---
last_review: "2025-01-01"
last_reviewer: "-"
documented_code: [ ]
---

```{tags} how-to, crawler
```

# Installation

:::{note}
This page has been migrated from the old documentation, and has not yet been fully revised.
There might be inconsistencies or errors when using with current LinkAhead versions.
:::
% TODO: Issue: https://gitlab.indiscale.com/caosdb/src/linkahead-docs/-/issues/84
% TODO: Split into README, Tutorial, and How-To
% TODO: This is a README page from the caosdb-crawler repository, see [here](https://docs.indiscale.com/caosdb-crawler/getting_started/INSTALL.html).
% TODO: The README should be rewritten to be a minimal setup and usage guide, with a link to this
% TODO: documentation page for further information.

## Linux

Make sure that Python (at least version 3.8) and pip is installed, using your system tools and
documentation.

Then open a terminal and continue in the [Generic installation](#generic-installation) section.

## Windows

If a Python distribution is not yet installed, you can for example install a recent Python version
from the Microsoft Store. After installation, open a command or PowerShell prompt and continue in
the [Generic installation](#generic-installation) section.

## MacOS

If there is no Python 3 installed yet, there are two main ways to obtain it: Either get the binary
package from [python.org](https://www.python.org/downloads/) or, for advanced users, install via
[Homebrew](https://brew.sh/). After installation from python.org, it is recommended to also update
the TLS certificates for Python (this requires administrator rights for your user):

```sh
# Replace this with your Python version number:
cd /Applications/Python\ 3.9/

# This needs administrator rights:
sudo ./Install\ Certificates.command
```

After these steps, you may continue with the [Generic installation](#generic-installation).

## Generic installation

The CaosDB crawler is available as [PyPi package](https://pypi.org/project/caoscrawler/) and can
simply be installed with

```sh
pip3 install caoscrawler
```

Alternatively, obtain the sources from GitLab and install from there (`git` must be installed for
this option):

```sh
git clone https://gitlab.com/caosdb/caosdb-crawler
cd caosdb-crawler
pip3 install --user .
```