oep-installation

This repository houses scripts for easy installation of Open Ephys and useful plugins.

Prerequisites

• Git must be installed.

  • If on Windows, you can find the installer here. When installing, you must select "Git from the command line and also from 3rd-party software" on the "Adjusting your PATH environment" page.

• CMake must be installed.

• On Windows, you must have Visual Studio 2013, 2017, 2019, or 2022 (or just the Build Tools for Visual Studio) installed from here.

• If you are on Windows and want to use ASIO for lower-latency processing, you must install ASIO4ALL here.

Installation

• Either download as a ZIP file and unzip, or clone using git clone https://github.com/tne-lab/oep-installation at a terminal.

• Run the install script for your platform:

  • Linux: source install_linux.sh

  • Windows: Script must be run from a Command Prompt shortcut that came with your Visual Studio installation which sets environment variables for the compiler. In the Start menu, find and open Visual Studio 20XX/x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS 20XX (where 20XX is 2013, 2017, 2019, or 2022), navigate to the oep-installation directory, and run install_windows.bat.

• The scripts will build the Release GUI by default, but to use a different configuration (such as Debug), you can pass it as an argument, i.e. run install_windows.bat Debug.

• You can re-run the install script at any time to update to the latest version.

Post-installation

• If this is the first time you are using the Open Ephys hardware on a Windows computer, you must run plugin-GUI/Resources/DLLs/FrontPanelUSB-DriverOnly-4.4.0.exe to install the Opal Kelly driver.

• If you are using the Python Plugin in Windows be sure to follow the instructions at https://github.com/tne-lab/PythonPlugin/tree/cmake_build to build and configure your installation after running the .bat script. Then see NeuroNetMem/PythonPlugin#23 if you have issues loading python modules in.

Additional note: Visual Studio installation

Installing Visual Studio Community Edition for C++ Development:

• Download & Run Installer: Get the Visual Studio Community Installer from the official website, then run it.
• Edition & Workloads: Choose "Community" edition. Select "Desktop development with C++" workload.
• Components: Optionally, customize components under "Individual components."
• Location, Options & Install: Pick installation directory, set preferences, and click "Install."
• Wait & Finish: Allow installation to complete, then launch Visual Studio.
• Sign In (Optional): Log in with Microsoft account.
• Start Using: Open Visual Studio for C++ development.

Installing Visual Studio Build Tools for C++:

• Download & Run Installer: Download the Visual Studio Build Tools Installer, then run it.
• Workloads & Components: Select "Desktop development with C++" workload. Optionally customize "Individual components."
• Installation Options & Install: Choose location and other preferences, then click "Install."
• Wait & Finish: Allow installation to complete.