PsychoPy Installation Script for Linux

This script facilitates the installation of PsychoPy on various Linux distributions, including:

• Ubuntu 24.04, 22.04, 20.04, (18.04)
• Pop!_OS 22.04
• Debian 12, 11
• Fedora 40, 39
• Rocky Linux 9
• CentOS 9
• Linux Mint 22
• OpenSuse 15
• Manjaro 22

These distributions have been tested for compatibility, but the script may also work on other Linux distributions.

Note: Ubuntu-18.04 fails to install PyQt6. You can still use Ubuntu-18 with PsychoPy versions =< 2023.2.3. Earlier versions use PyQt5.

Important Information

• PsychoPy supports Python versions 3.8, 3.9, and 3.10.
• A directory is created in the specified --install-dir=DIR path (default: $HOME): {install_dir}/psychopy_${PSYCHOPY_VERSION}_py${PYTHON_VERSION}.
• The script attempts to install Python via the package manager; if not found, it downloads a pre-packaged .tar.gz from GitHub releases or, if unavailable, from python.org to build from source.
• Default(3.10)/specified Python version is installed as altinstall into /usr/local/psychopy_python if not available via package manager.
• wxPython is downloaded from the official site; if this fails, the script tries GitHub releases or builds from source.
• After successful wxPython installation, the downloaded .whl file is cached in /usr/local/psychopy_python/wx_wheels.
• If the downloads fail, building Python and wxPython may take a some time.
• The script provides minimal output by default. Use the --verbose option for detailed logging.

Usage

Install curl with your package manger. On most distros curl is already installed.

1. Download the script:

   curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wieluk/psychopy_linux_installer/main/psychopy_linux_installer

2. Make it executable:

   chmod +x psychopy_linux_installer

3. Run the installer:
   • GUI Mode:

     ./psychopy_linux_installer --gui

     curl and zenity are required for the GUI mode.
   • Command-Line Mode:

     ./psychopy_linux_installer

Options

Option	Description
--psychopy-version= VERSION	Specify the PsychoPy Version to install (default: latest).
--python-version= [3.8|3.9|3.10]	Specify the Python Version to install (default: 3.10).
--wxpython-version= VERSION	Specify the wxPython Version to install (default: 4.2.2).
--build= [python|wxpython|both]	Build Python and/or wxPython from source instead of downloading wheel/binaries. Use both if something does not work.
--install-dir=DIR	Specify the installation directory (default: $HOME); use absolute paths without a trailing /. Do not use ~/; use /home/{user} instead.
--no-versioned-install-dir	Installs directly into the specified install-dir without creating a versioned subdirectory. Requires --install-dir.
--additional-packages= PACKAGES	Specify additional pip packages to install. Format: package1==version,package2. No extra packages are installed if not set.
--sudo-mode= [ask|auto|error|continue|force]	Control sudo usage. ask: confirm, auto: auto-confirm, error: exit if sudo needed, continue: continue without sudo, force: use sudo directly. (default: ask)
--disable-shortcut	Disable desktop shortcut creation.
--disable-path	Disable adding psychopy to system path.
--non-interactive	Run the installer without user interaction. Sets sudo-mode to auto if not set.
--gui	Launches the installer in GUI mode, allowing you to set arguments interactively. Any arguments provided via the command line will be ignored while in GUI mode.
-f, --force	Force overwrite of the existing installation directory.
-v, --verbose	Enable verbose output.
-h, --help	Show help message.

Note:

• Non-Admin Installation: The --sudo-mode=continue option enables non-admin users to upgrade or reinstall if the required Python version and packages are already installed. This option assumes an administrator has previously run the installation.
• Version Selection: The --psychopy-version and --wxpython-version options accept specific versions from PyPI, as well as latest or git. Note that git versions may be unstable and are generally not recommended.

Example

./psychopy_linux_installer --psychopy-version=2024.2.4 --python-version=3.10 --install-dir=/home/user1 --additional-packages=psychopy_bids,seedir,psychopy-crs==0.0.2 --sudo-mode=auto --build=python --verbose --force

Script Details

The script performs the following steps:

• Detects the package manager (supports apt, yum, dnf, pacman and zypper).
• Installs necessary dependencies.
• Creates a directory in the specified location for PsychoPy.
• Checks if the specified Python version exists if necessary downloads and install it as altinstall.
• Creates and activates a virtual environment for PsychoPy.
• Installs/builds wxPython.
• Upgrades pip and some pip packages.
• Installs specified PsychoPy version.
• Adds the current user to a psychopy group and sets security limits.
• Creates a symbolic link to the PsychoPy executable in .bin.
• Creates a desktop shortcut.

Post-Installation

After installation, desktop icons for PsychoPy will be created automatically, and the application will be added to your system's PATH as:

psychopy_${PSYCHOPY_VERSION}_py_${PYTHON_VERSION}

You can also launch PsychoPy directly using the absolute path:

${PSYCHOPY_DIR}/bin/psychopy

Please reboot to apply security limits and to refresh system path.

