Write a provenance manifest (JSON) for one modelling step: the project .prj + input + result (.p##.hdf) + figure files each with a sha256, the ras_run QA status, the edits made (ras_plan_set / ras_flow_set_hydrograph returns), the tool calls, and free notes. Call it at the end of a run so the run can be audited or re-compared later. Reports any referenced file that is missing. No HEC-RAS needed.

Compare two runs (baseline HDF vs scenario HDF) at one location: delta peak (value and %), peak timing shift, RMSE, NSE, and for flows the delta volume; time bases are aligned ('exact' or 'interpolated'). kind/location/variable/mesh as in ras_results_timeseries. For kind 'xsec' with NO location, ranks every shared cross section by change of peak (n increased / decreased / unchanged, top-N) and details the largest change.

Edit ONE boundary condition table in an unsteady flow file (.u##): replace the hydrograph 'values' (any length; count line rewritten), or scale the existing values by 'multiplier', or set the HEC-RAS flow multiplier 'qmult' (Flow Hydrograph QMult, applied at run time), and/or change the 'interval' ('1HOUR','15MIN'). Select the boundary by boundary_index (from ras_project_info plan detail) or river/reach/rs, or area/bc_line for 2D BC lines. Works for Flow, Stage, Lateral Inflow, Uniform Lateral Inflow, Precipitation hydrographs and Gate Openings. Edit a COPY of the project. Returns the boundary before/after summary (n, peak).

Change settings of one plan (.p##) in place: simulation window, computation / output / mapping interval, number of cores, short id, title, description, and which geometry (g##) or unsteady flow file (u##) the plan uses. Returns before/after values. Edit a COPY of the project (ras_project_copy) — this rewrites the plan file. Intervals use HEC-RAS strings ('10SEC','1MIN','15MIN','1HOUR'); dates accept '02JAN1900 0000' or ISO '1900-01-02T00:00'.

Make a PNG figure from results HDF(s). plot='hydrograph': one time series (kind/location/variable/mesh as in ras_results_timeseries) for 1-4 runs overlaid (hdfs + labels), peaks annotated. plot='profile': maximum water surface (or flow / velocity) along the river stations of a reach ('reach'='River/Reach', default all) for 1-4 runs. plot='mesh_max': map of the 2D cells coloured by maximum water surface (single hdf, optional 'mesh'). Returns the PNG path.

Inspect a HEC-RAS project: plans (title, geometry, flow file, simulation window, intervals, cores, whether a results .p##.hdf exists), geometries, unsteady/steady flow files with their boundary conditions, current plan, and which Ras.exe would be used. Pass 'plan' to also get that plan's boundary conditions in detail (river/reach/RS or 2D area/BC line, kind, interval, n values, peak; include_values=true for the full hydrograph). No HEC-RAS install needed.

Copy a whole HEC-RAS project folder to a new folder (all .prj/.g##/.p##/.u##/.f##/terrain/DSS files, relative references stay valid). Use it BEFORE editing or running so the original model is never modified. Results HDFs and logs are excluded unless include_results=true.

One-screen summary of a HEC-RAS results HDF (.p##.hdf): plan info, run QA status, unsteady summary (max WSEL error, solution text), volume accounting (error %), runtime, cross sections (count, reaches, upstream/downstream, top-N by max flow with max WSE / velocity and time), 2D mesh areas (cells, max WSE stats + where/when), reference lines / points and boundary conditions with their peaks. Units follow the project (US customary or SI). No HEC-RAS needed.

One time series from a results HDF with peak / time of peak / min / mean, downsampled to at most max_points. kind: 'xsec' (location 'River/Reach/Station' or just the station; variable flow | water_surface | velocity | velocity_channel | flow_lateral), 'ref_line' / 'ref_point' / 'boundary' (location = name; variable e.g. 'Flow' or 'Water Surface'), 'mesh_cell' (mesh = 2D area name, location = cell id, variable 'Water Surface'). Omit location to get the first one.

Run one HEC-RAS plan headless (Ras.exe -c project.prj plan.p##; geometry preprocessing, unsteady/steady computation and post-processing) and QA the result. If run_dir is given the whole project is first copied there and run inside it (safe); otherwise the plan runs in place (use on a copy!). Blocks until the run finishes. Returns status ('completed', 'completed_with_warnings', 'unstable', 'failed', 'no_results'), usable (bool), reasons, metrics (max WSEL error, volume error %, ERROR/WARNING line counts), the results HDF path, runtime and the log tail. Gate on 'status'/'usable', not on 'ok'. A watchdog accepts HEC-RAS's 'Terms and Conditions for Use' dialog if it appears (accept_tcu, default true) and kills the run after timeout_s (default 4 h). Needs HEC-RAS installed (Windows).