Problems installing ISOLDE

[renato.weisse@…]

The following bug report has been submitted:
Platform:        Linux-6.17.0-1025-oem-x86_64-with-glibc2.39
ChimeraX Version: 1.12 (2026-06-12 03:42:34 UTC)
Description
I simply wanted to install Isolde on this machine. On another machine with an older version of Ubuntu (22.04) this worked perfectly.

The error is an Input/output error. 



Log:
Startup Errors  
---  
bug | Error preloading available bundles:  
json.decoder.JSONDecodeError: Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0)  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/json/decoder.py", line 355, in
raw_decode  
raise JSONDecodeError("Expecting value", s, err.value) from None  
  
See log for complete Python traceback.  
  
  
note | Traceback (most recent call last):  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/core/toolshed/__init__.py", line 381, in __init__  
  
self.init_available_from_cache(logger)  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/core/toolshed/__init__.py", line 575, in
init_available_from_cache  
  
abc.load_from_cache()  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/core/toolshed/available.py", line 86, in load_from_cache  
  
data = json.load(f)  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/json/__init__.py", line 293, in
load  
  
return loads(fp.read(),  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/json/__init__.py", line 346, in
loads  
  
return _default_decoder.decode(s)  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/json/decoder.py", line 337, in
decode  
  
obj, end = self.raw_decode(s, idx=_w(s, 0).end())  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/json/decoder.py", line 355, in
raw_decode  
  
raise JSONDecodeError("Expecting value", s, err.value) from None  
  
json.decoder.JSONDecodeError: Expecting value: line 1 column 1 (char 0)  
  
  
  
  
UCSF ChimeraX version: 1.12 (2026-06-12)  
© 2016-2026 Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.  
How to cite UCSF ChimeraX  

> toolshed show

Deferring bundle installation  
Traceback (most recent call last):  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/help_viewer/tool.py", line 450, in <lambda>  
item.isFinishedChanged.connect(lambda *args, **kw:
self.download_finished(*args, **kw, item=item, is_wheel=is_wheel,
from_toolshed=from_toolshed))  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/help_viewer/tool.py", line 526, in download_finished  
self.session.toolshed.install_bundle(path,  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/core/toolshed/__init__.py", line 1029, in install_bundle  
_install_bundle(  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/toolshed_utils/__init__.py", line 256, in _install_bundle  
_add_restart_action("install", bundle_names, args, logger, message, session)  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/site-
packages/chimerax/toolshed_utils/__init__.py", line 377, in
_add_restart_action  
shutil.copy(bundle, inst_dir)  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/shutil.py", line 431, in copy  
copyfile(src, dst, follow_symlinks=follow_symlinks)  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/shutil.py", line 258, in copyfile  
with open(dst, 'wb') as fdst:  
OSError: [Errno 5] Input/output error  
  
OSError: [Errno 5] Input/output error  
  
File "/usr/lib/ucsf-chimerax/lib/python3.11/shutil.py", line 258, in copyfile  
with open(dst, 'wb') as fdst:  
  
See log for complete Python traceback.  
  




OpenGL version: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 25.2.8-0ubuntu0.24.04.2
OpenGL renderer: llvmpipe (LLVM 20.1.2, 256 bits)
OpenGL vendor: Mesa

Python: 3.11.13
Locale: en_AU.UTF-8
Qt version: PyQt6 6.10.2, Qt 6.10.0
Qt runtime version: 6.10.2
Qt platform: xcb

XDG_SESSION_TYPE=tty
DESKTOP_SESSION=
XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=
XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=
DISPLAY=localhost:10.0
Manufacturer: HP
Model: HP Z4 G5 Workstation Desktop PC
OS: Ubuntu 24.04
Architecture: 64bit ELF
Virtual Machine: none
CPU: 20 Intel(R) Xeon(R) w3-2535
Cache Size: 26880 KB
Memory:
	               total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
	Mem:            62Gi       2.5Gi        56Gi        18Mi       4.0Gi        59Gi
	Swap:          8.0Gi          0B       8.0Gi

Graphics:
	47:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation AD104GL [RTX 4000 Ada Generation] [10de:27b2] (rev a1)	
	Subsystem: Hewlett-Packard Company AD104GL [RTX 4000 Ada Generation] [103c:181b]	
	Kernel driver in use: nvidia

