Installation

Author

Tommaso Ghilardi

Keywords

DeToX, PsychoPy, tobii_research, installation, eye-tracking, Tobii, Python, miniconda, virtual environment

So you’re interested in using DeToX? Awesome! Let’s get you set up quickly.

DeToX is designed as a lightweight wrapper around PsychoPy and tobii_research. Here’s the good news: tobii_research usually comes bundled with PsychoPy, which means the only real hurdle is installing PsychoPy itself. And yes, PsychoPy can be a bit tricky to install due to its many dependencies—but don’t worry, we’ll walk you through it. Once PsychoPy is up and running, adding DeToX is a breeze.

<<<<<<< HEAD Eye Tracker Drivers Required

======= Eye Tracker Drivers Required

>>>>>>> origin/main

Before DeToX can communicate with your Tobii eye tracker, you need to ensure the correct drivers are installed on your computer. The easiest way to do this is by downloading and installing the Tobii Pro Eye Tracker Manager—a free software provided by Tobii that allows you to installs the necessary drivers for your device.

As a bonus, the Eye Tracker Manager also includes a built-in calibration tool (designed for adult self-paced calibration), which can be useful for testing that your hardware is working properly before running DeToX.

Installing PsychoPy

Since PsychoPy is the main challenge, let’s tackle that first. You have two main options:

Package Installation

Install PsychoPy like any other Python package using pip. This approach is flexible and ideal if you prefer working in an IDE (like Positron, VS Code, PyCharm, or Spyder) where you have full control over your Python environment.
Standalone Installation

Use the PsychoPy standalone installer, which bundles PsychoPy and all its dependencies into a single, ready-to-use application. This is often the easiest way to get started, especially if you’re not familiar with managing Python environments or just want to hit the ground running.

We like installing psychopy as a package but you do you!

Package
Standalone

This method is ideal if you prefer working in an IDE (like Positron, VS Code, PyCharm, or Spyder) and want full control over your Python environment.

Step 1: Create a Virtual Environment

We like to use miniconda to handle our environments and Python installations. Any other method would work as well, but for simplicity we’ll show you how we prefer to do it.

We recommend using Python 3.10 for the best compatibility:

conda create -n detox_env python=3.10

This will create an environment called detox_env with python 3.10. Exactly what we need!

You will probably need to confirm by pressing y, and after a few seconds you’ll have your environment with Python 3.10! Great!

Step 2: Activate Environment and Install PsychoPy

Now let’s activate this environment (making sure we’re using it) and then install PsychoPy:

conda activate detox_env
pip install psychopy

this will take some time but if you are lucky you will have psychopy in your enviroment

Again, confirm if needed and you’re done! Amazing!

PsychoPy is a large package with many dependencies, and sometimes (depending on your operating system) installing it can be quite tricky! For this reason, the PsychoPy website suggests using the standalone installation method. This is like installing regular software on your computer - it will install PsychoPy and all its dependencies in one go.

Step 1: Install PsychoPy Standalone

Go to the PsychoPy download page
Download the standalone installer for your operating system
Run the installer and follow the setup instructions

You are done!!! Great!

Installing DeToX

Once PsychoPy is installed, we can look at DeToX. Let’s gets our hand dirty! The installation is the same for both the Package and Standalone PsychoPy installations but some steps differ.

Package
Standalone

Again make sure to be in the correct environment if you installed PsychoPy as a package. with the following command:

conda activate detox_env

Then simply run:

pip install dvst-detox

Wait a few seconds, confirm if needed, and you are done!

Open PsychoPy
Go to Coder View (the interface with the code editor)
Open the Tools menu
Select “Plugins/package manager…”
Click on “Packages” in the top tabs
Click the “Open PIP terminal” button
Type the following command: pip install devst-detox

That’s it! You now have both PsychoPy and DeToX installed and ready to use.

Install from git

If you want to install the latest development version of DeToX directly from the GitHub repository, you can do so by replacing the installation command with the following:

pip install git+https://github.com/DevStart-Hub/DeToX.git

Important: DeToX requires coding

DeToX is a code-based library that works with PsychoPy’s Coder interface. If you typically use PsychoPy’s Builder (the drag-and-drop visual interface), you’ll need to switch to the Coder interface to use DeToX. Don’t worry - we provide plenty of code examples to get you started!

