Installation#

Installing from PyPI#

GAPs can be installed via pip from PyPI.

pip install nrel-gaps

Note

You must have pip>=19.3 to install from PyPI.

Note

It is recommended to install and run GAPs from a virtual environment, for example, using Miniconda.

Handling ImportErrors#

If you encounter an ImportError, it usually means that Python couldn’t find GAPs in the list of available libraries. Python internally has a list of directories it searches through, to find packages. You can obtain these directories with.

import sys
sys.path

One way you could be encountering this error is if you have multiple Python installations on your system and you don’t have GAPs installed in the Python installation you’re currently using. In Linux/Mac you can run which python on your terminal and it will tell you which Python installation you’re using. If it’s something like “/usr/bin/python”, you’re using the Python from the system, which is not recommended. Instead, it is highly recommended to use an isolated environment, such as one created using Miniconda, for package and dependency updates.

Installing from source#

The installation instruction below assume that you have python installed on your machine and are using conda or miniconda as your package/environment manager.

  1. Clone the gaps repository.

    • Using ssh: git clone git@github.com:NREL/gaps.git

    • Using https: git clone https://github.com/NREL/gaps.git

  2. Create and activate the gaps environment and install the package:

    1. Create a conda env: conda create -n gaps python=3.13

    2. Activate the newly-created conda env: conda activate gaps

    3. Change directories into the repository: cd gaps

    4. Prior to running pip below, make sure the branch is correct (install from main!): git branch -vv

    5. Install gaps and its dependencies by running: pip install -e . (or pip install -e .[dev] if running a dev branch or working on the source code)

Installing the development version of GAPs#

We use pixi to manage environments across developers. This tool allows developers to install libraries and applications in a reproducible way across multiple platforms. This means bugs are easier to reproduce, and it’s easier to move your development environment to a new piece of hardware.

We keep a version-controlled pixi.lock in the repository to allow locking with the full requirements tree so we can reproduce behaviors and bugs and easily compare results.

You can use the dev feature in pixi to get all necessary development tools (after cloning the repository):

$ pixi shell -e dev

You are welcome to use a different environment manager (e.g. conda, mamba, etc), but we make no promises to provide support on environment-related issues/bugs in this case.