Software tools

This section of the documentation provides information on some of the commonly used software tools used in the Seshat project.

If you are participating in a Seshat workshop, run these steps sequentially before the workshop to ensure you have the necessary tools installed on your computer.

Important

This guide involves installation of command line software. It’s always a good idea to read the output of the commands you run to check for any warnings or additional steps you may need to take, which may not be documented here.

Python & Anaconda

Mac/LinuxWindows

1. Python is installed on your computer by default.

2. Open Terminal and type the following to check the version of Python you have installed and which shell you are using:

   python --version
   echo $SHELL
   

   • Make a note as to whether your shell is /bin/zsh or /bin/bash to know which instructions to follow bellow.

   Hint

   If you are not familiar with using the command line, you can find Terminal in the Applications folder on your Mac. Pin it to your dock for easy access.

3. We recommend installing Homebrew, a useful package manager for macOS and Linux.

   • Check if Homebrew is already installed by typing the following in Terminal:

   brew --version
   

   • If not, follow the instructions on the Homebrew website to install it.

   Note: A warning near the end of installation may ask you to add Homebrew to your PATH. In zsh it will look like this (bash shell instructions will differ):

   echo >> /Users/<username>/.zprofile
   echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> /Users/<username>/.zprofile
   eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"
   

   • Note: You may need to open a new Terminal window afterwards for brew to work.

4. Install Anaconda via Homebrew and add it to your PATH by typing:

   If using zsh shell:

   brew install --cask anaconda
   echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/anaconda3/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.zshrc
   echo 'export PATH=/opt/homebrew/anaconda3/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.zshrc
   source ~/.zshrc
   conda init zsh
   

   If using bash shell:

   brew install --cask anaconda
   echo 'export PATH=/usr/local/anaconda3/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bash_profile
   echo 'export PATH=/opt/homebrew/anaconda3/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bash_profile
   source ~/.bash_profile
   conda init bash
   

Git & GitHub

Mac/LinuxWindows

1. Create an account on GitHub.

2. Check if Git is installed on your computer by opening Terminal and typing:

   git --version
   

3. If Git is not installed already, install Git via Homebrew by typing:

   brew install git
   

   Hint

   • If you are not familiar with using the command line, you can find Terminal in the Applications folder on your Mac. Pin it to your dock for easy access.

   • If Homebrew is not installed, refer to the Python & Anaconda instructions above.