docs/source/install/install.txt

Overview
========

This document describes the steps required to install IPython.  IPython is
organized into a number of subpackages, each of which has its own dependencies.
All of the subpackages come with IPython, so you don't need to download and
install them separately.  However, to use a given subpackage, you will need to
install all of its dependencies.


Please let us know if you have problems installing IPython or any of its
dependencies. Officially, IPython requires Python version 2.5 or 2.6.  We
have *not* yet started to port IPython to Python 3.0.

.. warning::

    Officially, IPython supports Python versions 2.5 and 2.6.

    IPython 0.10 has only been well tested with Python 2.5 and 2.6.  Parts of
    it may work with Python 2.4, but we do not officially support Python 2.4
    anymore.  If you need to use 2.4, you can still run IPython 0.9.

Some of the installation approaches use the :mod:`setuptools` package and its
:command:`easy_install` command line program.  In many scenarios, this provides
the most simple method of installing IPython and its dependencies.  It is not
required though.  More information about :mod:`setuptools` can be found on its
website.

More general information about installing Python packages can be found in
Python's documentation at http://www.python.org/doc/.

Quickstart
==========

If you have :mod:`setuptools` installed and you are on OS X or Linux (not
Windows), the following will download and install IPython *and* the main
optional dependencies:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install ipython[kernel,security,test]

This will get Twisted, zope.interface and Foolscap, which are needed for
IPython's parallel computing features as well as the nose package, which will
enable you to run IPython's test suite.  

.. warning::

    IPython's test system is being refactored and currently the
    :command:`iptest` shown below does not work. More details about the
    testing situation can be found :ref:`here <testing>`

To run IPython's test suite, use the :command:`iptest` command:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ iptest

Read on for more specific details and instructions for Windows.

Installing IPython itself
=========================

Given a properly built Python, the basic interactive IPython shell will work
with no external dependencies.  However, some Python distributions
(particularly on Windows and OS X), don't come with a working :mod:`readline`
module.  The IPython shell will work without :mod:`readline`, but will lack
many features that users depend on, such as tab completion and command line
editing.  See below for details of how to make sure you have a working
:mod:`readline`.

Installation using easy_install
-------------------------------

If you have :mod:`setuptools` installed, the easiest way of getting IPython is
to simple use :command:`easy_install`:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install ipython

That's it.

Installation from source
------------------------

If you don't want to use :command:`easy_install`, or don't have it installed,
just grab the latest stable build of IPython from `here
<http://ipython.scipy.org/dist/>`_.  Then do the following:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ tar -xzf ipython.tar.gz
    $ cd ipython
    $ python setup.py install

If you are installing to a location (like ``/usr/local``) that requires higher
permissions, you may need to run the last command with :command:`sudo`.

Windows
-------

There are a few caveats for Windows users.  The main issue is that a basic
``python setup.py install`` approach won't create ``.bat`` file or Start Menu
shortcuts, which most users want.  To get an installation with these, you can
use any of the following alternatives:

1. Install using :command:`easy_install`.

2. Install using our binary ``.exe`` Windows installer, which can be found at
   `here <http://ipython.scipy.org/dist/>`_

3. Install from source, but using :mod:`setuptools` (``python setupegg.py
   install``).

IPython by default runs in a terminal window, but the normal terminal
application supplied by Microsoft Windows is very primitive.  You may want to
download the excellent and free Console_ application instead, which is a far
superior tool.  You can even configure Console to give you by default an
IPython tab, which is very convenient to create new IPython sessions directly
from the working terminal.

.. _Console:  http://sourceforge.net/projects/console

Note for Windows 64 bit users: you may have difficulties with the stock
installer on 64 bit systems; in this case (since we currently do not have 64
bit builds of the Windows installer) your best bet is to install from source
with the setuptools method indicated in #3 above.  See `this bug report`_ for
further details.

.. _this bug report: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ipython/+bug/382214

   
Installing the development version
----------------------------------

It is also possible to install the development version of IPython from our
`Bazaar <http://bazaar-vcs.org/>`_ source code repository.  To do this you will
need to have Bazaar installed on your system.  Then just do:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ bzr branch lp:ipython
    $ cd ipython
    $ python setup.py install

Again, this last step on Windows won't create ``.bat`` files or Start Menu
shortcuts, so you will have to use one of the other approaches listed above.

Some users want to be able to follow the development branch as it changes.  If
you have :mod:`setuptools` installed, this is easy. Simply replace the last
step by:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ python setupegg.py develop

This creates links in the right places and installs the command line script to
the appropriate places.  Then, if you want to update your IPython at any time,
just do:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ bzr pull

Basic optional dependencies
===========================

There are a number of basic optional dependencies that most users will want to
get.  These are:

* readline (for command line editing, tab completion, etc.)
* nose (to run the IPython test suite)
* pexpect (to use things like irunner)

If you are comfortable installing these things yourself, have at it, otherwise
read on for more details.

readline
--------

In principle, all Python distributions should come with a working
:mod:`readline` module.  But, reality is not quite that simple.  There are two
common situations where you won't have a working :mod:`readline` module:

* If you are using the built-in Python on Mac OS X.

* If you are running Windows, which doesn't have a :mod:`readline` module.


