# Installation **NB** - If you have trouble installing TopoStats please do checkout the [discussion](https://github.com/AFM-SPM/TopoStats/discussions) for possible solutions. If your problem isn't covered then please do not hesitate to ask a question. TopoStats is a [Python](https://www.python.org) package designed to run at the command line. If you are using Microsoft Windows you should use [Powershell](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/learn/ps101/01-getting-started?view=powershell-7.3). You may have Python installed on your system but should use a [Python Virtual Environment](https://realpython.com/python-virtual-environments-a-primer/) such as [Miniconda](https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html) and install and use TopoStats under the Virtual Environment. The versions of Python supported are Python >=3.8 and so when creating your virtual environment you should specify this `3.8` as the minimum. ## Setting up Conda Once you have downloaded and installed [Miniconda](https://docs.conda.io/en/latest/miniconda.html) you can create a virtual environment for installing TopoStats for installing and running TopoStats. We will call this environment `topostats` (specified with the `--name topostats` option) and use Python 3.10 (the option `python=3.10`). After creating it we can, as per the instructions printed out, activate the environment. ``` bash conda create --name topostats python=3.10 conda activate topostats ``` You are now ready to install TopoStats. **NB** If you are using an Apple M1 Macbook then you need to install Anaconda >= [2022.05](https://www.anaconda.com/blog/new-release-anaconda-distribution-now-supporting-m1). ## Installing TopoStats There are two options for installing TopoStats depending on your usage 1. [**Python Package Index**](https://pypi.org/) - appropriate if you are just using TopoStats and don't need to dig into the code. 2. Cloning the GitHub Repository - if you want to look at the code, contribute to it, debug errors or perhaps test a new feature before a release. ### PyPI Installation After activating your `topostats` Conda environment you can install TopoStats from PyPI using the following command. ``` bash pip install topostats ``` This will install TopoStats under your virtual environment and the command `run_topostats` will be available at the command line. You can upgrade `topostats` by using the `--upgrade` flag... ``` bash pip install --upgrade topostats ``` You can always install a specific version from PyPI ``` bash pip install topostats==2.0.0 ``` For more information on using `pip` to install and manage packages please refer to the [pip documentation](https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/user_guide/). ### Cloning from GitHub You may wish to consider cloning and installing TopoStats from GitHub if... * You wish to try out new features that have been developed since the last release (if you find problems please create an [issue](https://github.com/AFM-SPM/TopoStats/issues)). * If you have found an issue in a released version and want to see if it has been fixed in the unreleased version. * If you wish to develop and extend TopoStats with new features yourself. If you do not have Git already installed please see [Git](installation#git). If you intend to contribute to the development of TopoStats please read through the [contributing](contributing) section. If you are familiar with the command line then you can clone and install TopoStats with the following _after_ activating your virtual environment. ``` bash git clone https://github.com/AFM-SPM/TopoStats.git # If you have SSH access configured to GitHub then you can use git clone git@github.com:AFM-SPM/TopoStats.git ``` #### Cloning Using GitKraken If you are using GitKraken you can clone the repository by selecting "Clone" and then "GitHub.com" and typing `TopoStats` into the box next to "Repository to Clone" and you should be presented with the option of selecting "TopoStats" from the AFM-SPM organisation. Alternatively you can "Clone with URL" and enter `https://github.com/AFM-SPM/TopoStats.git` as the URL to clone from, selecting a destination to clone to. #### Installing TopoStats from the Cloned Repository Once cloned you will have to open a Terminal and navigate to the directory you cloned and _after_ activating your virtual environment install TopoStats with the following. ``` bash cd /path/to/where/topostats/was/cloned/TopoStats pip install . ``` If you wish to make changes to the code and test then make a `git branch`, make your changes and install in editable mode, i.e. `pip install -e .`. If you plan to contribute to development by adding features or address an existing [issue](https://github.com/AFM-SPM/TopoStats/issues) please refer to the [contributing](contributing) section. We include [notebooks](notebooks) which show how to use different aspects of TopoStats. If you wish to try these out the [Jupyter Noteooks](https://jupyter.org/) then you can install the dependencies that are required from the cloned TopoStats repository using... ``` bash pip install ".[notebooks]" ``` ## Tests One of the major changes in the refactoring is the introduction of unit tests. These require certain packages to be installed which are not installed to your virtual environment by [setuptools](https://setuptools.pypa.io/en/latest/setuptools.html) in the above steps. If you are intending to modify or contribute to the development of TopoStats and making changes to the code base you will likely want to be able to run the tests. Install the necessary dependencies to do so with... ``` bash cd TopoStats git checkout dev pip install ".[tests]" pytest ``` ## Git [Git](https://git.vc) is a version control system for managing software development and is required to be installed on your computer in order to clone the TopoStats repository. Instructions on installing Git can be found at [Git Guides - install git](https://github.com/git-guides/install-git). A nice Graphical User Interface for working with Git is [GitKraken](https://www.gitkraken.com/) which includes everything you need.