--- title: "Installation" description-meta: learn how to install DeToX. DetoX is a lightweight wrapper around PsychoPy and tobii_research, so you'll need to install PsychoPy first. This guide walks you through the installation process step-by-step. keywords: [DeToX, PsychoPy, tobii_research, installation, eye-tracking, Tobii, Python, miniconda, virtual environment] author: Tommaso Ghilardi --- So you're interested in using DeToX? Awesome! Let's get you set up quickly. DeToX is designed as a lightweight wrapper around **PsychoPy** and **tobii_research**. Here's the good news: `tobii_research` usually comes bundled with PsychoPy, which means the only real hurdle is installing PsychoPy itself. And yes, PsychoPy *can* be a bit tricky to install due to its many dependencies—but don't worry, we'll walk you through it. Once PsychoPy is up and running, adding DeToX is a breeze. ::: callout-note <<<<<<< HEAD ## Eye Tracker Drivers Required ![](/resources/ETManager.jpg){fig-align="right" width="49" height="33"} ======= ## Eye Tracker Drivers Required ![](https://connect.tobii.com/file-asset/eye_tracker_manager?v=2){fig-align="right" width="49" height="33"} >>>>>>> origin/main Before DeToX can communicate with your Tobii eye tracker, you need to ensure the correct drivers are installed on your computer. The easiest way to do this is by downloading and installing the [Tobii Pro Eye Tracker Manager](https://www.tobii.com/products/software/applications-and-developer-kits/tobii-pro-eye-tracker-manager)—a free software provided by Tobii that allows you to installs the necessary drivers for your device. As a bonus, the Eye Tracker Manager also includes a built-in calibration tool (designed for adult self-paced calibration), which can be useful for testing that your hardware is working properly before running DeToX. ::: ## Installing PsychoPy Since PsychoPy is the main challenge, let's tackle that first. You have **two main options**: - **Package Installation** Install PsychoPy like any other Python package using `pip`. This approach is flexible and ideal if you prefer working in an IDE (like **Positron**, **VS Code**, **PyCharm**, or **Spyder**) where you have full control over your Python environment. - **Standalone Installation** Use the PsychoPy standalone installer, which bundles PsychoPy and all its dependencies into a single, ready-to-use application. This is often the **easiest way to get started**, especially if you're not familiar with managing Python environments or just want to hit the ground running. We like installing psychopy as a package but you do you! ::: panel-tabset ### Package This method is ideal if you prefer working in an IDE (like Positron, VS Code, PyCharm, or Spyder) and want full control over your Python environment. #### Step 1: Create a Virtual Environment We like to use miniconda to handle our environments and Python installations. Any other method would work as well, but for simplicity we'll show you how we prefer to do it. *We recommend using Python 3.10 for the best compatibility:* ``` bash conda create -n detox_env python=3.10 ``` This will create an environment called detox_env with python 3.10. Exactly what we need! You will probably need to confirm by pressing `y`, and after a few seconds you'll have your environment with Python 3.10! Great! #### Step 2: Activate Environment and Install PsychoPy Now let's activate this environment (making sure we're using it) and then install PsychoPy: ``` bash conda activate detox_env pip install psychopy ``` this will take some time but if you are lucky you will have psychopy in your enviroment Again, confirm if needed and you're done! Amazing! ### Standalone PsychoPy is a large package with many dependencies, and sometimes (depending on your operating system) installing it can be quite tricky! For this reason, the PsychoPy website suggests using the standalone installation method. This is like installing regular software on your computer - it will install PsychoPy and all its dependencies in one go. #### Step 1: Install PsychoPy Standalone 1. Go to the [PsychoPy download page](https://www.psychopy.org/download.html) 2. Download the standalone installer for your operating system 3. Run the installer and follow the setup instructions You are done!!! Great! ::: ## Installing DeToX Once PsychoPy is installed, we can look at DeToX. Let's gets our hand dirty! The installation is the same for both the Package and Standalone PsychoPy installations but some steps differ. ::: panel-tabset ### Package Again make sure to be in the correct environment if you installed PsychoPy as a package. with the following command: ``` bash conda activate detox_env ``` Then simply run: ``` bash pip install dvst-detox ``` Wait a few seconds, confirm if needed, and you are done! ### Standalone 1. **Open PsychoPy** 2. **Go to Coder View** (the interface with the code editor) 3. **Open the Tools menu** 4. **Select "Plugins/package manager..."** 5. **Click on "Packages"** in the top tabs 6. **Click the "Open PIP terminal" button** 7. **Type the following command:** `pip install devst-detox` That's it! You now have both PsychoPy and DeToX installed and ready to use. ::: ::: callout-tip ## Install from git If you want to install the latest development version of DeToX directly from the GitHub repository, you can do so by replacing the installation command with the following: ``` bash pip install git+https://github.com/DevStart-Hub/DeToX.git ``` ::: ::: callout-warning ## Important: DeToX requires coding DeToX is a code-based library that works with PsychoPy's Coder interface. If you typically use PsychoPy's Builder (the drag-and-drop visual interface), you'll need to switch to the Coder interface to use DeToX. Don't worry - we provide plenty of code examples to get you started! :::