.. include:: ../links.inc

Install
=======

Default install
---------------

``MNE-LSL`` requires Python version ``3.10`` or higher and is available on
`PyPI <project pypi_>`_ and `conda-forge <project conda_>`_. It requires
`liblsl <lsl lib_>`_ which will be either fetched from the ``mne-lsl`` install or from
the path in the environment variable ``MNE_LSL_LIB`` (or ``PYLSL_LIB``).

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: MNE installers

        As of `MNE-Python <mne stable_>`_ 1.6, ``mne-lsl`` is distributed in the
        `MNE standalone installers <mne installers_>`_.

        The installers create a conda environment with the entire MNE-ecosystem
        setup, and more! This installation method is recommended for beginners.

    .. tab-item:: PyPI

        ``mne-lsl`` can be installed from `PyPI <project pypi_>`_ using pip:

        .. code-block:: console

            $ pip install mne-lsl

    .. tab-item:: Conda

        ``mne-lsl`` can be installed from `conda-forge <project conda_>`_ using conda:

        .. code-block:: console

            $ conda install -c conda-forge mne-lsl

    .. tab-item:: Source

        ``mne-lsl`` can be installed from `GitHub <project github_>`_ or from the Source
        distribution. In this case, the installation will build `liblsl <lsl lib_>`_.

        .. code-block:: console

            $ pip install git+https://github.com/mne-tools/mne-lsl

        If you wish to skip building `liblsl <lsl lib_>`_, you can set the environment
        variable ``MNE_LSL_SKIP_LIBLSL_BUILD`` to ``1`` before running the installation,
        and use the environment variable ``MNE_LSL_LIB`` or ``PYLSL_LIB`` to specify the
        path to the `liblsl <lsl lib_>`_ library on your system.

        .. code-block:: console

            $ MNE_LSL_SKIP_LIBLSL_BUILD=1 pip install git+https://github.com/mne-tools/mne-lsl


Different liblsl version
------------------------

If you prefer to use a different version of `liblsl <lsl lib_>`_ than the bundled one,
or if your platform is not supported, you can build `liblsl <lsl lib_>`_ from source and
provide the path to the library in an environment variable ``MNE_LSL_LIB`` (or
``PYLSL_LIB``).

In this case, you can skip the build of `liblsl <lsl lib_>`_ during the installation of
``mne-lsl`` by setting the environment variable ``MNE_LSL_SKIP_LIBLSL_BUILD`` to ``1``.

liblsl and LabRecorder dependencies
-----------------------------------

On Linux, ``liblsl`` might requires ``libpugixml-dev`` and ``LabRecorder`` requires
``qt6-base-dev`` and ``freeglut3-dev``.

.. code-block:: console

    $ sudo apt install -y libpugixml-dev qt6-base-dev freeglut3-dev

Qt
--

``MNE-LSL`` requires a Qt binding for the legacy
:class:`~mne_lsl.stream_viewer.StreamViewer` and for the future ``mne_lsl.Viewer``. All
4 Qt bindings, ``PyQt5``, ``PyQt6``, ``PySide2`` and ``PySide6`` are supported thanks to
``qtpy``. It is up to the user to make sure one of the binding is installed in the
environment.

.. warning::

    The legacy :class:`~mne_lsl.stream_viewer.StreamViewer` was developed and tested
    with ``PyQt5`` only.