Installation Guide¶

pylimer-tools can be installed in several ways depending on your needs and system configuration.

Quick Installation (Recommended)¶

For most users, the easiest way to install pylimer-tools is via PyPI:

pip install pylimer-tools

This will install the latest stable version with pre-compiled binaries for most platforms.

Development Installation¶

If you want to contribute to pylimer-tools or need the latest development features, you can install from source.

Prerequisites¶

Before installing from source, ensure you have the following development tools:

On macOS/Linux:

# Install git and build tools
# On macOS (using Homebrew):
brew install git cmake bison flex python3

# On Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git build-essential cmake python3-dev bison flex

# On CentOS/RHEL/Fedora:
sudo yum install git gcc-c++ cmake python3-devel bison flex
# or for newer versions:
sudo dnf install git gcc-c++ cmake python3-devel bison flex

On Windows:

Install Visual Studio Community with C++ development tools
Install Git for Windows
Install CMake

Installation from Source¶

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/GenieTim/pylimer-tools.git
cd pylimer-tools

Install in development mode:
```
pip install -e .
```
This installs the package in “editable” mode, so changes to the source code are immediately reflected.

Verify the installation:

import pylimer_tools_cpp
print(pylimer_tools_cpp.version_information())

Updating Your Installation¶

For PyPI installations:

pip install --upgrade pylimer-tools

For development installations:

cd /path/to/pylimer-tools
git pull origin main
pip install -e .

Getting Help¶

If you encounter issues during installation:

Check the GitHub Issues page
Review the sections above whether you have all dependencies installed
Create a new issue with: - Your operating system and Python version - The complete error message - Steps you’ve already tried

Virtual Environment Setup (Recommended)¶

For the best experience and to avoid conflicts with other packages, use a virtual environment:

# Create a new virtual environment
python -m venv pylimer_env

# Activate the environment
# On macOS/Linux:
source pylimer_env/bin/activate

# On Windows:
pylimer_env\Scripts\activate

# Install pylimer-tools
pip install pylimer-tools

# When done, deactivate
deactivate

With conda/mamba:

# Create a new conda environment
conda create -n pylimer_env python=3.13
conda activate pylimer_env

# Install pylimer-tools
pip install pylimer-tools