How do I install the Gmsh Meshing Common Issues skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add vamseeachanta/gmsh-meshing-common-issues-2 in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

What does the Gmsh Meshing Common Issues skill do?

Sub-skill of gmsh-meshing: Common Issues (+1). It is listed under Coding & Dev Tools on SkillMD.

Is Gmsh Meshing Common Issues safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Gmsh Meshing Common Issues?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Gmsh Meshing Common Issues free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Gmsh Meshing Common Issues?

vamseeachanta (@vamseeachanta) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Gmsh Meshing Common Issues by vamseeachanta

Name: Gmsh Meshing Common Issues
Author: vamseeachanta

File contents

Common Issues (+1)

Common Issues

Problem	Cause	Solution
Empty mesh output	Missing `synchronize()`	Call `gmsh.model.geo.synchronize()` or `gmsh.model.occ.synchronize()` before meshing
Wrong element types	Default is triangles	Use `setRecombine()` for quads, or `RecombineAll` option
Poor quality at corners	Sharp angles	Add local refinement or increase `Mesh.Smoothing`
STEP import fails	Topology issues	Enable `Geometry.OCCFixDegenerated`, `OCCFixSmallEdges`, `OCCSewFaces`
MSH format not recognized	Wrong version	Set `Mesh.MshFileVersion` to 2.2 for BEM tools
Physical groups empty	Not assigned	Must define physical groups before `write()`
Transfinite fails	Incompatible topology	Surface must be 3 or 4-sided, curves must have matching node counts
Size fields ignored	Other size sources active	Disable `MeshSizeExtendFromBoundary`, `MeshSizeFromPoints`, `MeshSizeFromCurvature`
Crash on large models	Memory	Use `-nt` for parallel meshing, increase verbosity to find bottleneck
`gmsh` CLI: `/usr/bin/env: 'python': No such file or directory`	pip-installed gmsh wrapper uses `#!/usr/bin/env python` shebang	Fix shebang: `sed -i 's\|python$\|python3\|' ~/.local/bin/gmsh`; or use `/usr/bin/gmsh` (system binary)
pip gmsh shadows system gmsh	`~/.local/bin/gmsh` (pip wrapper) takes precedence over `/usr/bin/gmsh` (native)	Check `type -a gmsh`; pip version is Python-only (no GUI), system version has FLTK GUI

Debugging Tips

# Enable verbose output
gmsh.option.setNumber("General.Verbosity", 99)

# Check model entities
print(gmsh.model.getEntities())  # All entities
print(gmsh.model.getEntities(dim=2))  # Surfaces only

# Check bounding box
xmin, ymin, zmin, xmax, ymax, zmax = gmsh.model.getBoundingBox(-1, -1)

# Visualize interactively
gmsh.fltk.run()  # Opens GUI

# Check mesh statistics
gmsh.model.mesh.generate(2)
node_tags, _, _ = gmsh.model.mesh.getNodes()
print(f"Number of nodes: {len(node_tags)}")
elem_types, elem_tags, _ = gmsh.model.mesh.getElements(dim=2)
total_elems = sum(len(t) for t in elem_tags)
print(f"Number of elements: {total_elems}")

---name: gmsh-meshing-common-issues-2description: "Sub-skill of gmsh-meshing: Common Issues (+1)."---# Common Issues (+1)## Common Issues| Problem | Cause | Solution ||---------|-------|----------|| Empty mesh output | Missing `synchronize()` | Call `gmsh.model.geo.synchronize()` or `gmsh.model.occ.synchronize()` before meshing || Wrong element types | Default is triangles | Use `setRecombine()` for quads, or `RecombineAll` option || Poor quality at corners | Sharp angles | Add local refinement or increase `Mesh.Smoothing` || STEP import fails | Topology issues | Enable `Geometry.OCCFixDegenerated`, `OCCFixSmallEdges`, `OCCSewFaces` || MSH format not recognized | Wrong version | Set `Mesh.MshFileVersion` to 2.2 for BEM tools || Physical groups empty | Not assigned | Must define physical groups before `write()` || Transfinite fails | Incompatible topology | Surface must be 3 or 4-sided, curves must have matching node counts || Size fields ignored | Other size sources active | Disable `MeshSizeExtendFromBoundary`, `MeshSizeFromPoints`, `MeshSizeFromCurvature` || Crash on large models | Memory | Use `-nt` for parallel meshing, increase verbosity to find bottleneck || `gmsh` CLI: `/usr/bin/env: 'python': No such file or directory` | pip-installed gmsh wrapper uses `#!/usr/bin/env python` shebang | Fix shebang: `sed -i 's\|python$\|python3\|' ~/.local/bin/gmsh`; or use `/usr/bin/gmsh` (system binary) || pip gmsh shadows system gmsh | `~/.local/bin/gmsh` (pip wrapper) takes precedence over `/usr/bin/gmsh` (native) | Check `type -a gmsh`; pip version is Python-only (no GUI), system version has FLTK GUI |## Debugging Tips```python# Enable verbose outputgmsh.option.setNumber("General.Verbosity", 99)# Check model entitiesprint(gmsh.model.getEntities()) # All entitiesprint(gmsh.model.getEntities(dim=2)) # Surfaces only# Check bounding boxxmin, ymin, zmin, xmax, ymax, zmax = gmsh.model.getBoundingBox(-1, -1)# Visualize interactivelygmsh.fltk.run() # Opens GUI# Check mesh statisticsgmsh.model.mesh.generate(2)node_tags, _, _ = gmsh.model.mesh.getNodes()print(f"Number of nodes: {len(node_tags)}")elem_types, elem_tags, _ = gmsh.model.mesh.getElements(dim=2)total_elems = sum(len(t) for t in elem_tags)print(f"Number of elements: {total_elems}")```

Frequently asked questions

Gmsh Meshing Common Issues