---
name: "mcv"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "scotch"
version: "7.0.17-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/mcv"
---

# mcv(1)

mesh file converter

## NAME

**mcv** - mesh file converter

## SYNOPSIS

```
mcv [options] [imfile] [omfile] [oxfile]
```

## DESCRIPTION

**The mcv program converts Scotch mesh files from and to other** **external file formats.**

**File** *imfile* **is converted into mesh file** *omfile***, with optional** **geometry data being put in geometry file** *oxfile***, if it is** **available.**

**When file names are not specified, data is read from standard input** **and written to standard output. Standard streams can also be** **explicitly represented by a dash '-'.**

**When the proper libraries have been included at compile time, mcv** **can directly handle compressed meshes, both as input and output. A** **stream is treated as compressed whenever its name is postfixed with** **a compressed file extension, such as in 'brol.msh.bz2' or '-.gz'. The** **compression formats which can be supported are the bzip2 format** **('.bz2'), the gzip format ('.gz'), and the lzma format ('.lzma').**

## OPTIONS

- **-h**

  **Display some help.**

- **-i*ifmt***

  **Set format of input mesh file, which can be:**

  - **b*num***

    **Boeing-Harwell format. This is an elemental** **matrix format. Only square matrices are supported. In** **case the file contains several matrices, the** *num* **parameter allow the user to provide the index of** **the matrix to convert, starting from 0. When the** *num* **parameter is not set, it is assumed to be 0.**

  - **s**

    **Scotch mesh format.**

- **-o*ofmt***

  **Set format of output mesh file, which can be:**

  - **s**

    **Scotch mesh format. This is the only possible choice at** **the time being.**

- **-V**

  **Display program version and copyright.**

## EXAMPLE

**Convert a Harwell-Boeing elemental mesh into a Scotch mesh.**

```
    $ mcv -ib brol.hb brol.msh
```

## SEE ALSO

**[mtst(1)](/mtst/1.md), [mord(1)](/mord/1.md).**

**Scotch user's manual.**

## AUTHOR

**Francois Pellegrini \<francois.pellegrini@labri.fr\>**