Installation

Python Environment

The python distribution Anaconda is recommended. The package was tested with the anaconda distribution with Python>=3.7 under Ubuntu 20.04 and MacOS Big Sur. Some of the dependencies are more easily installed by using the conda commands, e.g., cartopy.

It’s also recommended to create a virtual environment to avoid the version conflicts. To create a virtual environment, try:

conda create --name [YOUR_ENV_NAME] python=3.8 spyder

The package “spyder” is a widely-used python IDE. Other IDEs, like “VS Code” or “Pycharm” also work fine.

Remember to activate the virtual environment, before installing the package and processing your project:

conda activate [YOUR_ENV_NAME]

More detailed information to manage the anaconda environment can be found here,

Quick Installation

Install from the pre-built release (recommended):

pip install geospacelab

Install from Github:

pip install git+https://github.com/JouleCai/geospacelab@master

Dependencies

Most of the dependencies will be installed automatically when the package is installed, including toml, requests, natsort, bueatifulsoup4, numpy, scipy, matplotlib, h5py, netcdf4, cdflib, madrigalweb, and aacgmv2.

Some other dependencies will be needed if you see a ImportError or ModuleNotFoundError displayed in the python console. Those packages are listed below:

  • cartopy: Map projection for geospatial data.

    conda install -c conda-forge cartopy
    
  • apexpy: Apex and Quasi-Dipole geomagnetic coordinate system.

    pip install apexpy
    

    Note

    The gcc or gfortran compilers are required before installing “apexpy”.

    MacOS: brew install gcc

    Ubuntu: sudo apt install gcc gfortran

Please install the packages above, if needed.

First-time Startup and Basic Configuration

Some basic configurations will be set when the package is imported for the first time. Please pay attention on the message prompted in the python console. First, a root directory for storing the data need to be set. The default root directory is [YOUR_HOMR_DIR]/geospacelab/data. You are able to set another directory as you want.

Second, some online database may ask inputs on the user’s information. For example, When the modules to access the online Madrigal database is imported, the package will ask for the inputs of user’s full name, email, and affiliation.

All the user’s configuration can be reset by editing the toml file at [YOUR_HOME_DIR]/.geospacelab/config.toml.

For example, to change the root directory for storing the data, modify or add the lines in the file “config.toml”:

[datahub]
data_root_dir = "YOUR_ROOT_DIR"

To set the Madrigal cookies, change the lines:

[datahub.madrigal]
user_fullname = "YOUR_NAME"
user_email = "YOU_EMAIL"
user_affiliation = "YOUR_AFFILIATION"

Upgrade

If the package is installed from the pre-built release. Update the package via:

pip install geospacelab --upgrade

Uninstallation

Uninstall the package via:

pip uninstall geospacelab