Linux Install Guide
- About Lexos
- Installing Python and Anaconda
- Installing Additional Packages
- Downloading and Extracting Lexos
- Starting and Launching Lexos
- Quitting Lexos
Lexos is an integrated workflow of tools to facilitate computational text analysis, presented in a web-based interface. Lexos is written primarily in Python 3.6.4 using the Flask microframework, based on Werkzeug and Jinja 2. A heavy dose of Javascript and CSS is included on the front-end. We increasingly incorporate the wiz from D3.js in our visualizations and the power in the scikit-learn modules for text and statistical processing.
If you do not already have Python v3.6.4 installed on your computer, we recommend installing it through the free Anaconda distribution.[1] If you already have Python, Anaconda will run alongside your current installation. Note: If you are installing Lexos v3.2 or above from the master branch of the Lexos repository, make sure to install Python 3.x instead. The rest of the installation procedure should be the same.
- Visit the Anaconda downloads page on the web: https://continuum.io/downloads. Locate the Linux symbol on the screen (the penguin); click on this Linux link to get to Anaconda 5.1 For Linux Installer.
- Download the Python 3.6 version 64-Bit (x86) Installer by clicking on the green Download button.
- After locating the install script (e.g., in
Downloads/by typingcd Downloadsin a terminal), run the (bash) shell installer by typing the following into your terminal:
bash Anaconda3-5.1.0-Linux-x86_64.sh
Note: A newer version of Anaconda may have a new version number; check your exact filename.
Follow the instructions on the screen ensuring that you type in yes when the terminal prompts you to install location to PATH in your /home/user/.bashrc or simply follow the install instructions at https://docs.continuum.io/anaconda/install/linux. Close the terminal when you are done.
You should now verify that we have installed it correctly. To do this, follow the instructions below:
- Open an entirely new terminal window. This is important to ensure that your
$PATHincludes Anaconda. - Type
python -V(capital V) and hit theEnterkey.
You should see a response that looks like: Python 3.6.4 :: Anaconda, Inc.. If you do not
see :: Anaconda, Inc. then you did open a new terminal window or you did not update your PATH
variable during the Anaconda installation. We recommend that you uninstall Anaconda and try to install it again, following the
instructions above. To uninstall Anaconda, type rm -rf ~/anaconda3, replacing anaconda3-5.1.0 with the
name of the Anaconda directory, if it is different. Hit the Enter key.
Note: If any odd errors occur ensure your terminal is displaying something like
user@devicenameas your location, otherwise exit and open a new terminal.
To download Lexos, enter https://github.com/WheatonCS/Lexos/archive/v3.1.1.zip in your browser's address bar. Alternatively, go to the Lexos GitHub page: https://github.com/WheatonCS/Lexos/releases. Look under Lexos v3.1.1, click on the link that says Source code (zip) under Downloads and save the file.
Once the Lexos zip archive has downloaded, right-click on the zip icon (in your Downloads), and select Extract or Open With > Archive Manager. Choose where you would like to install Lexos and click Extract. If you wish, you may change the name of the extracted folder from Lexos-3.1.1 to Lexos. In the instructions below, we will assume that you did this and that you extracted the Lexos folder to the Desktop.
Important: Close your current terminal window and open a new one.
In most cases, the terminal window will open in your computer's user account directory. It will show your location by displaying something like user@devicename. If the command prompt says something else, you may need to navigate to this folder.
Now navigate to the Lexos folder by typing cd Desktop/Lexos and hit the Enter key. If you encounter an error, make sure that you are starting in your user account folder, that the Lexos folder is on the Desktop, and that it is called Lexos. The terminal should now display something like user@devicename: ~/Desktop/Lexos.
Type python lexos.py and hit the Enter key. This will start Lexos. It may take a minute to see a response the first time you run the command because Python has to reconfigure some of the project files for your computer. But shortly after you should see the following:
Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000/ (Press CTRL+C to quit)
Restarting with stat
Debugger is active!
Debugger PIN: 236-087-009
Important: Keep the python lexos.py command running while you use Lexos. You may minimize the terminal window, but do not close it.
Once you see the message above, you are ready to launch Lexos. Go to a web browser and enter localhost:5000 in the address bar. We recommend using either Firefox or Chrome (other browsers are not supported and may not work with Lexos). You will soon see the Lexos upload page. For information about using Lexos, click the "Gear" icon at the top right of the screen.
Note: Because your computer is acting as both the web server and the user of Lexos, you may need to hit the Reset button in the top right corner of the Upload page to make sure files from any previous sessions are purged.
To quit Lexos simply close your browser window and close the terminal window running python lexos.py.
Last edited: August 15, 2017
[1] Anaconda is a free distribution of the Python programming language for large-scale data processing, predictive analytics, and scientific computing, that aims to simplify package management and deployment. As of August 2017, Anaconda includes 720+ of the most popular Python packages, including most of the packages needed for Lexos.