Installed Packages:
    accessible-pygments: 0.0.5
    aiohappyeyeballs: 2.6.2
    aiohttp: 3.13.4
    aiosignal: 1.4.0
    alabaster: 1.0.0
    annotated-types: 0.7.0
    anyio: 4.13.0
    appdirs: 1.4.4
    asttokens: 3.0.1
    attrs: 26.1.0
    babel: 2.18.0
    beautifulsoup4: 4.13.5
    blockdiag: 3.0.0
    blosc2: 4.4.3
    bs4: 0.0.2
    build: 1.3.0
    certifi: 2026.5.20
    cftime: 1.6.5
    charset-normalizer: 3.4.7
    ChimeraX-AddCharge: 1.5.20
    ChimeraX-AddH: 2.2.8
    ChimeraX-AlignmentAlgorithms: 2.0.2
    ChimeraX-AlignmentHdrs: 3.6.2
    ChimeraX-AlignmentMatrices: 2.1
    ChimeraX-Alignments: 3.2
    ChimeraX-AlphaFold: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-AltlocExplorer: 1.2
    ChimeraX-AmberInfo: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Animations: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Aniso: 1.3.2
    ChimeraX-Arrays: 1.1
    ChimeraX-Atomic: 1.67.1
    ChimeraX-AtomicLibrary: 14.4
    ChimeraX-AtomSearch: 2.0.1
    ChimeraX-AxesPlanes: 2.4
    ChimeraX-BasicActions: 1.1.3
    ChimeraX-BILD: 1.0
    ChimeraX-BlastProtein: 3.0.0
    ChimeraX-Boltz: 1.1
    ChimeraX-BondRot: 2.0.4
    ChimeraX-BugReporter: 1.0.2
    ChimeraX-BuildStructure: 2.13.1
    ChimeraX-Bumps: 1.0
    ChimeraX-BundleBuilder: 1.6.0
    ChimeraX-ButtonPanel: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-CageBuilder: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-CellPack: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Centroids: 1.4.1
    ChimeraX-ChangeChains: 1.1
    ChimeraX-CheckWaters: 1.5
    ChimeraX-ChemGroup: 2.0.2
    ChimeraX-Clashes: 2.4
    ChimeraX-Clipper: 0.27
    ChimeraX-Cluster: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ColorActions: 1.0.5
    ChimeraX-ColorGlobe: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ColorKey: 1.5.8
    ChimeraX-CommandLine: 1.3.1
    ChimeraX-ConnectStructure: 2.0.1
    ChimeraX-Contacts: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Core: 1.12
    ChimeraX-CoreFormats: 1.2
    ChimeraX-coulombic: 1.4.5
    ChimeraX-Crosslinks: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Crystal: 1.0
    ChimeraX-CrystalContacts: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-DataFormats: 1.2.4
    ChimeraX-Dicom: 1.2.7
    ChimeraX-DistMonitor: 1.4.2
    ChimeraX-DockPrep: 1.2.2
    ChimeraX-Dssp: 2.0
    ChimeraX-EMDB-SFF: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ESMFold: 1.0
    ChimeraX-FileHistory: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-FunctionKey: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Geometry: 1.3
    ChimeraX-gltf: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Graphics: 1.4.1
    ChimeraX-Hbonds: 2.5.3
    ChimeraX-Help: 1.3
    ChimeraX-HKCage: 1.3
    ChimeraX-IHM: 1.1
    ChimeraX-ImageFormats: 1.2
    ChimeraX-IMOD: 1.0
    ChimeraX-IO: 1.0.4
    ChimeraX-ISOLDE: 1.12.0
    ChimeraX-ItemsInspection: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-IUPAC: 1.0
    ChimeraX-KVFinder: 1.8.2
    ChimeraX-Label: 1.5
    ChimeraX-LightingGUI: 1.0
    ChimeraX-LinuxSupport: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-ListInfo: 1.3.1
    ChimeraX-Log: 1.2.2
    ChimeraX-LookingGlass: 1.1
    ChimeraX-Maestro: 1.9.3
    ChimeraX-Map: 1.3
    ChimeraX-MapData: 2.0
    ChimeraX-MapEraser: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-MapFilter: 2.0.1
    ChimeraX-MapFit: 2.0
    ChimeraX-MapSeries: 2.1.1
    ChimeraX-Markers: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Mask: 1.0.2
    ChimeraX-MatchAlign: 1.2
    ChimeraX-MatchMaker: 2.4.1
    ChimeraX-MCopy: 1.0
    ChimeraX-MCPServer: 0.2.0
    ChimeraX-MDcrds: 2.19
    ChimeraX-MedicalToolbar: 1.1
