Installation

Minimal Requirements

  • Python 3.6 or newer version
  • 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

How to install

Windows

Option 1: Installable .exe file (for manual commands, basic use)

This option is recommended for users who will only access the ExplorePy software from the command prompt, for example to quickly visualize and record data. To integrate the commands into a Python script (e.g. an experiment script), we recommend to use Explorepy with Anaconda. For an overview of the available commands, click here.

On a Windows machine, Explorepy can be installed using the .exe installable file uploaded in the release page. Please note that the dependencies will be installed automatically.

Option 2: Installation through Python Package Index(PiPy) and pip(for additional use in Python scripts, more advanced)

This option is recommended for users who not only want to use the command prompt, but also want to include ExplorePy functionalities in their own Python scripts. In this case, you must use the Anaconda software to access ExplorePy.

The following instructions guide you to install the ExplorePy API using pip with all its dependencies on Windows.

  1. Install Anaconda Python package (or any other python distribution, but these instructions assume that Anaconda is
    installed). Download and install Anaconda Windows installer from here.
  2. Install Microsoft Build Tools for Visual Studio 2019 from here.
    Select Desktop development with C++ in workloads tab, make sure that MSVCv142 - VS 2019 C++ x64/x86 build tools and latest version of Windows 10 SDK are checked.
  3. Open the Conda command prompt.
  4. We recommend using a virtual environment.
  • In Conda command prompt: conda create -n myenv python=3.7
  • Activate the virtual environment: conda activate myenv
  1. Upgrade your pip: python -m pip install --upgrade pip
  2. To install explorepy from PyPI run: pip install explorepy

Ubuntu

  1. Install Bluetooth header files using sudo apt-get install libbluetooth-dev
  2. It is recommended to install Anaconda Python package. Download and install Anaconda Python 3.7 Ubuntu installer from here.
  3. We recommend using a virtual environment in Conda.
  • In Conda command prompt: conda create -n myenv python=3.6
  • Activate the virtual environment: conda activate myenv
  1. Upgrade your pip: python -m pip install --upgrade pip
  2. To install explorepy from PyPI run: pip install explorepy

Mac

1. Install XCode from Mac App store. An upgrade to the latest version of MacOS might be required for installation of XCode. For older versions of MacOS, you can find compatible versions of XCode in this page. All old Xcode versions are available in this link. 2. Accept the license agreement: sudo xcodebuild -license 3. It is recommended to install Anaconda Python package. Download and install Anaconda Python 3.7 Mac installer from here. For older versions of MacOS, compatible version of Anaconda can be found in this table and can be downloaded from here. 4. We recommend using a virtual environment in Conda.

  • In Conda command prompt: conda create -n myenv python=3.6
  • Activate the virtual environment: conda activate myenv
  1. Upgrade your pip: python -m pip install --upgrade pip
  2. To install explorepy from PyPI run: pip install explorepy

Quick test

  • Open Conda command prompt (if you have installed with pip) or Windows command prompt (if you used the installable file)
  • Activate the virtual environment (this step is only for Conda command prompt): conda activate myenv
  • Run explorepy visualize -n <YOUR-DEVICE-NAME> -lf 1 -hf 40
  • To stop visualization press Ctrl+c

Troubleshooting

1. Pylsl import issue

    self._handle = _dlopen(self._name, mode)
OSError: [WinError 126] The specified module could not be found

To fix this problem, an older version of Pylsl can be installed using this command:

pip install pylsl==1.13.1

Alternatively, MS Visual C++ redistributable (vc_redist) can be installed via this download page.

2. Anaconda asyncio events library raises “NotImplementedError” error in Windows

File "c:\users\jose\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\bokeh\server\server.py", line 407, in __init__
    http_server.add_sockets(sockets)
File "c:\users\jose\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tornado\tcpserver.py", line 165, in add_sockets
    self._handlers[sock.fileno()] = add_accept_handler(
File "c:\users\jose\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tornado\netutil.py", line 279, in add_accept_handler
    io_loop.add_handler(sock, accept_handler, IOLoop.READ)
File "c:\users\jose\anaconda3\lib\site-packages\tornado\platform\asyncio.py", line 100, in add_handler
    self.asyncio_loop.add_reader(fd, self._handle_events, fd, IOLoop.READ)
File "c:\users\jose\anaconda3\lib\asyncio\events.py", line 501, in add_reader
    raise NotImplementedError

Solution: Downgrade Anaconda distribution version to one of 3.6 or 3.7 versions.

3. No module named ‘numpy’

ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 4294967295:
 command: 'C:\Users\mh\Anaconda3\envs\test130_38\python.exe' -c 'import sys, setuptools, tokenize; sys.argv[0] = '"'"'C:\\Users\\mh_at\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-install-6fpsl7b1\\pyedflib_e1c2dcc3a4dc46af9468c24083cbda2b\\setup.py'"'"'; __file__='"'"'C:\\Users\\mh_at\\AppData\\Local\\Temp\\pip-install-6fpsl7b1\\pyedflib_e1c2dcc3a4dc46af9468c24083cbda2b\\setup.py'"'"';f=getattr(tokenize, '"'"'open'"'"', open)(__file__);code=f.read().replace('"'"'\r\n'"'"', '"'"'\n'"'"');f.close();exec(compile(code, __file__, '"'"'exec'"'"'))' egg_info --egg-base 'C:\Users\mh_at\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-pip-egg-info-48yn2fu3'
     cwd: C:\Users\mh\AppData\Local\Temp\pip-install-6fpsl7b1\pyedflib_e1c2dcc3a4dc46af9468c24083cbda2b\
Complete output (4 lines):
No module named 'numpy'
*** package "numpy" not found ***
pyEDFlib requires a version of NumPy, even for setup.
Please get it from http://numpy.scipy.org/ or install it through your package manager.
----------------------------------------
ERROR: Command errored out with exit status 4294967295: python setup.py egg_info Check the logs for full command output.

Solution: To fix this error, install numpy separately by pip install numpy and then install explorepy.

4. OSError: A socket operation was attempted to an unreachable network.

Solution: Make sure that the device is paired with your computer and try again.

5. ValueError: Error opening socket.

Solution: Make sure the Bluetooth module of operating system is on and working.

6. OSError: The handle is invalid.

Solution: Make sure the Bluetooth module of operating system is on and working.

7. DeviceNotFoundError: No device found with the name: Explore_####

Solution: Make sure the device is on and in advertising mode (blinking in blue at 1Hz). If the Bluetooth module of your computer is off, you may also get this error.

If the issues persist, please send a screenshot and brief error description to support@mentalab.com, and we will quickly help you solve it.