Installing the uAgents Framework

System Requirements

Fetch.ai's uagents (opens in a new tab) Frameworks package is a Python library running on Ubuntu/Debian, MacOS, and Windows systems.

On your computer, you may need to install:

• Python (opens in a new tab) 3.8+.
• PIP (opens in a new tab) - the Python package manager.
• Poetry (opens in a new tab) for virtual environments (optional).
• uAgents library (opens in a new tab)

Install with Pip

1. Create a directory for your agents project: mkdir directory_name

2. Within the directory, create and open a virtual environment using Poetry: poetry init -n && poetry shell

3. Install Fetch.ai uagents library: pip install uagents

4. Check if installation was successful: pip show uagents

Install from source code

1. Download the latest released version from Github and navigate to the agents directory:

   git clone https://github.com/fetchai/uAgents.git
   cd uAgents

2. Install the required dependencies:

   poetry install

3. Open the virtual environment:

   poetry shell

Troubleshooting

It is possible that you may face issues during the installation process. Here, you can find common problems and their solutions.

For any other problems, please let us know by creating an issue (opens in a new tab).

Simplified Installation for Windows users

Installing the uagents framework on a Windows machine is a straightforward process. The uagents library is a Python package, so you'll need to have Python installed on your system before you can use it.

If you don't already have Python installed on your Windows machine, visit the official Python website at Python (opens in a new tab) and download the latest stable version of Python for Windows.

Run the downloaded installer executable file (e.g., python-3.x.x.exe).

During installation, make sure to check the box that says "Add Python X.X to PATH." This will automatically add Python to your system's PATH variable, making it easier to use from the command line.

Install uagents library using pip

Once you have Python installed and added to your PATH, follow these steps to install the uagents framework using pip:

1. To install using PIP open your terminal. To ensure that PIP (Python's package manager) is up-to-date, run the following command:

   python -m pip install --upgrade pip

2. Now, you can install the uagents framework by running the following command:

   pip install uagents

PIP will download and install the uagents package and its dependencies. Wait for the process to complete. To verify the complete installation explore your terminal. As part of the installation you will see a message showcasing the completion of the installation as well as the exact version.

Installing other essential python libraries

Installing AI Engine library

If you wish to create AI Engine compatible Agents, you will need to get the uagents-ai-engine package installed. Checkout the AI Engine package (opens in a new tab) to download it and start developing your AI Engine compatible Agents.

You can install AI Engine with pip: pip install uagents-ai-engine

Development tools

Installing Homebrew

Homebrew streamlines software installations on MacOS via the command line. To install and update Homebrew, execute the following commands:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

You can verify it here (opens in a new tab). Let's then ensure Homebrew is updated:

brew update

Installing PyEnv

Now, you need to install PyEnv. It is a simple tool to manage multiple versions of Python. Run:

brew install pyenv

Once you have installed PyEnv you can configure the shell environment:

echo 'export PYENV_ROOT="$HOME/.pyenv"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'command -v pyenv >/dev/null || export PATH="$PYENV_ROOT/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'eval "$(pyenv init -)"' >> ~/.zshrc

You are now ready to install Python if you haven't done it yet. You need to install a version of Python 3.8 or above (for this example, we use version 3.10):

pyenv install 3.10

You can get help or check a command insights by running:

pyenv help

Let's now ensure the global version of Python you are working with is not the default one in the system. Run:

pyenv global 3.10 # this sets the global interpreter
pyenv versions # this verifies if it is set up correctly

Installing Poetry

You now need to install Poetry. Poetry is used for managing Python project dependencies, handling virtual environments, packaging, and publishing Python libraries or applications.

You can install Poetry by running the following command:

curl -sSL https://install.python-poetry.org | python3 -

Initialize your project with Poetry

You now have all necessary tools installed. You are ready to initialize your project! Let's create a working directory and initialize Poetry 🎉.

First, you need to create a working directory for your project using mkdir command. Then, you will need to change directory to this one, using cd command:

mkdir development/agent-demo
cd development/agent-demo

You can ensure you are in the correct directory by checking your current path:

pwd
# Example output: /Users/Jessica/Documents

If you are happy with the install location for the project, go ahead and initialize Poetry:

poetry init

Once you complete the initialization, run:

poetry install

This command will install the dependencies specified in the pyproject.toml file.