    ChimeraX-Meeting: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Minimize: 1.3.9
    ChimeraX-MLP: 1.1.1
    ChimeraX-mmCIF: 2.16
    ChimeraX-MMTF: 2.2
    ChimeraX-ModelArchive: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Modeller: 1.5.23
    ChimeraX-ModelPanel: 1.6.1
    ChimeraX-ModelSeries: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Mol2: 2.0.3
    ChimeraX-Mole: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Morph: 1.0.2
    ChimeraX-MouseModes: 1.2
    ChimeraX-Movie: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-MutationScores: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Neuron: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Nifti: 1.2
    ChimeraX-NMRSTAR: 1.0.2
    ChimeraX-NRRD: 1.2
    ChimeraX-Nucleotides: 2.0.3
    ChimeraX-OpenCommand: 1.15.4
    ChimeraX-OpenFold: 1.0
    ChimeraX-OrthoPick: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-PDB: 2.7.13
    ChimeraX-PDBBio: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-PDBLibrary: 1.0.5
    ChimeraX-PDBMatrices: 1.0
    ChimeraX-PickBlobs: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Positions: 1.0
    ChimeraX-PresetMgr: 1.1.4
    ChimeraX-ProfileGrids: 1.6
    ChimeraX-PubChem: 2.2
    ChimeraX-ReadPbonds: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Registration: 1.1.2
    ChimeraX-RemoteControl: 1.0
    ChimeraX-RenderByAttr: 1.8.2
    ChimeraX-RenumberResidues: 1.1
    ChimeraX-ResidueFit: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-RestServer: 1.3.3
    ChimeraX-RNALayout: 1.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibMgr: 4.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibsDunbrack: 2.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibsDynameomics: 2.0
    ChimeraX-RotamerLibsRichardson: 2.0
    ChimeraX-SaveCommand: 1.5.2
    ChimeraX-Scenes: 0.3.1
    ChimeraX-SchemeMgr: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SDF: 2.0.3
    ChimeraX-Segger: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Segment: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Segmentations: 3.5.12
    ChimeraX-SelInspector: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SeqView: 2.18
    ChimeraX-Shape: 1.1
    ChimeraX-Shell: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Shortcuts: 1.2.1
    ChimeraX-ShowSequences: 1.0.3
    ChimeraX-SideView: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-SimilarStructures: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Smiles: 2.1.2
    ChimeraX-SmoothLines: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SNFG: 1.0
    ChimeraX-SpaceNavigator: 1.0
    ChimeraX-StdCommands: 1.19.3
    ChimeraX-STL: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Storm: 1.0
    ChimeraX-StructMeasure: 1.2.1
    ChimeraX-Struts: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-Surface: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-SwapAA: 2.0.1
    ChimeraX-SwapRes: 2.5.3
    ChimeraX-TapeMeasure: 1.0
    ChimeraX-TaskManager: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Test: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Toolbar: 1.2.4
    ChimeraX-ToolshedUtils: 1.2.4
    ChimeraX-Topography: 1.0
    ChimeraX-ToQuest: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Tug: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-UI: 1.50.8
    ChimeraX-Umap: 1.0
    ChimeraX-uniprot: 2.3.2
    ChimeraX-UnitCell: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-ViewDock: 1.6.2
    ChimeraX-VIPERdb: 1.0
    ChimeraX-Vive: 1.1
    ChimeraX-VolumeMenu: 1.0.1
    ChimeraX-vrml: 1.0
    ChimeraX-VTK: 1.0
    ChimeraX-WavefrontOBJ: 1.0
    ChimeraX-WebCam: 1.0.2
    ChimeraX-WebServices: 1.1.5
    ChimeraX-Zone: 1.0.1
