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Install VIPP

For Windows, use the VIPP installer. It creates and maintains a private VIPP environment, so you do not need to activate Python or choose individual packages.

Download VIPP 0.13.0a6 for Windows (unsigned alpha)

Unsigned alpha — verify before running

Download VIPP-Setup-0.13.0a6-Windows-x86_64-UNSIGNED.exe only from the official v0.13.0a6 GitHub release. This alpha is intentionally not Authenticode-signed, so Windows will report Unknown publisher. The -UNSIGNED filename is intentional. Do not use a similarly named file from another site.

Verify the download and pass the Windows warning

  1. Download the installer and SHA256SUMS-Windows-0.13.0a6.txt from the same official GitHub release.

  2. Open PowerShell in the download folder and run:

    Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 `
  .\VIPP-Setup-0.13.0a6-Windows-x86_64-UNSIGNED.exe

  3. Compare the full 64-character result with the line for the installer in SHA256SUMS-Windows-0.13.0a6.txt. If it differs, stop and delete the file.

  4. Double-click the installer. At Windows protected your PC, choose More info, check that the app name ends in -UNSIGNED.exe and the publisher is Unknown publisher, then choose Run anyway.

Do not continue if Microsoft Defender or another antivirus identifies a threat, and never disable Windows security. Work/school policy or Windows 11 Smart App Control may block unsigned applications without a Run anyway choice; use the manual installation below in that case.

Before you start

  • Use 64-bit Windows.
  • Install a supported 64-bit Python. CPython 3.12.10 works for both CPU and NVIDIA GPU setup; CPython 3.13 is also supported for CPU.
  • Keep an internet connection available during the first installation.
  • For NVIDIA GPU use, install a sufficiently recent NVIDIA display driver. A separate CUDA Toolkit, Visual Studio, CMake, and nvcc are not required.

If Python is missing, setup links to the official Python 3.12.10 Windows release and lets you check again after installing it.

Install

  1. Keep Automatic for the simplest choice. Setup recommends CPU or a qualified NVIDIA CUDA 13 installation from the computer it finds.
  2. To choose manually, expand Advanced details, then use Computer use to select CPU or NVIDIA GPU. An unavailable GPU route stays blocked and explains what is missing.
  3. Under Reviewed settings, confirm the installation location, compute route, and whether to add a Desktop shortcut.
  4. Select Install and wait for setup and its final acceptance checks.
  5. Open VIPP for a CPU installation. A CUDA installation provides VIPP Automatic, VIPP CPU, and VIPP Prefer GPU shortcuts; begin with VIPP Automatic.

Changing the compute choice, location, or Desktop-shortcut choice requires Check these settings again. Setup never enables Install for settings it has not checked.

GPU setup is a large download. It currently needs at least 15 GiB free on the installation drive while setup runs; that is disk storage, not GPU memory (VRAM). It also needs at least 5 GiB free on every drive used for Windows temporary files and VIPP installer records. CPU setup needs at least 1 GiB in those temporary/record locations. Setup identifies the exact location when a check fails.

The network-idle timeout is 120 seconds, not a total installation-time limit. After a temporary connection failure, the incomplete candidate is rolled back and any previous working VIPP remains active. Choose Try again after the connection recovers, review the current settings, and install again.

Update, repair, or remove

The installer does not silently replace an existing installation:

  • an older installer-owned copy is offered as Update and remains usable until the replacement passes acceptance;
  • rerunning the same version offers Open VIPP and Repair;
  • a newer version is not downgraded;
  • unrelated folders and manually managed napari environments are never overwritten; and
  • managed CPU and CUDA installations can coexist.

Remove either installation from Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps. Each entry has its own ownership-bound uninstaller, so removing CPU does not remove CUDA and removing CUDA does not remove CPU.

