# Linux Installation

Installation on Linux requires both a C and a Fortran compiler; a recent GCC is recommended (the C compiler is likely included with your distribution). On Debian and Ubuntu:

    sudo apt-get install gfortran

Once this is set up, `pip install spacepy` should Just Work. If you’re installing as a single user (not in a virtual environment) then add the `--user` flag.

You will also need the NASA CDF library to use `pycdf`.

Our recommended (but not required) Python distribution is Anaconda running 64-bit Python 3. Anaconda includes much of the scientific Python stack. Another excellent distribution is Canopy.

You may need to install the dependencies some way other than pip; for example, if you are running an earlier version of Python. The latest version of many dependencies requires Python 3.6 and pip will not install older versions to get around this. See Dependencies via conda and Dependencies via system packages.

- Dependencies via conda

- Dependencies via system packages

- CDF

- Compiling

## Dependencies via conda

Installation via `pip` will automatically install most Python dependencies (but not the NASA CDF library). They can also be installed from conda:

    conda install numpy scipy matplotlib h5py

## Dependencies via system packages

SpacePy usually works with the system Python on Linux. To install dependencies via the package manager on Debian or Ubuntu:

    sudo apt-get install python-dev python-h5py python-matplotlib python-numpy python-scipy

For Python 3, use:

    sudo apt-get install python3-dev python3-h5py python3-matplotlib python3-numpy python3-scipy

For other distributions, check SpacePy Dependencies and install by hand or via your package manager.

## CDF

It is recommended to install the ncurses library; on Ubuntu and Debian:

    sudo apt-get install ncurses-dev

Download the latest CDF library. Choose the file ending in `-dist-all.tar.gz` from the `linux` directory. Untar and cd into the resulting directory. Then build:

    make OS=linux ENV=gnu CURSES=yes FORTRAN=no UCOPTIONS=-O2 SHARED=yes all

Use `CURSES=no` if the curses library is not installed. (The distribution-specific directions above will install curses.)

Install:

    sudo make install

This will install the library into the default location `/usr/local/cdf`, where SpacePy can find it. If you choose to install elsewhere, see the CDF documentation, particularly the notes on the `CDF_BASE` and `CDF_LIB` environment variables. SpacePy uses these variables to find the library.

## Compiling

With the dependencies installed, SpacePy can be built from source. This uses standard Python distutils. You can always get the latest source code for SpacePy from our github repository and the latest release from PyPI

Build:

    python setup.py build

If this fails, specify a Fortran compiler:

    python setup.py build --fcompiler=gnu95

`python setup.py build --help-fcompiler` will list options for Fortran compilers. Currently available compilers are `pg`, `gnu95`, `gnu`, `intelem`, `intel` or `none` (to skip all Fortran); `gnu95` (the GNU gfortran compiler) is recommended.

Install for one user:

    python setup.py install --user

If you’re using conda, installation as user isn’t recommended:

    python setup.py install

Or install for all users on the system:

    sudo python setup.py install

If you want to build the documentation yourself (rather than using the documentation shipped with SpacePy), install sphinx and numpydoc. The easiest way is via pip:

    pip install sphinx numpydoc

They are also available via conda:

    conda install sphinx numpydoc

Or the package manager:

> sudo apt-get install python-sphinx python-numpydoc

For Python 3:

> sudo apt-get install python3-sphinx python3-numpydoc