HEC-RAS (short for Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System) is a simulation software used to model the hydraulics of water flow through natural rivers and other open channels. The program was developed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) at the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) in Davis, California as a successor to their HEC-2 Water Surface Profiles program. HEC-RAS version 1.0 was released in July 1995, with the capability to model steady flow in one dimension; since then, further releases have increased the modeling capabilities to include quasi-unsteady and unsteady flow, two dimensional modeling, sediment transport and water quality modeling, and distributed hydrologic modeling (Rain-on-Grid.) The program is free to download from HEC, though there is no support provided for non-USACE users.
Though HEC-RAS was initially developed by USACE for use on their own projects, other United States federal agencies have adopted it for use, including FEMA. It is also used by hydraulic modelers for various applications worldwide, both in academia and industry.
What is HEC-RAS?
HEC-RAS is a proprietary 3d & cad program for Windows from Hydrologic Engineering Center (developed by United States Army Corps of Engineers). It ranks 24th by popularity among 3d & cad in this catalogue.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 32-bit as EXE. The installer supports unattended (silent) installation.
Updates and version history
The current version is 7.0, released on April 17, 2026. 6 versions are listed since December 31, 2021, each with links to its own installer files. That is about 1.4 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 2,769 times. The source code on GitHub (HydrologicEngineeringCenter/hec-downloads) has 50 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 7 of our languages. Similar programs include PrusaSlicer, MeshLab and Ultimaker Cura.
Project description on GitHub: “HEC web site mirror for large binaries.”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Documented silent install
Cons
- Proprietary licence: check the terms and price
- No native ARM64 build
- 32-bit only
In short: HEC-RAS is a 3d & cad tool for 32-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Screenshots
Is HEC-RAS safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
166CA2458830C7646ECACD542C40C07E5DA7E48138BD81DA4EBEBD7B5C2A9532· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 6 versions ›6 versions over 4 years · about 1.4 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0Latest | April 17, 2026 | — | 32-bit EXE |
| 6.6 | October 9, 2024 | — | 32-bit EXE |
| 6.4.1 | January 5, 2024 | — | 64-bit EXE |
| 6.3.1 | October 21, 2022 | — | 64-bit EXE |
| 6.2.0.0 | March 12, 2022 | — | 64-bit EXE |
| 6.1.0.0 | December 31, 2021 | — | 64-bit EXE |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id HydrologicEngineeringCenter.HEC-RAS -echoco install hec-ras -yHEC-RAS_70_Setup.exe /S /v/qnRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Hydrologic Engineering Center
- Developer
- United States Army Corps of Engineers
- Category
- 3D & CAD
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Price
- See the publisher’s site
- Source code
- github.com/HydrologicEngineeringCenter/hec-downloads
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE
- Version
- 7.0
- Released
- April 17, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- December 31, 2021
- Versions listed
- 6
- Updates / year
- 1.4
- Chocolatey downloads
- 2,769
- GitHub stars
- 50
- GitHub forks
- 10
- Website
- hec.usace.army.mil
- winget ID
- HydrologicEngineeringCenter.HEC-RAS
- Chocolatey package
- hec-ras
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is HEC-RAS free?
HEC-RAS is proprietary (closed-source) software (licence: Proprietary). Whether it costs money depends on the edition: check the publisher’s site for prices and free tiers.
Is HEC-RAS safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install HEC-RAS with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can HEC-RAS be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does HEC-RAS run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 32-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of HEC-RAS?
The versions page lists all 6 versions with links to their official installer files, back to December 31, 2021.
What are alternatives to HEC-RAS?
PrusaSlicer, MeshLab, Ultimaker Cura, OpenToonz and Bambu Studio. The alternatives page compares them.
