Other ways to install Finesse

The supported way to install Finesse is by using the conda-forge package. In addition of conda-forge, Finesse is also distributed on pypi (the Python Package Index) and can installed using many package managers. If you choose to install Finesse using those alternative package managers, it is assumed that you are knowledgeable enough about the tool to adapt the installation process to your needs and manage it yourself. The commands are given here mostly as references. The list of alternatives presented here is not exhaustive.

Note that Finesse is currently not available for Windows on pypi. See Issue #518.

Pip

pip is the package installer for Python. You can install package from PyPI with it.

# Create a new virtual environment
python -m venv finesse_env
source finesse_env/bin/activate

# Install finesse
pip install finesse

To install Finesse as an editable package for development, change the last lines for:

# Install Finesse as editable
pip install --editable /path/to/finesse3

After activation of the environment, subsequent command will be executed in the environment.

UV

uv is an fast Python package and project manager, written in Rust. It manages virtual environments automatically. To create a new environment and install Finesse:

# Initialize a new project
uv init finesse-project
cd finesse-project

# Add finesse to the project
uv add finesse

To install Finesse as an editable package for development, change the last lines for:

# Add finesse to the project as editable
uv add --editable /path/to/finesse3

To run a Python script using the environment, when inside the project directory tree use:

uv run python script.py

Poetry

Poetry is a tool for dependency management and packaging in Python. It automatically creates and manages a virtual environment for your projects.

# Initialize a new project
poetry new finesse-project
cd finesse-project

# Add finesse to the project
poetry add finesse

To install Finesse as an editable package for development, change the last lines for:

# Add finesse to the project as editable
poetry add --editable /path/to/finesse3

To run a Python script using the environment, when inside the project directory tree use:

poetry run python script.py