Installation
*************

Preparing the hardware
=========================

For PyRPL to work, you need a working `Red Pitaya / STEMlab <https://www.redpitaya.com/>`_ connected to the same local area network (LAN) as the computer running PyRPL.
If you have not already set up your Red Pitaya, follow the current `official Red Pitaya quick-start documentation <https://redpitaya.readthedocs.io/en/latest/>`_ and make sure you can reach the board from your computer.

:doc:`user_guide/installation/hardware_installation` gives more detailed instructions in case you are experiencing any trouble.


.. _installing_pyrpl:

Installing PyRPL
=================

The easiest and fastest way to get PyRPL running is to download and execute the latest precompiled executable from the `PyRPL releases page <https://github.com/pyrpl-fpga/pyrpl/releases>`__.

If you prefer an installation from source code, go to :ref:`installation_from_source`.

.. warning::

   Do **not** use ``pip install pyrpl``. The package on PyPI is outdated. Use the GitHub-based installation documented in :doc:`user_guide/installation/pyrpl_installation`.


Compiling the FPGA code (optional)
===================================

A ready-to-use FPGA bitfile comes with PyRPL. If you want to build your own, possibly customized bitfile, go to :doc:`developer_guide/fpga_compilation`.