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Reptile Installation Guide

Quick Summary

  1. Clone the repo: Reptile GitHub page
  2. Install required packages: pip install -r requirements.txt
  3. Set flask environment variables:
    • Windows: set FLASK_APP=app.py, set FLASK_ENV=development
    • Mac/Linux: export FLASK_APP=app.py, export FLASK_ENV=development
  4. Start the site: flask run or python3 app.py

What You Need

  • A computer with MacOS (for PC users, use Ubuntu in a VM)
  • Basic familiarity with the Terminal app

Step 1: Software Requirement Specifications - Install Python

  • Make sure you have Python installed by typing python --version into Terminal. If you don’t, download it from Python’s website.

Step 2: Download Reptile from GitHub

  1. Visit the Reptile GitHub page

  2. Use the green “Code” button to find the SSH option and copy the link provided, i.e., git@github.com:Columbia-DESDR/Reptile.git

  3. In Terminal, navigate to where you want the project. For example:

    Terminal window
    cd ~/Desktop
    mkdir reptile
    cd reptile
  4. Clone the repo:

    Terminal window
    git clone git@github.com:Columbia-DESDR/Reptile.git
  5. Optional: Switch branches with git checkout [branch-name] if needed.

Step 3: Run Reptile Locally

  1. In the reptile folder, you should see a requirements.txt file. Run the command to install dependencies:

    Terminal window
    pip install -r requirements.txt
  2. Set up Flask environments based on your operating system:

    • Windows:
    Terminal window
    set FLASK_APP=app.py
    set FLASK_ENV=development
    • Mac/Linux:
    Terminal window
    export FLASK_APP=app.py
    export FLASK_ENV=development
  3. Start the site:

    Terminal window
    flask run
  4. Terminal will give you a local URL (like http://127.0.0.1:xxxx/). Paste it in your browser to see your site live!