Free software

STV — Seismic Trace Viewer

Look at your SEG-Y data — quickly and honestly. STV shows you the traces and every header, so you can check that a file is what it claims to be before it goes into processing or interpretation.

Download

Get STV 1.0.0 — free

One portable bundle per platform, in two flavors. Every bundle includes a trimmed Java runtime, so there is nothing else to install. STV does not process, filter, or migrate data — it shows you the traces.

App bundles — recommended

Unzip and double-click the launcher: STV.exe on Windows, STV.app on macOS, STV on Linux. The app-image is built with -Xms1024m -Xmx4096m memory by default.

Windows

Windows 10/11, 64-bit
stv_1.0.0_win_app.zip

Download

macOS

macOS 11+, Apple Silicon & Intel
stv_1.0.0_mac_app.zip

Download

Linux

Linux, 64-bit
stv_1.0.0_linux_app.zip

Download

Script bundles

The same viewer packaged with launch scripts. Run STV from the command line — PowerShell or cmd on Windows, Terminal on macOS and Linux — and edit the scripts to tune memory and JVM settings, for example -Djvm.xms=2048m -Djvm.xmx=8192m.

Windows

Windows 10/11, 64-bit
stv_1.0.0_win.zip

Download

macOS

macOS 11+, Apple Silicon & Intel
stv_1.0.0_mac.zip

Download

Linux

Linux, 64-bit
stv_1.0.0_linux.zip

Download

System requirements: a 64-bit operating system (Windows 10 or later, macOS 11 or later, or a 64-bit Linux distribution) and a display of 1280×800 or better. No Java installation required — the runtime is in the bundle.

Installation

Install in minutes — no installer

STV is distributed as a .zip archive containing the application, a trimmed Java runtime, launch scripts, and documentation. Nothing is installed on your system and nothing is written outside the folder you unzip.

  1. 1

    Download

    Pick the bundle for your platform above — the app bundle if you just want to run it, the script bundle if you like a command line.

  2. 2

    Unzip

    Unzip to a folder of your choice — for example C:\apps\stv on Windows. On macOS you can drag the folder to Applications or run it in place; on Linux, make the launch script executable if needed (chmod +x stv.sh).

  3. 3

    Run

    Start STV one of the two ways below. To uninstall, simply delete the folder.

Way 1 — the app bundle

Unzip a *_app.zip bundle and double-click the launcher: STV.exe (Windows), STV.app (macOS), or STV (Linux). The app-image is built with -Xms1024m -Xmx4096m by default — 1 GB of memory at startup, up to 4 GB as needed — which suits typical survey files.

Way 2 — from the command line

The script bundles contain launch scripts. Open PowerShell or cmd on Windows, or a terminal on macOS and Linux, go to the unzipped folder, and run the script. The scripts are plain text and yours to edit — for very large files, raise the memory by adjusting the JVM flags in the script, for example -Djvm.xms=2048m -Djvm.xmx=8192m.

Report a bug

Report a bug or leave feedback

STV is a working tool, and it improves through the people who use it. Found a file STV renders wrong, hit a crash, or want a feature? Tell us on the project's discussion board:

Feel free to report a bug, leave a feedback, or ask any questions (GitHub account required)

Manual

The STV user manual

The full manual covers the main window, opening data and the Big Endian checkbox, the toolbar reference, the live trace-header and trace-sample monitors, snapshots for reports, mouse and keyboard shortcuts, and the background on the SEG-Y format — textual, binary, and trace headers included.

Read the manual

Screenshots

STV in action

Six views make up the working day in STV:

Main Window

The file tree on the left, seismic wiggles on the right.

Zoomed Traces

Alt+Shift drag to zoom into a region of interest.

Header Monitor

Live trace headers follow your cursor across the display.

Binary Header

Sample interval, format code, and per-file values at a glance.

Snapshot

Capture labeled views for reports and presentations.

Display Settings

Tune trace rendering; every control redraws immediately.

View the screenshot gallery

Tutorial

Your first five minutes with STV

If instructions bore you, do just this:

  1. 1

    Start the program

    Launch STV from the app bundle or the script, as above.

  2. 2

    Open a folder

    Press Ctrl+O (or choose File > Open Folder) and pick a folder containing SEG-Y files (.segy or .sgy).

  3. 3

    Click a file

    Click a file in the tree on the left — its traces appear in the display.

  4. 4

    Zoom

    Drag with Alt+Shift held down to zoom into an area; click with Alt+Shift to zoom back out.

More tutorials

Talk to us about your next frac program

Tell us about your wells and monitoring goals — we'll recommend the right combination of microseismic, DAS, and VSP.

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