Installing PyRPL

Running the precompiled application (easiest)

Download the latest application for Windows, macOS, or Linux from the PyRPL releases page. This option does not require a separate Python installation.

Installing the Python package with uv (recommended)

uv can install Python, create an isolated environment, and install PyRPL. PyRPL supports Python 3.8 through 3.13; Python 3.12 is a conservative choice with broad Qt support:

uv python install 3.12
uv venv --python 3.12
uv pip install "pyrpl[qt-pyqt5]"

Run PyRPL without activating the environment:

uv run python -m pyrpl your_configuration_name

PyRPL requires one Qt binding. You can replace qt-pyqt5 with qt-pyqt6, qt-pyside2, or qt-pyside6.

Installing from a source checkout

Clone the repository and synchronize a development environment:

git clone https://github.com/pyrpl-fpga/pyrpl.git
cd pyrpl
uv sync --extra qt-pyqt5 --extra dev

Run PyRPL and the test suite through uv:

uv run python -m pyrpl your_configuration_name
uv run pytest

Using venv and pip

Standard Python environments remain supported. Create and activate a virtual environment using your platform’s Python documentation, then install PyRPL:

python -m pip install "pyrpl[qt-pyqt5]"

From a source checkout, use an editable installation for development:

python -m pip install -e ".[qt-pyqt5,dev]"

Using an existing conda installation (optional)

If your laboratory already uses conda, let conda manage Python and the virtual environment, then install PyRPL and its dependencies from PyPI:

conda create -n pyrpl-env python=3.12 pip
conda activate pyrpl-env
python -m pip install "pyrpl[qt-pyqt5]"

A separate conda package is not required.