Getting, installing, and working with peyotl

Peyotl is a python library that can interact with many of the services and files available through the Open Tree of Life. Here are some simple instructions on how to get a working copy of this library on your system so that you can start playing with the API, studies, and trees. For more details than what is presented here check the peyotl github page.

##Getting peyotl## To get peyotl, you will need git, which you can get in a number of different ways, each depending on your system. Check this website. Then, go to where you would like it installed and run git clone https://github.com/OpenTreeOfLife/peyotl.git. That's it!

##Installing Peyotl## Because of the requirements that peyotl has, it is recommended that you use virtual-env. This simply lets you make something of a sandbox where you can install the requirements and peyotl in a safe place away from the rest of your system. Here are some instructions to get virtual-env or the right python for Linux and Mac.

###Linux###

###Mac### Even if you don't want to use virtual-env, you probably want to use a different python than the one that is installed with the system. The python that comes with the Mac is not complete and often not up to date. There is a simple solution to this which is to install homebrew. You can follow the instructions there (which consist of running this ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)" ) and then you have homebrew installed! Now you can install python like brew install python. Then make sure that you are using the new python and so you should run which python and it should say /usr/local/bin/python. If so, then you are good. Now, you can install virtual-env like pip install virtualenv.

###Working with virtual-env###

###Actually, installing peyotl###

##First steps with peyotl##