FAQ

Custom Installation

Q: I want to have a custom install of an application or python modules.

A: We recommend creating a Conda environment and installing needed packages with the 'mamba' tool from the conda environment module. It is possible to mix conda and pip installed packages inside a conda environment as conda/mamba is aware of packages installed via pip, but not vice versa.

Python

Q: Installed a python package via 'pip install something', but 'import something' results in an error.

A: A pip install you performed puts the resulting package into your personal directory tree located in the ~/.local/lib/pythonX.Y/site-packages directory tree. A personal pip install can often result in an installation of a python package from a binary archive (wheel) that was built on a system against software libraries that are not compatible with HiPerGator. A typical error message in such case complains about the lack of a particular GLIBC version or some other missing library. Note that the issue can be exacerbated by an incompatible interaction between an environment loaded via an environment module ('module load something') and a personal python package install. To avoid this issue the python package must be installed into an isolated environment. Our approach for creating such environments depends on many factors, but usually results in a conda or containerized environment.