Installing from Source (Windows, Linux)

These instructions are for installing pymdwizard from source on Windows, Linux.

Instructions for installing pymdwizard from source are intended for someone with a basic familiarity with Python and conda package installations.


  1. Install Miniforge.

    Miniforge is a minimal conda installer that uses conda-forge as the default channel. Download the appropriate installer for your operating system (Windows, Linux, or Mac) and follow the installation instructions.


  1. Open the Miniforge command prompt:

  • Windows: Launch "Miniforge Prompt" from the Start menu

  • Linux/Mac: Open a terminal (conda will be available in your shell if you selected the option during installation)


  1. Navigate to the directory where you want to install the Metadata Wizard:

    The example directory below could be different depending on operating system or organization

cd c:/projects

  1. Clone the fort-pymdwizard project:

git clone https://github.com/DOI-USGS/fort-pymdwizard.git

  1. Navigate to the project folder:

cd fort-pymdwizard

  1. Create the pymdwizard conda environment from the environment.yml file:

This will create an environment with Python 3.13 and all required dependencies.

conda env create -f environment.yml

  1. Activate the environment:

(Works on all platforms - Windows, Linux, and Mac)

conda activate pymdwizard

  1. Add the project folder to the Python path:

conda develop .

Note: Use your full path if the relative path doesn't work, e.g., conda develop C:/projects/fort-pymdwizard


  1. Launch Metadata Wizard:

python pymdwizard/gui/MainWindow.py