Linux, macOS, and advanced manual installation

VIPP 0.13.0a6 supports CPython 3.12 and 3.13 for CPU use. Create a dedicated environment, then install the exact alpha. An exact prerelease pin does not need pip's --pre option.

py -3.12 -m venv ".venv-vipp"
& ".\.venv-vipp\Scripts\python.exe" -m pip install --upgrade pip
& ".\.venv-vipp\Scripts\python.exe" -m pip install "napari[pyqt6]>=0.6" "napari-vipp==0.13.0a6"
& ".\.venv-vipp\Scripts\vipp.exe"

python3.12 -m venv vipp-env
source vipp-env/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install "napari[pyqt6]>=0.6" "napari-vipp==0.13.0a6"
vipp

python3.12 -m venv vipp-env
source vipp-env/bin/activate
python -m pip install --upgrade pip
python -m pip install "napari[pyqt6]>=0.6" "napari-vipp==0.13.0a6"
vipp

macOS is CPU-only in this alpha. Native Linux GPU qualification is not yet public; Linux remains on the CPU path even if CUDA packages import.

Installing into an existing napari environment is an advanced route. Use that environment's Python explicitly and keep the VIPP version pinned. Do not use a global Python, an environment that exposes system site-packages, an editable VIPP checkout, or an environment with multiple Qt bindings.

Confirm the installation

For an installer-managed copy, open the created VIPP shortcut and choose Open example…. For a manually managed environment, you can also run:

python -c "import importlib.metadata as m; print(m.version('napari-vipp'))"

Expected for this release:

0.13.0a6

Inside napari, choose Plugins → VIPP Workflow (napari-vipp).

Optional NVIDIA CUDA acceleration

The Windows installer is the recommended GPU path. The standard CUDA setup installs its pinned CUDA libraries inside the managed VIPP environment and works without cuCIM.

VIPP admits a successfully probed NVIDIA CUDA device only when every released gate passes: native 64-bit Windows, CPython 3.12, compute capability 7.5 or newer, driver API 13.3 or newer, CUDA runtime API 13.2, the pinned scientific and CuPy/CuPyX packages, provider probes, memory, workload, and scientific parity. GPU names are recorded for provenance rather than used as an allowlist. Unsupported work stays on CPU with an explanation.

For a manual CUDA environment:

py -3.12 -m venv ".venv-vipp-gpu-cu13"
& ".\.venv-vipp-gpu-cu13\Scripts\python.exe" -m pip install --upgrade pip
& ".\.venv-vipp-gpu-cu13\Scripts\python.exe" -m pip install "napari[pyqt6]>=0.6" "napari-vipp[gpu-cuda13]==0.13.0a6"
& ".\.venv-vipp-gpu-cu13\Scripts\vipp-compute-doctor.exe" --track cuda13
& ".\.venv-vipp-gpu-cu13\Scripts\vipp.exe"

Read the complete Windows CUDA and optional cuCIM guide before adding GPU packages manually. To add optional cuCIM after CUDA passes, download the exact 0.13.0a6 no-wheel add-on, verify it against SHA256SUMS-Windows-0.13.0a6.txt, choose Extract All, and run Install VIPP cuCIM.cmd from the extracted folder. It builds the pinned source locally and contains no redistributable cuCIM wheel.

If you are evaluating this alpha for the project, use the short Windows installer field checklist. It records what was actually tried without turning an unperformed CPU, CUDA, rollback, or novice check into a pass.

Optional microscope readers

Install an optional reader with the Python from the exact environment that launches VIPP, then restart napari.

File family Command
Nikon ND2 python -m pip install "napari-vipp[nd2]==0.13.0a6"
Zeiss CZI python -m pip install "napari-vipp[czi]==0.13.0a6"
Mixed microscope formats, including Imaris IMS python -m pip install "napari-vipp[microscope]==0.13.0a6"
BioIO/Bio-Formats fallback python -m pip install "napari-vipp[bioformats]==0.13.0a6"

A reader opening a file is not proof that every axis, unit, timestamp, or acquisition field was interpreted correctly. Check representative facility files before quantitative use.

Development installation

Contributors should clone the application repository and install it editable:

git clone https://github.com/rensutheart/napari-vipp.git
cd napari-vipp
python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"

Development workflows may not reopen in a stable alpha. Record the application commit as well as the package version, and continue with the development setup.