Installation

This guide covers different ways to install Elote for both users and developers.

Requirements

Elote requires:

Python 3.8 or higher
NumPy (automatically installed as a dependency)

Basic Installation

For most users, the simplest way to install Elote is via pip:

pip install elote

This will install the latest stable release from PyPI along with all required dependencies.

If you prefer using Conda, you can install Elote via pip within your Conda environment:

conda create -n elote-env python=3.9
conda activate elote-env
pip install elote

Development Installation

If you want to contribute to Elote or need the latest development version, you can install directly from the GitHub repository:

# Using Make (recommended)
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/elote.git
cd elote
make install-dev

# Or using pip
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/elote.git
cd elote
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Or using uv
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/elote.git
cd elote
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

The development installation includes additional dependencies needed for testing, linting, and documentation.

Verifying Installation

To verify that Elote is installed correctly, you can run a simple test in Python:

from elote import EloCompetitor

# Create two competitors
player1 = EloCompetitor(initial_rating=1500)
player2 = EloCompetitor(initial_rating=1600)

# Calculate expected score
expected = player2.expected_score(player1)
print(f"Installation successful! Expected score: {expected:.2%}")

If this runs without errors, Elote is installed correctly.

Installing Optional Dependencies

Elote has several optional dependency groups that can be installed based on your needs:

# Install with visualization dependencies
pip install "elote[viz]"

# Install with all optional dependencies
pip install "elote[all]"

# Install development dependencies
pip install "elote[dev]"

Troubleshooting

Common installation issues and their solutions:

NumPy Installation Errors

If you encounter errors related to NumPy installation:

# Install NumPy separately first
pip install numpy
pip install elote

Version Conflicts

If you have version conflicts with other packages:

# Create a virtual environment
python -m venv elote-env
source elote-env/bin/activate  # On Windows: elote-env\Scripts\activate
pip install elote

Permission Errors

If you encounter permission errors during installation:

# Install for the current user only
pip install --user elote

# Or use a virtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv elote-env
source elote-env/bin/activate
pip install elote

Getting Help

If you continue to experience installation issues:

Check the GitHub Issues to see if others have encountered the same problem
Open a new issue with details about your environment and the error messages
Reach out to the community for help