Is there any difference between the file properties and variables？
An initial file (INI) contains values in the whole domain for the main variables: T, S, UBAR, VBAR, Zeta, U, V. Usually it has just one time step, but if it has several just one time step is read.
A CLM boundary file is similar to a INI file but for many time step.
A BRY boundary file has values (vertical sections) only along the open edges of the domain.
I think the question here is whether there is a difference between Rutgers-ROMS and CROCO files for initial conditions and boundary conditions
Yes, that’s the idea I wanted to express.
I think the basic ROMS files (roms_grd.nc, roms_ini.nc, roms_clm.nc, roms_bry.nc) may still be compatible with CROCO but I’m not sure because I haven’t had a chance to test them for a long time. Since there is no other answer to this post, I guess nobody in the CROCO community has tried it recently.