A user may download files from Netlib by sending an email request or by clicking on the filenames from Xnetlib, GAMS, or WWW interfaces. Netlib files are organized into directories. Each directory contains an index file containing catalog records for the files in the directory.
Most directories also contain a readme file giving an overview of the directory.
Some directories have subdirectories, for example for the different Fortran precisions available and for test and example programs. A user may initially do a keyword search to locate relevant directories and then browse the index files for those directories to locate relevant files which may then be downloaded. When downloading a routine from Netlib, a user may make use of a dependency-checking mechanism that allows retrieval of the entire dependency tree for that routine. The user may specify that a subtree be omitted, however, if those routines have been retrieved previously. There is also an automatic tar facility that builds and returns a tar file of any Netlib directory or subdirectory upon user request.