Getting Started with SimPEG#

Installing Python#

SimPEG is written in Python! This means we need Python in order to run SimPEG. We highly recommend installing a Python distribution like Miniforge that will install the Python interpreter along with the conda package manager.

Note

Miniforge is a community-driven alternative to Anaconda, a well-known Python distribution.

We recommend Miniforge over Anaconda because it’s more lightweight and because it makes use of the conda-forge community-led channel to download packages. Downloading packages from Anaconda (usually refered as the default channel) requires us to adhere to their Terms of Service. Make sure to read them and their FAQs if you decide to still use Anaconda.

See also

If you are starting with Python and want to learn more and feel more comfortable with the language, we recommend checking out Software Carpentry’s lessons.

Installing SimPEG#

Conda Forge#

SimPEG is available through conda-forge and you can install is using the conda package manager that comes with Miniforge (or Anaconda):

conda install --channel conda-forge simpeg

Note

Installing through conda is our recommended method of installation.

Note

Since version 23.10.0, conda makes use of the libmamba solver to resolve dependencies. It makes creation of environments and installation of new packages much faster than when using older versions of conda.

Since this version, conda can achieve the same performance as mamba, so there’s no need to install mamba if you have an updated version of conda. If not, either update conda, or keep using mamba instead.

PyPi#

SimPEG is on pypi! First, make sure your version of pip is up-to-date

pip install --upgrade pip

Then you can install SimPEG

pip install simpeg

To update SimPEG, you can run

pip install --upgrade simpeg

Installing from Source#

First (you need git):

git clone https://github.com/simpeg/simpeg

Second (from the root of the SimPEG repository):

pip install .

If you are interested in contributing to SimPEG, please check out the page on Contributing

Success?#

If you have been successful at downloading and installing SimPEG, you should be able to download and run any of the examples and tutorials.

If not, you can reach out to other people developing and using SimPEG on our Mattermost channel or in our Discourse forum.