PLUTO: A Numerical Code for Computational Astrophysics”, Mignone et al., The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 170, Issue 1, pp. 228-242 [External link: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007ApJS..170..228M]
  • Adaptive grid method paper: "The PLUTO Code for Adaptive Mesh Computations in Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics”, Mignone et al,The Astrophysical Journal Supplement, Volume 198, Issue 1, article id. 7, 31 pp. (2012) [External link: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012ApJS..198....7M]


© PLUTO Team - 2024