Installation & Setup

nwcommands isn’t on Stata’s built-in SSC-style search path, so installing it is a two-step process: first you tell Stata where to look (net from), then you install a small bootstrap package (nwinstall itself), and finally nwinstall downloads everything else for you.

Installing from scratch

. net from "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomas-u-grund/nwcommands/master"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomas-u-grund/nwcommands/master/
nwcommands: Network Analysis for Stata
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

nwcommands. Start here - net install this first, then run nwinstall, all
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 1 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 2 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 3 of 3)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 2 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 2 of 2)

PACKAGES you could -net describe-:
    nwcommands        
    nwcommands-ado1   
    nwcommands-ado2   
    nwcommands-ado3   
    nwcommands-hlp1   
    nwcommands-hlp2   
    nwcommands-dlg1   
    nwcommands-dlg2   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

. net install nwcommands
checking nwcommands consistency and verifying not already installed...
installing into /Users/tgrund/Library/Application Support/Stata/ado/plus/...
installation complete.

net install nwcommands only installs the nwinstall command itself, plus a couple of landing help topics — deliberately small, so the second step can do the real work and show you what’s happening.

Installing everything

nwinstall, all downloads and installs every command’s .ado/.sthlp file plus every dialog box, one group at a time (ado files, then help files, then dialog boxes) — so the same package listing genuinely scrolls by three times below. That’s expected, not a repeated mistake in this page:

. nwinstall, all
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomas-u-grund/nwcommands/master/
nwcommands: Network Analysis for Stata
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

nwcommands. Start here - net install this first, then run nwinstall, all
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 1 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 2 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 3 of 3)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 2 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 2 of 2)

PACKAGES you could -net describe-:
    nwcommands        
    nwcommands-ado1   
    nwcommands-ado2   
    nwcommands-ado3   
    nwcommands-hlp1   
    nwcommands-hlp2   
    nwcommands-dlg1   
    nwcommands-dlg2   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomas-u-grund/nwcommands/master/
nwcommands: Network Analysis for Stata
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

nwcommands. Start here - net install this first, then run nwinstall, all
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 1 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 2 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 3 of 3)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 2 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 2 of 2)

PACKAGES you could -net describe-:
    nwcommands        
    nwcommands-ado1   
    nwcommands-ado2   
    nwcommands-ado3   
    nwcommands-hlp1   
    nwcommands-hlp2   
    nwcommands-dlg1   
    nwcommands-dlg2   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomas-u-grund/nwcommands/master/
nwcommands: Network Analysis for Stata
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

nwcommands. Start here - net install this first, then run nwinstall, all
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 1 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 2 of 3)
nwcommands-ado. Social Network Analysis Using Stata (part 3 of 3)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-hlp. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Help Files (part 2 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 1 of 2)
nwcommands-dlg. Social Network Analysis Using Stata - Dialog Boxes (part 2 of 2)

PACKAGES you could -net describe-:
    nwcommands        
    nwcommands-ado1   
    nwcommands-ado2   
    nwcommands-ado3   
    nwcommands-hlp1   
    nwcommands-hlp2   
    nwcommands-dlg1   
    nwcommands-dlg2   
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two commands from the real run above confirm everything landed correctly:

. which nwinstall
/Users/tgrund/Library/Application Support/Stata/ado/plus/n/nwinstall.ado
*! v1.5.0 __ 17 Sep 2015 __ 13:09:53
*! v1.5.1 __ 17 Sep 2015 __ 14:54:23
*! v2.1.0 __ added LOCALcopy/from()/dest() offline install path

. which nwergm
/Users/tgrund/Library/Application Support/Stata/ado/plus/n/nwergm.ado

. ado dir nwcommands

[9] package nwcommands from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thomas-u-grund/nwcommands/master
      nwcommands. Start here - installs nwinstall and the landing help topics; run nwinstall, all next

The Network Analysis menu

Add permanently to also add a “Network Analysis” menu to Stata’s own User menu, so every command is reachable through a dialog box, not just the command line:

. nwinstall, permanently

This is worth doing even if you’re comfortable typing syntax — nwcommands ships around 120 dialog boxes covering nearly every command, and they’re a fast way to check an option name or its exact syntax without leaving Stata for help.

A screenshot of the “Network Analysis” menu and a dialog box in action is coming soon.

Updating vs. pinning a version

Re-running nwinstall, all at any time re-downloads and replaces everything with whatever is currently on the master branch — there’s no separate “update” command, because installing is updating. If you need to pin to a specific point in time instead of always tracking the latest release, net install accepts a from() option pointing at a tagged release URL rather than the branch URL used above; see help net for the general mechanism.

No internet access or admin rights?

nwinstall, localcopy installs by copying files directly from an nwcommands folder you already have (zip, USB drive, shared network drive) into your own PERSONAL ado directory — no download, no admin rights needed. See the “Computers without internet access or admin rights” section of help nwinstall for the full option reference.


Back to top

nwcommands is free to install and use, including for commercial research. See the GitHub repository for source, license, and issue tracking.

This site uses Just the Docs, a documentation theme for Jekyll.