LLMs-from-scratch/setup/README.md

# Optional Setup Instructions


This document lists different approaches for setting up your machine and using the code in this repository. I recommend browsing through the different sections from top to bottom and then deciding which approach best suits your needs.

 

## Quickstart

If you already have a Python installation on your machine, the quickest way to get started is to install the package requirements from the [../requirements.txt](../requirements.txt) file by executing the following pip installation command from the root directory of this code repository:

```bash
pip install -r requirements.txt
```

 

## Setting up Python

If you don't have Python set up on your machine yet, I have written about my personal Python setup preferences in the following directories:

- [01_optional-python-setup-preferences](./01_optional-python-setup-preferences)
- [02_installing-python-libraries](./02_installing-python-libraries)

The *Using DevContainers* section below outlines an alternative approach for installing project dependencies on your machine.

 

## Using Docker DevContainers

As an alternative to the *Setting up Python* section above, if you prefer a development setup that isolates a project's dependencies and configurations, using Docker is a highly effective solution. This approach eliminates the need to manually install software packages and libraries and ensures a consistent development environment. You can find more instructions for setting up Docker and using a DevContainer:

- [03_optional-docker-environment](03_optional-docker-environment)

 

## Visual Studio Code Editor

There are many good options for code editors. My preferred choice is the popular open-source [Visual Studio Code (VSCode)](https://code.visualstudio.com) editor, which can be easily enhanced with many useful plugins and extensions (see the *VSCode Extensions* section below for more information). Download instructions for macOS, Linux, and Windows can be found on the [main VSCode website](https://code.visualstudio.com).

 

## VSCode Extensions

If you are using Visual Studio Code (VSCode) as your primary code editor, you can find recommended extensions in the `.vscode` subfolder. To install these, open the `extensions.json` file in VSCode and click the "Install" button in the pop-up menu on the lower right.

 

## Using Google Colab

To use a Google Colab environment in the cloud, head over to [https://colab.research.google.com/](https://colab.research.google.com/) and open the respective chapter notebook from the GitHub menu or by dragging the notebook into the *Upload* field as shown in the figure below.

<img src="./figures/1.webp" alt="1" width="700">


Also make sure you upload the relevant files (dataset files and .py files the notebook is importing from) to the Colab environment as well, as shown below.

<img src="./figures/2.webp" alt="2" width="700">


You can optionally run the code on a GPU by changing the *Runtime* as illustrated in the figure below.

<img src="./figures/3.webp" alt="3" width="700">


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## Questions?

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out via the [Discussions](https://github.com/rasbt/LLMs-from-scratch/discussions) forum in this GitHub repository.