Installation

Minimal Requirements

• Python 3.12 and upwards. We recommend using Python 3.12.

• Microsoft Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019 (only Windows)

• 6GB RAM (minimum 1GB free RAM during the session)

• Intel i5 or higher (2x2.5GHz) CPU

Recommended Requirements

• Python 3.12

• Microsoft Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019 (only Windows)

• 8GB RAM

• Intel i7 or higher CPU

How to install

Installing from Python Package Index (PyPI)

Note

For Windows, Mac and Linux the standalone desktop software ExploreDesktop can be installed using the installer files uploaded to the release page.

Note

Explore legacy device support is deprecated in ExplorePy. See the documentation on Legacy device and explorepy support.

To install explorepy for any Python version below 3.10, please contact support@mentalab.com

This option is best for users who intend to include explorepy functionalities in their own Python scripts or use it from the command line.

For an overview of explorepy commands, click here.

Windows

To install the explorepy API and all its dependencies using pip on Windows:

1. Install Anaconda (or any other Python distribution; these instructions pertain to Anaconda only). Download and run the Anaconda installer for windows.

2. Install Microsoft Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019. Select Desktop development with C++ in the workloads tab. Make sure that MSVCv142 - VS 2019 C++ x64/x86 build tools and the latest version of Windows 10 SDK are checked.

3. Open the Anaconda command prompt.

4. We recommend using a conda environment. To do this:

   1. In the Anaconda command prompt: conda create -n myenv python=3.12

   2. Activate the conda environment: conda activate myenv

5. Upgrade your pip: python -m pip install --upgrade pip

6. Install liblsl: conda install -c conda-forge liblsl

7. Run pip install explorepy to install explorepy from PyPI.

Ubuntu

1. From the terminal, run these commands one by one: sudo apt-get install libbluetooth-dev and sudo apt-get install build-essential.

2. We recommend installing Anaconda. Download and installer Anaconda<https://www.anaconda.com/download>/Miniconda/.

3. We recommend using a virtual environment in Conda. To do this:

   1. In the Anaconda command prompt: conda create -n myenv python=3.12

   2. Activate the conda environment: conda activate myenv

4. Upgrade your pip: python -m pip install --upgrade pip

5. Install liblsl: conda install -c conda-forge liblsl

6. Run pip install explorepy to install explorepy from PyPI.

7. From the terminal, run: sudo apt install libxcb-cursor0

Set up USB streaming in Linux

1. Set up udev rules for appropiate permission to /dev/ttyACM* in Linux

   Steps to Execute the Udev Script Manually

   1. Create a file named setup_udev_rule.sh and include the following script

      #!/bin/bash
      
      RULE='SUBSYSTEM=="tty", ATTRS{idVendor}=="0483", ATTRS{idProduct}=="5740", SYMLINK+="stm_virtual_com", MODE="0666"'
      
      echo "Creating udev rule..."
      echo "$RULE" | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-stm-virtual-com.rules > /dev/null
      
      sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger
      echo "udev rule has been created successfully!"
      echo "You can access your device at /dev/$SYMLINK_NAME when it is connected."
      

   2. Make the setup_udev_rule.sh executable

      chmod +x setup_udev_rule.sh
      

   3. Execute the script

      ./setup_udev_rule.sh
      

   To remove the udev rule when no longer required

   sudo rm /etc/udev/rules.d/99-stm-virtual-com.rules
   

2. Alternate method: Temporarily granting appropriate permissions to /dev/ttyACM*

   1. Identify the device (ttyACM0, ttyACM1, ttyACM2, etc) in /dev directory

   2. Execute this command in the terminal (replace * with appropiate id)

      chmod 666 /dev/ttyACM*
      

Mac

1. Install XCode from the Mac App store. For this, you may need to upgrade to the latest version of MacOS. For older versions of MacOS, find compatible versions of XCode here. All old XCode versions are available here.

2. Accept the license agreement: sudo xcodebuild -license.

3. It is best to install Anaconda. Download and run the Anaconda installer for Mac. For older versions of MacOS, compatible version of Anaconda can be found in this table and downloaded here.

4. We recommend using a conda environment.

   1. In the Anaconda command prompt: conda create -n myenv python=3.10

   2. Activate the conda environment: conda activate myenv

5. Upgrade your pip: python -m pip install --upgrade pip

6. Install liblsl: conda install -c conda-forge liblsl

7. Run pip install explorepy to install explorepy from PyPI.

8. Connect your Explore device from the Bluetooth menu and run your Python script.

Quick test

Note: If you installed the graphical user interface ExploreDesktop as outlined above, explorepy won’t be available from the command line.

• Open the Anaconda command prompt.

• Activate the virtual environment that you made before installing explorepy: conda activate myenv

• Run explorepy acquire -n DEVICE-NAME

• To stop the command execution, press Ctrl+C