Install COMPAS
The core packages of the COMPAS framework can be installed using conda, the environment and package manager of Anaconda. conda is a command line tool. On Mac, you can use it directly from the Terminal app. On Windows, you have to use the Anaconda Prompt instead of the default Command Prompt.
This will create an environment named ita21, and install compas from the package channel conda-forge. The --yes option at the end will automatically answer "yes" to all confirmation requests that pop up during the installation process. For more information about conda and common conda commands, see the overview at "More about conda".
When the process is finished, compas, compas_blender, compas_ghpython, compas_plotters, compas_rhino and all of their dependencies are installed in ita21.
At this point, notice the name in parenthesis at the beginning of the command line, before the "prompt". The prompt is a sequence of one or more characters on a command line interface to indicate "readiness to receive commands". The prompt is often a dollar sign ($), but it can also be > or %. The name in parenthesis before the prompt is the name of the environment that is currently active, which in this case is (base). This means that although we have created a new environment and even installed packages in it, we still have to activate it before it can be used.
Note that, for simplicity, and to avoid confusion caused by different symbols being used on different systems, the command prompt and whatever comes before it are often omitted from command line instructions.
So instead of
we will omit (ita21) $ and just write
With the new environment now active, we can check if the COMPAS packages were installed correctly.
After executing the above command, if you see something like the following, the core COMPAS packages are properly installed.
Note that every time you start a new Terminal or Anaconda Prompt, the base environment (base) will be active by default. Therefore, don't forget to activate the environment you want to use before you start working.
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