On OS X, the built-in Python doesn't not have :mod:`readline` because of
license issues.  Starting with OS X 10.5 (Leopard), Apple's built-in Python has
a BSD-licensed not-quite-compatible readline replacement. As of IPython 0.9,
many of the issues related to the differences between readline and libedit seem
to have been resolved.  While you may find libedit sufficient, we have
occasional reports of bugs with it and several developers who use OS X as their
main environment consider libedit unacceptable for productive, regular use with
IPython.

Therefore, we *strongly* recommend that on OS X you get the full
:mod:`readline` module.  We will *not* consider completion/history problems to
be bugs for IPython if you are using libedit.

To get a working :mod:`readline` module, just do (with :mod:`setuptools`
installed):

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install readline

.. note::

    Other Python distributions on OS X (such as fink, MacPorts and the official
    python.org binaries) already have readline installed so you likely don't
    have to do this step.

If needed, the readline egg can be build and installed from source (see the
wiki page at http://ipython.scipy.org/moin/InstallationOSXLeopard).

On Windows, you will need the PyReadline module. PyReadline is a separate,
Windows only implementation of readline that uses native Windows calls through
:mod:`ctypes`. The easiest way of installing PyReadline is you use the binary
installer available `here <http://ipython.scipy.org/dist/>`_. The :mod:`ctypes`
module, which comes with Python 2.5 and greater, is required by PyReadline. It
is available for Python 2.4 at http://python.net/crew/theller/ctypes.

nose
----

To run the IPython test suite you will need the :mod:`nose` package.  Nose
provides a great way of sniffing out and running all of the IPython tests.  The
simplest way of getting nose, is to use :command:`easy_install`:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install nose

Another way of getting this is to do:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install ipython[test]

For more installation options, see the `nose website
<http://somethingaboutorange.com/mrl/projects/nose/>`_.  

.. warning::

    As described above, the :command:`iptest` command currently doesn't work.

Once you have nose installed, you can run IPython's test suite using the
iptest command:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ iptest

pexpect
-------

The `pexpect <http://www.noah.org/wiki/Pexpect>`_ package is used in IPython's
:command:`irunner` script.  On Unix platforms (including OS X), just do:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install pexpect

Windows users are out of luck as pexpect does not run there.

Dependencies for IPython.kernel (parallel computing)
====================================================

The IPython kernel provides a nice architecture for parallel computing.  The
main focus of this architecture is on interactive parallel computing.  These
features require a number of additional packages:

* zope.interface (yep, we use interfaces)
* Twisted (asynchronous networking framework)
* Foolscap (a nice, secure network protocol)
* pyOpenSSL (security for network connections)

On a Unix style platform (including OS X), if you want to use
:mod:`setuptools`, you can just do:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install ipython[kernel]    # the first three
    $ easy_install ipython[security]  # pyOpenSSL

zope.interface and Twisted
--------------------------

Twisted [Twisted]_ and zope.interface [ZopeInterface]_ are used for networking
related things. On Unix style platforms (including OS X), the simplest way of
getting the these is to use :command:`easy_install`:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install zope.interface
    $ easy_install Twisted

Of course, you can also download the source tarballs from the Twisted website
[Twisted]_ and the 
`zope.interface page at PyPI <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/zope.interface>`_ 
and do the usual ``python setup.py install`` if you prefer.

Windows is a bit different. For zope.interface and Twisted, simply get the
latest binary ``.exe`` installer from the Twisted website. This installer
includes both zope.interface and Twisted and should just work.

Foolscap
--------

Foolscap [Foolscap]_ uses Twisted to provide a very nice secure RPC protocol that we use to implement our parallel computing features.

On all platforms a simple:

.. code-block:: bash

    $ easy_install foolscap

should work.  You can also download the source tarballs from the `Foolscap
website <http://foolscap.lothar.com/trac>`_ and do ``python setup.py install``
if you prefer.

pyOpenSSL
---------

IPython does not work with version 0.7 of pyOpenSSL [pyOpenSSL]_. It is known
to work with version 0.6 and will likely work with the more recent 0.8 and 0.9
versions. There are a couple of options for getting this:

1. Most Linux distributions have packages for pyOpenSSL.
2. The built-in Python 2.5 on OS X 10.5 already has it installed.
3. There are source tarballs on the pyOpenSSL website.  On Unix-like
   platforms, these can be built using ``python seutp.py install``.
4. There is also a binary ``.exe`` Windows installer on the 
   `pyOpenSSL website <http://pyopenssl.sourceforge.net/>`_.

Dependencies for IPython.frontend (the IPython GUI)
===================================================

wxPython
--------

Starting with IPython 0.9, IPython has a new :mod:`IPython.frontend` package
that has a nice wxPython based IPython GUI. As you would expect, this GUI
requires wxPython. Most Linux distributions have wxPython packages available
and the built-in Python on OS X comes with wxPython preinstalled. For Windows,
a binary installer is available on the `wxPython website
<http://www.wxpython.org/>`_.

.. [Twisted] Twisted matrix.  http://twistedmatrix.org
.. [ZopeInterface] http://pypi.python.org/pypi/zope.interface
.. [Foolscap] Foolscap network protocol.  http://foolscap.lothar.com/trac
.. [pyOpenSSL] pyOpenSSL.  http://pyopenssl.sourceforge.net