Installation

mesoscoPy is a Python program with a graphical interface. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and needs Python 3.14 or newer. The simplest way to get a working installation is a dedicated conda environment: the file environment.yml of the repository lists what the program needs: QCoDeS, Qt, NumPy, Matplotlib, SciPy and PyYAML. The drivers of some instruments are optional and are installed separately (see below).

1. Install a conda distribution 

Install Miniforge (recommended) or Anaconda, then open a terminal. On Windows, use the Miniforge Prompt (or Anaconda Prompt) that the installer adds to the Start menu.

2. Get mesoscoPy 

Download the latest release from the releases page and unpack it, or clone the repository (it can be less stable than a release):

git clone https://github.com/mpilde/mesoscopy.git
cd mesoscopy

3. Create the environment 

From the mesoscopy folder:

conda env create -f environment.yml
conda activate mesoscopy

This creates an environment called mesoscopy. You activate it (conda activate mesoscopy) every time you open a new terminal, before using the program.

4. Install the program 

With the environment activated, still in the mesoscopy folder:

pip install .

This installs mesoscoPy and the mesoscopy command. If you want to change the code and see the changes at once, use pip install -e . (an editable install) instead.

5. Drivers and VISA, for the instruments that need them 

The environment is the bare minimum to run the program. Instruments may need more, which you install in the same environment (conda activate mesoscopy first):

Zurich Instruments MFLI (and the other drivers of the QCoDeS contrib package)

pip install "zhinst>=26.7.2" "zhinst-qcodes>=0.8.1" "qcodes_contrib_drivers>=0.24.0"

or pip install ".[zurich]" from the mesoscopy folder. The MFLI is reached through the LabOne data server, which you install from Zurich Instruments.

VISA instruments (GPIB, USB, serial, network)

QCoDeS installs PyVISA, which needs a VISA backend. Either install the VISA library of your instrument manufacturer, for example R&S VISA or NI-VISA (needed for GPIB and USB), or install the pure-Python backend, enough for instruments on a network or a serial port: conda install pyvisa-py pyserial (or pip install ".[visa]").

On Linux, tell PyVISA where a VISA library is, in ~/.pyvisarc:

[Paths]

VISA library: /usr/lib/librsvisa.so

See the PyVISA documentation for the details. The simulated instruments of the quick overview need none of this.

6. Start the program 

With the environment activated:

mesoscopy

A window opens. If you have no hardware at hand, the quick overview shows how to try every tab on simulated instruments.

Updating 

cd mesoscopy
git pull
conda env update --file environment.yml --prune
pip install --upgrade .

--prune removes what the environment file does not list, so install the optional packages of step 5 again if you use them.

Something does not work?

mesoscopy: command not found: The environment is not activated (conda activate mesoscopy), or pip install . was not run in it.
ModuleNotFoundError when starting: Update the environment (see above). If the message names a driver package (zhinst, qcodes_contrib_drivers …), it is one of the optional ones of step 5.
The window opens but an instrument cannot be loaded: See the Instruments tab and the station file: the message under the buttons says what failed (a wrong address, a missing VISA library, an instrument that is already in use …).