Installation¶

GOATS is designed to be run locally. As of now, there are no plans for a dedicated central server hosting GOATS. All installations should be performed on your local machine following the steps outlined below.

System Requirements¶

Python 3.12 or higher
Conda (Miniforge)
Supported Operating Systems:
- Linux
- macOS (Intel & ARM)
- Windows with WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
Supported Browsers:
- Chrome
- Chromium-based browsers
- Firefox

Note

If you already have Anaconda or Miniconda installed, then you can go directly to the Installing GOATS section below.

Otherwise we recommend installing Miniforge. Miniforge defaults to using the community-driven Conda-Forge repository, which provides more up-to-date and widely maintained packages. Additionally, Anaconda/Miniconda enforces licensing restrictions for commercial use. Miniforge does not have such restrictions, thus making it a more flexible and widely accepted alternative.

Installing Miniforge¶

To install Miniforge, download the appropriate installer for your system and follow the instructions below.

Choose the correct installer for your system:

Operating System	Installation Command
Linux	`sh Miniforge3-Linux-x86_64.sh`
macOS (Intel)	`sh Miniforge3-MacOSX-x86_64.sh`
macOS (M1/M2 ARM)	`sh Miniforge3-MacOSX-arm64.sh`
Windows (WSL)	See Windows with WSL

After downloading the installer, open a terminal and run the command specific to your platform.

We recommend manual initialization of conda. When prompted with:

Do you wish to update your shell profile to automatically initialize conda?

answer no. After installation completes, manually initialize conda for your preferred shell:

~/miniforge3/bin/conda init <shell>

Replace <shell> with your shell of choice (e.g., bash, zsh, fish).

To verify the installation, run:

which conda

Ensure that miniforge3 appears in the output of which conda.

Installing GOATS¶

Follow the steps below to install GOATS across all supported platforms.

Configure Conda channels (order matters, the last channel added has the highest priority):
```
conda config --add channels conda-forge
conda config --add channels http://astroconda.gemini.edu/public
conda config --add channels https://gemini-hlsw.github.io/goats-infra/conda
conda config --set channel_priority flexible
```
Note

We recommend channel_priority: flexible for now to avoid incompatibilities caused by packages in lower-priority channels. goats-infra should still be listed last so that it takes precedence. astroconda.gemini is required for the dragons dependency, while most other packages are resolved from conda-forge.
Create the GOATS conda environment:
```
conda create -n goats-env python=3.12 goats
```
Note

If the environment creation fails, it may be due to an outdated version of Conda. Upgrade to the latest version. If issues persist, consider reinstalling Conda via Miniforge as described above.

Refer here for macOS with Apple silicon chips and systems with Windows.
Activate the conda environment:
```
conda activate goats-env
```
Install GOATS:
```
goats install
```
Note

During installation, you will be prompted to create a username and password. These credentials will be used to log in to the GOATS interface.

By default, this step will create a directory named GOATS in your current working directory. To use a custom location, pass the -d flag. For more options, see GOATS Command Line Interface.
Run GOATS:
```
goats run
```
Note

This command launches the GOATS interface in your default web browser. For an overview of the interface and its functionality, see GOATS Interface overview.

For more details on the goats command and available subcommands, see GOATS Command Line Interface.
To close your GOATS interface, simply press Ctrl+C in the terminal.
Note

To open your GOATS interface the next time, execute:
```
goats run -d /your/parent/directory/of/GOATS
```
within the conda environment you created for GOATS.
When you are finished using GOATS, deactivate the conda environment by running:
```
conda deactivate
```

Platform-Specific Notes¶

Windows with WSL¶

GOATS does not support native Windows installations but can be run through WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). To install WSL, follow the official tutorial.

Once WSL is installed, follow the Linux Miniforge installation instructions from Installing Miniforge and proceed with Installing GOATS.

Running GOATS on macOS (M1/M2 ARM)¶

Currently, DRAGONS (one of the dependencies of GOATS) does not support macOS ARM architecture. To ensure compatibility, use the ARM version of Miniforge but include the --platform osx-64 flag when creating the environment:

conda create --platform osx-64 -n goats-env python=3.12 goats

This ensures that dependencies are installed in a way that maintains compatibility with required packages.

Once the environment is created and activated, install and run GOATS normally:

goats install
goats run

Since the entire Conda environment is running under osx-64, GOATS will always execute in x86 mode automatically.

Updating GOATS¶

GOATS is actively developed and regularly updated. When a new version is available, you should update using Conda to ensure compatibility with all dependencies.

See Updating GOATS for full instructions on how to update GOATS safely and correctly.