Installing oTree on macOS

Important note

If you publish research conducted using oTree, you are required by the oTree license to cite this paper. (Citation: Chen, D.L., Schonger, M., Wickens, C., 2016. oTree - An open-source platform for laboratory, online and field experiments. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, vol 9: 88-97)

If the below steps don’t work for you, please email chris@otree.org with details.

Step 1: Install Python

  • Download and install the latest Python.
  • In Finder, search for and open the “Terminal” app:
_images/macos-terminal.png

  • Enter:

    /Applications/Python\ 3.6/Install\ Certificates.command

Step 2: Install oTree

Enter this:

pip3 install -U otree

Step 3: Run oTree

Create your project folder:

otree startproject oTree

When it asks you “Include sample games?” choose yes.

Move into the folder you just created:

cd oTree

Run the server:

otree devserver

Open your browser to http://localhost:8000/. You should see the oTree demo site.

To stop the server, press Control + C at your command line.

Step 4: Install a Python editor (PyCharm)

Install PyCharm, which you will use for editing your Python files.

After installing, open PyCharm, go to “File -> Open...” and select your project folder.

Then click on PyCharm -> Preferences, and click through the following steps:

  • “Project -> Project interpreter”
  • Click the “gear” icon
  • Add...
  • System Interpreter

And set it to the location of your Python executable, something like: /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/bin/python3.6). Once it’s configured, the imports at the top of an app’s models.py should look like this , not this.

If PyCharm displays this warning, select “Ignore requirements”:

_images/pycharm-psycopg2-warning.png

PyCharm’s autocompletion makes learning oTree much easier:

_images/pycharm-autocomplete.gif

Upgrading/reinstalling oTree

We recommend you upgrade on a weekly basis, so that you can get the latest bug fixes and features. This will also ensure that you are using a version that is consistent with the current documentation.

The command to upgrade is the same as the command to install:

pip3 install -U otree

If there is a problem with the upgrade, uninstall then reinstall:

pip3 uninstall otree pip3 install -U otree