Installation Guide

PlasMol requires Python 3.8+ and several scientific libraries. Follow these steps to set up the environment.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.8 or higher.
  • Git (for cloning the repository).
  • Optional: Conda or virtualenv for isolated environments.

Step 0: Install MEEP

Please visit the installation page for MEEP to install it for use in PlasMol.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/kombatEldridge/PlasMol.git  # [TODO: Replace with actual repo URL]
cd PlasMol

Step 2: Create a Virtual Environment

If a virtual/conda environment for MEEP was not used for install, you can set up one here.

Using virtualenv:

python -m venv plasmol
source plasmol/bin/activate  # On Windows: env\Scripts\activate

Or with Conda:

conda create -n plasmol python=3.12
conda activate plasmol

Step 3: Install Dependencies

PlasMol uses:

  • Meep for electromagnetics (should already be installed).
  • PySCF for quantum calculations.
  • NumPy, SciPy, Pandas, Matplotlib for data handling and plotting.

Install via pip:

pip install pyscf numpy scipy pandas matplotlib logging argparse

Step 4: Install PlasMol as a Package (Optional)

To make it importable system-wide:

pip install -e .

This assumes a setup.py or pyproject.toml in the root (e.g., for editable install).

Step 5: Verify Installation

Run a test:

python -m src.main --help

If you see the CLI help message, it's working.