    click: 8.4.1
    colorama: 0.4.6
    comm: 0.2.3
    contourpy: 1.3.3
    coverage: 7.14.1
    cxservices: 1.2.3
    cycler: 0.12.1
    Cython: 3.2.4
    debugpy: 1.8.21
    decorator: 5.3.1
    distro: 1.9.0
    docutils: 0.21.2
    executing: 2.2.1
    filelock: 3.19.1
    fonttools: 4.63.0
    frozenlist: 1.8.0
    funcparserlib: 2.0.0a0
    glfw: 2.10.0
    grako: 3.16.5
    h11: 0.16.0
    h5py: 3.16.0
    html2text: 2025.4.15
    httpcore: 1.0.9
    httpx: 0.28.1
    httpx-sse: 0.4.3
    idna: 3.18
    ihm: 2.2
    imagecodecs: 2024.6.1
    imagesize: 2.0.0
    iniconfig: 2.3.0
    ipykernel: 7.1.0
    ipython: 9.9.0
    ipython_pygments_lexers: 1.1.1
    jedi: 0.19.2
    Jinja2: 3.1.6
    jsonschema: 4.26.0
    jsonschema-specifications: 2025.9.1
    jupyter_client: 8.8.0
    jupyter_core: 5.9.1
    kiwisolver: 1.5.0
    line_profiler: 5.0.0
    lxml: 6.0.2
    lz4: 4.3.2
    Markdown: 3.8.2
    MarkupSafe: 3.0.3
    matplotlib: 3.10.7
    matplotlib-inline: 0.2.2
    mcp: 1.18.0
    msgpack: 1.1.1
    multidict: 6.7.1
    narwhals: 2.22.1
    ndindex: 1.10.1
    nest-asyncio: 1.6.0
    netCDF4: 1.6.5
    networkx: 3.3
    nibabel: 5.2.0
    nptyping: 2.5.0
    numexpr: 2.14.1
    numpy: 1.26.4
    nvidia-nvjitlink-cu12: 12.9.86
    OpenMM: 8.4.0
    OpenMM-CUDA-12: 8.4.0
    openvr: 1.26.701
    packaging: 25.0
    ParmEd: 4.2.2
    parso: 0.8.7
    pep517: 0.13.1
    pexpect: 4.9.0
    pickleshare: 0.7.5
    pillow: 11.3.0
    pip: 25.2
    pkginfo: 1.12.1.2
    platformdirs: 4.10.0
    plotly: 6.8.0
    pluggy: 1.6.0
    prompt_toolkit: 3.0.52
    propcache: 0.5.2
    psutil: 7.0.0
    ptyprocess: 0.7.0
    pure_eval: 0.2.3
    py-cpuinfo: 9.0.0
    pybind11: 3.0.1
    pycollada: 0.8
    pydantic: 2.13.4
    pydantic-settings: 2.14.1
    pydantic_core: 2.46.4
    pydata-sphinx-theme: 0.18.0
    pydicom: 2.4.4
    Pygments: 2.18.0
    pynmrstar: 3.5.1
    pynrrd: 1.0.0
    PyOpenGL: 3.1.10
    PyOpenGL-accelerate: 3.1.10
    pyopenxr: 1.1.4501
    pyparsing: 3.3.2
    pyproject_hooks: 1.2.0
    PyQt6: 6.10.2
    PyQt6-Qt6: 6.10.2
    PyQt6-WebEngine: 6.10.0
    PyQt6-WebEngine-Qt6: 6.10.2
    PyQt6_sip: 13.10.3
    pytest: 9.0.3
    pytest-cov: 7.1.0
    python-dateutil: 2.9.0.post0
    python-dotenv: 1.2.2
    python-multipart: 0.0.32
    pyzmq: 27.1.0
    qtconsole: 5.7.0
    QtPy: 2.4.3
    qtshim: 1.2.2
    RandomWords: 0.4.0
    referencing: 0.37.0
    requests: 2.32.5
    roman-numerals: 4.1.0
    rpds-py: 2026.5.1
    scipy: 1.14.0
    setuptools: 80.9.0
    sfftk-rw: 0.8.1
    six: 1.17.0
    snowballstemmer: 3.1.1
    sortedcontainers: 2.4.0
    soupsieve: 2.8.4
    Sphinx: 9.0.4
    sphinx-autodoc-typehints: 3.6.1
    sphinxcontrib-applehelp: 2.0.0
    sphinxcontrib-blockdiag: 3.0.0
    sphinxcontrib-devhelp: 2.0.0
    sphinxcontrib-htmlhelp: 2.1.0
    sphinxcontrib-jsmath: 1.0.1
    sphinxcontrib-qthelp: 2.0.0
    sphinxcontrib-serializinghtml: 2.0.0
    sse-starlette: 3.4.4
    stack-data: 0.6.3
    starlette: 1.3.0
    superqt: 0.7.6
    tables: 3.10.2
    tcia_utils: 3.2.1
    threadpoolctl: 3.6.0
    tifffile: 2025.3.13
    tinyarray: 1.2.5
    tornado: 6.5.7
    tqdm: 4.68.2
    traitlets: 5.14.3
    typing-inspection: 0.4.2
    typing_extensions: 4.15.0
    Unidecode: 1.4.0
    urllib3: 2.7.0
    uvicorn: 0.49.0
    wcwidth: 0.8.1
    webcolors: 24.11.1
    wheel: 0.45.1
    wheel-filename: 1.4.2
    yarl: 1.24.2

[Tom Goddard]

Greg, did you ever answer this user?

It looks like perhaps the Toolshed query returned some invalid json.

Renato, did you get ISOLDE installed? It looks like it might have been just a temporary issue with our Toolshed server where it could not find which packages (like ISOLDE) were available.