# Open Babel conformer search help **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [December 19, 2025, 5:07am UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255 "2025-12-19T05:07:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![wedyer9](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/user_avatar/discuss.avogadro.cc/wedyer9/32/3175_2.png) [@wedyer9](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/wedyer9)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 5:07am UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255/1 "2025-12-19T05:07:27Z")
Please consider submitting issues to [GitHub](https://github.com/OpenChemistry/avogadrolibs/issues) which will enable tracking bug reports and suggestions. These will be closed and updated automatically when they are fixed – including notifications. I believe this to be a bug with Avogadro: (Please describe your bug or issue) ## Environment Information Avogadro version: 1.102.1 Operating system and version: windows 11 ## Expected Behavior Hello, I am following [this webpage](https://two.avogadro.cc/docs/optimizing-geometry/conformers.html) in an attempt to perform conformer search using open babel. However after performing the search the final _conformer properties_ button is not available to click (see picture). Any advice? The conformer search causes the active molecules to rotate and shift in shape, but it seems a library of conformers is not being created? Thanks for any advice! ## ![Screenshot 2025-12-19 130045](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/uploads/default/original/2X/a/aa2eb2f317dae63f0e70a4ecda7551a85445c66b.png) ---
**Author:** ![ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/user_avatar/discuss.avogadro.cc/ghutchis/32/456_2.png) [@ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/ghutchis)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2025, 9:48pm UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255/2 "2025-12-22T21:48:51Z")
It would help a _lot_ to know what conformer search you used. Some of them do not necessarily generate the full set. I’d also suggest checking out the latest continuous build from [Install — Avogadro 1.102.1 documentation](https://two.avogadro.cc/install) - I definitely fixed a bug with conformers not being available, but I can’t remember whether that made it into 1.102.1 or not. ---
**Author:** ![Miroslav\_Ilias](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/user_avatar/discuss.avogadro.cc/miroslav_ilias/32/511_2.png) [@Miroslav\_Ilias](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/Miroslav_Ilias)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2026, 5:58am UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255/3 "2026-04-03T05:58:57Z")
> [@wedyer9](#): > > e final _conformer properties_ button is not available to click (see picture). Any advice? Hello, The same problem appears with Avogadro 2.0. I pick up a molecule (cholersterol), do OpenBabel conformer search - and nothing happens. Analyse - Plot conformer data is non functional. ---
**Author:** ![Lyttch](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/3ab097/32.png) [@Lyttch](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/Lyttch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2026, 2:59am UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255/4 "2026-07-21T02:59:58Z")
Hi, i also have the same issue with Avogadro 2.0. I tried the Windows normal and nightly builds, and also linux flatpak but OpenBabel conformer search just doesn’t work. In systematic search it always shows a number of “0 conformers” to search and with other searches it does nothing, sometimes it changes the geometry of the molecule (i did many tries with substituited cycloalkanes and butane), but the option Analyze → Properties → Conformer Properties is never avilable. For the mean time my Avogadro 1.2 Systematic Search works, and i’m looking forward to see if CREST plugin is a more atractive option ---
**Author:** ![ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/user_avatar/discuss.avogadro.cc/ghutchis/32/456_2.png) [@ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/ghutchis)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255/5 "2026-07-21T16:43:51Z")
> [@Lyttch](#): > > i’m looking forward to see if CREST plugin is a more atractive option It depends on your needs. CREST is intended as an exhaustive tool to generate a low-energy ensemble. If you’re doing quantum chemistry and want Boltzmann-weighted conformers, then CREST is a great tool. (It can be _slow_ though because it often runs both dynamics and hundreds of optimizations.) If you want a geometrically-diverse ensemble, etc. then CREST is not so useful. I’m not sure why this wouldn’t work for Windows, but on Linux, it’s definitely tied to the version of Open Babel installed. OB v.3.2 and later include full CJSON support and should supply the full ensemble. On Windows, there should be an `avogadro2.log` file in your `Documents` directory. If you can upload that, I should be able to see why CJSON isn’t being used. In the meantime, let me see if I can update some Python plugins to provide other options. ---
**Author:** ![Lyttch](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/l/3ab097/32.png) [@Lyttch](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/Lyttch)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2026, 1:37am UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255/6 "2026-07-22T01:37:31Z")
Ok thank you very much for the information. I’m using the conformer search to prepare structures for further quantum chemistry calculations (DFT with gaussian), maybe having the two tools (OB and CREST) would be interesting. Here is my avogadro2.log file, thanks again! [avogadro2.log](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/uploads/short-url/hlamJJca0Tefu5KEtZL4FCZycxX.log) (4.0 KB) ---
**Author:** ![ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/user_avatar/discuss.avogadro.cc/ghutchis/32/456_2.png) [@ghutchis](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/u/ghutchis)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2026, 3:02am UTC](https://discuss.avogadro.cc/t/open-babel-conformer-search-help/7255/7 "2026-07-25T03:02:03Z")
Given your use case, I’d probably suggest CREST, since it attempts to produce an exhaustive ensemble of Boltzmann-weighted conformers. In the meantime, the latest RDKit and `openconf` plugins for Avogadro can now generate conformer ensembles as well. (I’m still trying to figure out why it’s not giving you all the conformers for an Open Babel search.)