.. _Cell-ACDC: https://cell-acdc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html

.. note::

    You can run SpotMAX both headless or with the GUI. We recommend 
    using ``conda`` to manage virtual environments.

    If you plan to contribute to the code, see the :ref:`how-to-contribute` 
    section.

.. _how-to-install:

How to install SpotMAX
======================

Typical install time: 10 minutes.

Here you will find a detailed guide on how to install SpotMAX. In general, 
you should be fine with installing the stable version, however, SpotMAX 
development is still quite rapid and if you want to try out the latest 
features we recommend installing the latest version. On the other hand, 
installing from source is required only if you plan to contribute to SpotMAX
development. In that case see our :ref:`how-to-contribute`.

.. tip:: 
    
    If you are **new to Python** or you need a **refresher** on how to manage 
    scientific Python environments, I highly recommend reading 
    `this guide <python-guide>`__ by Dr. Robert Haase.

.. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 1

    stable
    latest
    source
    hpc
    cuda