Python project template

Template repository for a python project.

Development set up

Development relies on the following software

• winget (Windows) or homebrew (MacOS/Linux) or snap (Linux) for package management and installation
• git for source control management
• just for running common command line patterns
• uv for installing Python and managing virtual environments

This repository uses a Justfile for collecting common command line actions that we run to set up the computing environment and build the assets of the handbook. Note that you should also have Git installed

To get started, make sure you have Just installed on your computer by running the following from the command line:

Platform	Commands
Windows	winget install Git.Git Casey.Just astral-sh.uv GitHub.cli Posit.Quarto
Mac/Linux	brew install just uv gh

This will make sure that you have the latest version of Just, as well as uv (installer for Python) and Quarto (for writing and compiling scientific and technical documents).

• We use Just in order to make it easier for all IPA users to be productive with data and technology systems. The goal of using a Justfile is to help make the end goal of the user easier to achieve without needing to know or remember all of the technical details of how we get to that goal.
• We use uv to help ease use of Python. uv provides a global system for creating and building computing environments for Python.
• We use Quarto to allow users to focus on writing and data analytics. Writing in markdown, jupyter notebooks, python scripts, R scripts, etc. makes it easier to review, update, and deploy technical documentation.
• We also recommend using in Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Preferred options are VS Code or Positron.

Platform	Commands
Windows	winget install Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
Mac	brew install --cask visual-studio-code
Linux	sudo snap install code --classic

Platform	Commands
Windows	winget install Posit.Positron
Mac	brew install --cask positron

As a shortcut, if you already have Just installed, you can run the following to install required software and build a python virtual environment that is used to build the handbook pages:

just get-started

Note: you may need to restart your terminal after running the command above to activate the installed software.

After the required software is installed, you can activate the Python virtual environment:

Shell	Commands
Bash	.venv/Scripts/activate
Powershell	.venv/Scripts/activate.ps1
Nushell	overlay use .venv/Scripts/activate.nu