Note: All commands, along with the installed versions and set paths will be displayed at the end of the script.

Uninstalling PsychoPy

To completely uninstall PsychoPy, you’ll need to remove the application files, shortcuts, and (optionally) dependencies installed for PsychoPy.

Remove PsychoPy Application Files

By default, PsychoPy installs its files in the following directories:

• PsychoPy installation directory: ~/psychopy_${PSYCHOPY_VERSION}_py${PYTHON_VERSION}
• Python and wxPython packages: /usr/local/psychopy_python

To uninstall PsychoPy, delete both of these directories:

#rm -rf {install_dir}/psychopy_${PSYCHOPY_VERSION}_py${PYTHON_VERSION} #use your version and install_dir default is $home directory
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/psychopy_python

Remove Desktop Shortcuts

PsychoPy creates desktop shortcuts that you can safely delete. To remove all PsychoPy shortcuts, use:

rm ~/.local/share/applications/PsychoPy*.desktop
#rm ~/Desktop/PsychoPy*.desktop #might be different if you do not have your language set to english

Remove PsychoPy from the System Path

During installation, a line is added to the end of your shell’s configuration file. The line typically looks like:

export PATH="{install_dir}/psychopy_${PSYCHOPY_VERSION}_py${PYTHON_VERSION}/.bin:$PATH"

Locate and edit the configuration file for your shell to remove this line:

• Bash: $HOME/.bashrc
• Zsh: $HOME/.zshrc
• Fish: $HOME/.config/fish/config.fish
• Csh: $HOME/.Cshrc
• Tcsh: $HOME/.Tcshrc

(Optional): Remove Dependencies

Dependencies for PsychoPy and for building Python/WxPython are installed via package manager.

Warning: Removing dependencies can affect other applications. If you’re unsure, do not touch them.

Uninstall dependencies by package manager

Depending on the installation not all dependencies are installed. script_deps and psychopy_deps are always installed.

Here are all dependencies listed that might be installed:

        apt-get)
            script_deps=(git curl jq)
            psychopy_deps=(libgtk-3-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libxcb-xinerama0 libegl1-mesa-dev libsdl2-dev libglu1-mesa-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev portaudio19-dev libasound2-dev libxcb-cursor0 libxkbcommon-x11-0 pulseaudio pulseaudio-utils libnotify4 libglib2.0-dev)
            python_build_deps=(build-essential libssl-dev zlib1g-dev libsqlite3-dev libffi-dev libbz2-dev libreadline-dev xz-utils make)
            wxpython_deps=(libjpeg-dev gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-x freeglut3-dev libpng-dev libtiff-dev libnotify-dev libsm-dev libgtk2.0-dev g++ make)
            python_with_venv=(python3 python3-venv python3-pip python3-dev)
            ;;
        yum|dnf)
            script_deps=(git curl jq)
            psychopy_deps=(gtk3-devel webkit2gtk3-devel libxcb-xinerama mesa-libEGL-devel SDL2-devel mesa-libGLU-devel libusb1-devel portaudio-devel alsa-lib-devel pulseaudio pulseaudio-utils libnotify)
            python_build_deps=(gcc openssl-devel bzip2-devel libffi-devel zlib-devel sqlite-devel readline-devel xz-devel make)
            wxpython_deps=(libjpeg-devel libpng-devel libSM-devel gcc-c++ gstreamer1-devel freeglut-devel libjpeg-turbo-devel libtiff-devel libnotify-devel gtk2-devel make glib2-devel)
            python_with_venv=(python3 python3-venv python3-pip python3-devel)
            ;;
        pacman)
            script_deps=(git curl jq)
            psychopy_deps=(gtk3 webkit2gtk libxcb mesa sdl2 glu libusb portaudio alsa-lib pulseaudio pulseaudio-utils libnotify)
            python_build_deps=(base-devel openssl zlib sqlite libffi bzip2 readline xz make)
            wxpython_deps=(libjpeg libpng libsm mesa gstreamer freeglut libtiff gtk2 gcc make glib2)
            python_with_venv=(python python-virtualenv python-pip)
            ;;
        zypper)
            script_deps=(git curl jq)
            psychopy_deps=(gtk3-devel libxcb-xinerama0 libSDL2-devel libusb-1_0-devel portaudio-devel alsa-devel pulseaudio pulseaudio-utils libnotify4)
            python_build_deps=(gcc libopenssl-devel zlib-devel sqlite3-devel libffi-devel readline-devel xz-devel make)
            wxpython_deps=(libpng16-devel gstreamer-plugins-base freeglut-devel libnotify-devel libSM-devel libjpeg-turbo gcc-c++ make glib2-devel)
            python_with_venv=(python3 python3-virtualenv python3-pip python3-devel)
            ;;