You cannot directly set NINPUTS in the GUI. It is not required—once you specify NOUTPUTS, ALAMO automatically calculates NINPUTS by subtracting NOUTPUTS from the total number of columns in your spreadsheet.

INITIALPOINTS defines the total number of data points available before model building begins. It is used with:

• NDATA – Number of pre-existing measurements provided by the user
• NSAMPLE – Number of points ALAMO should generate through sampling

Behavior depends on whether INITIALPOINTS is specified:

• If INITIALPOINTS is declared, ALAMO sets NSAMPLE = INITIALPOINTS - NDATA (ignoring any provided NSAMPLE value).
• If INITIALPOINTS is not declared, ALAMO sets INITIALPOINTS = NDATA + NSAMPLE.

This lets you control how much data is available before model training begins.

We recommend using Java version 21.0.1 (released on 2023-10-17) or newer. Make sure to install the Java Development Kit (JDK)—the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) alone is not sufficient.

This error means ALAMO was launched without a required input file. To fix it, provide an ALAMO input file (e.g., example.alm) as a command-line argument when starting ALAMO. 

This error means ALAMO could not locate or run the simulator. To resolve it:

• Ensure the simulator exists and is accessible from your system's PATH, or
• Specify the full path to the simulator using ALAMO’s SIMULATOR option.

Note: ALAMO runs the simulator in a scratch directory, so the simulator should not rely on relative paths to locate other files or programs. Use absolute paths where needed.

Make sure you are using the latest version of ALAMO and generate a new license online. If the error persists, please send us a screenshot of ALAMO's output so we can help diagnose the issue.

• For Windows: Follow the instructions here.
• For Mac: Follow the instructions here.

After making the changes, restart your terminal and operating system to apply the updated path.

The issue is likely due to an insufficient Java version. We recommend updating to the most recent version of Java and installing the Java Development Kit (JDK).

This issue is likely related to your Java version. We recommend using Java version 21.0.1 (released on 2023-10-17) or a newer version to ensure proper functionality of the GUI.

To get technical support, email info@minlp.com. Please include a screenshot of any warning or error messages you are receiving. This will help our technical team investigate the issue and provide more accurate assistance.

BARON (short for Branch And Reduce Optimization Navigator) is a global optimization solver developed by The Optimization Firm. It is designed to find globally optimal solutions to a broad class of mathematical programming problems–including LP, NLP, MIP, and MINLP–and is the leading solver for MINLPs. Since 2001, BARON has been used by Fortune 500 companies, national research labs, and universities worldwide.

Check the terminal or listing file (.lst). BAM provides clear termination codes such as:

• Licensing error
• Input file error
• Simulator not returning valid output
• Function call or time limit reached

See the Error Messages section of the BAM User Manual for full details.

This error typically means BARON cannot proceed due to a licensing issue. Common causes include:

• No license file is found. BARON cannot locate baronlice.txt in the expected directory.
• The license file exists but is expired or invalid.
• You are using the demo version, which restricts model size or type and does not support the problem you are attempting.

To fix this, make sure you have a valid baronlice.txt file in the correct location and that your license matches your BARON version and usage. Contact BARON support at info@minlp.com if you are unsure.

To set up BARON:

1. Download the executable from minlp.com/baron-downloads for your platform (Windows, Linux, or macOS).
2. Place the BARON executable in a directory of your choice, like C:\baron\.
3. Add that directory to your system PATH so BARON can be called from the command line or modeling environments like Pyomo or JuMP.
4. Install your license file (baronlice.txt) in the same directory as the BARON executable or in your home directory.
5. Verify the installation by running baron from a terminal or command prompt. You should see version and usage information.

For more help integrating BARON, see the relevant sections in this FAQ.

ALAMO (short for Automated Learning of Algebraic MOdels) is a modeling tool that builds simple, accurate algebraic models from data. It uses global optimization to select the best set of basis functions and model terms while balancing complexity and predictive performance. ALAMO is especially useful when you need transparent, interpretable models with guaranteed optimality properties, often in engineering, scientific, and process systems applications.

BAM offers three license types:

• Commercial License: Includes technical support and software updates.
• Academic License: Free for academic research and educational use.
• DOE License: Free for the U.S. Department of Energy.

See BAM Licenses to view options or contact sales@minlp.com for further information.

You don’t need to purchase it—the MATLAB/BARON interface is free of charge and can be downloaded from the MATLAB-BARON Interface page on our website.

Yes. If you run into issues, use the filekp option to generate the scratch directory (including the .bar file) and send it to support so they can diagnose the problem.

Put the BARON executable and your license file on your system PATH (the MATLAB path alone may not be enough), and install the interface by following the included installation instructions.

Not currently—only executables are provided. DLLs will be added in the future, but many users run BARON via Pyomo, JuMP, or the MATLAB interface in the meantime.