TheFlyBrain/workstation-setupResearch Associates
Get the source code
README

Workstation setup

Research Associates get access to the workstation’s source code. It runs on your own computer and opens in your browser once the prerequisites below are installed. Setup takes about 15–30 minutes, most of it downloading.

Before you start

  • Source code. Download the workstation zip from the Research Associate post on Patreon and extract it. The commands below run inside the extracted folder.
  • Hardware (estimated). A 4-core CPU (8 recommended), 16 GB RAM, about 5 GB free disk space, and a browser with WebGL 2. A discrete GPU helps in Fully rendered mode; the simulation itself runs on the CPU.
  • Internet for the first run. Setup downloads the connectome and neuron reconstructions, a few hundred megabytes.
  • Prerequisites. Node.js 22 or later, uv (it installs Python 3.12 for the project), and FFmpeg with ffprobe.

macOS

macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon or Intel. Install the prerequisites with Homebrew:

brew install node uv ffmpeg

Then, in Terminal:

cd ~/Downloads/theflybrain-workstation   # the folder you extracted
uv venv --python 3.12 .venv
uv pip install --python .venv/bin/python -r requirements.lock.txt
npm ci
.venv/bin/python -m flybrain download --data data/brain
.venv/bin/python tools/prepare_anatomy.py
npm run build
.venv/bin/python -m uvicorn server.app:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8237

Windows

Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Install the prerequisites with winget in PowerShell, then open a new PowerShell window:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS astral-sh.uv Gyan.FFmpeg

Then:

cd $HOME\Downloads\theflybrain-workstation   # the folder you extracted
Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass
.\setup.ps1
.\start.ps1 -Port 8237

Windows blocks scripts downloaded from the internet by default. Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process Bypass allows them in that PowerShell window only; run it again in any new window before start.ps1.

setup.ps1 checks the prerequisites, installs the Python and web dependencies, downloads the connectome data and builds the interface. start.ps1 starts the workstation; stop.ps1 stops it.

Linux

64-bit Ubuntu 22.04 or an equivalent distribution. On Ubuntu or Debian:

sudo apt install ffmpeg
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Then, in a new terminal:

cd ~/Downloads/theflybrain-workstation   # the folder you extracted
uv venv --python 3.12 .venv
uv pip install --python .venv/bin/python -r requirements.lock.txt
npm ci
.venv/bin/python -m flybrain download --data data/brain
.venv/bin/python tools/prepare_anatomy.py
npm run build
.venv/bin/python -m uvicorn server.app:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8237

Running

  • Open http://127.0.0.1:8237 once the server is running.
  • To update, download and extract the latest zip, move your data folder into it to keep the downloaded connectome and your trials, and run setup again.
  • If a download is interrupted, run setup again. It resumes.
  • To build experiments of your own, see the Experiment Builder’s Guide.