Installation

Get PRISM Studio running in 5 minutes.

Important

PRISM Studio is the primary software interface for most users. Use the validator CLI (prism-validator) for automation, CI, and advanced terminal workflows.

Quick Start

Fastest Path: Prebuilt Release (Recommended)

1. Open releases: https://github.com/MRI-Lab-Graz/prism-studio/releases

2. Download the package for your OS (Windows, macOS, or Linux).

3. Extract the archive.

4. Start PRISM Studio from the extracted folder.

Prebuilt startup behavior:

• PRISM Studio opens a dedicated terminal window by default so you can see backend logs and stop with Ctrl+C.

• To disable this, set "showDedicatedTerminal": false in your PRISM Studio user settings file (prism_studio_settings.json).

macOS first launch:

• If macOS blocks the app, double-click Prism Studio Installer.app in the extracted folder.

• This launcher checks quarantine state and only runs the first-launch fix when needed.

• On later launches (after quarantine is removed), it opens PrismStudio.app directly.

• If macOS security translocation hides neighboring files, the installer will ask you to select PrismStudio.app once.

• If launcher app is blocked, use Open Prism Studio.command instead.

• Both helpers remove quarantine metadata from PrismStudio.app and start the app.

• If needed, use Finder fallback: right-click PrismStudio.app -> Open -> Open.

• Apple guide for “Open Anyway”: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-a-mac-app-from-an-unidentified-developer-mh40616/mac

This is the quickest path and does not require repository setup.

Alternative: Install from Source (macOS / Linux)

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/MRI-Lab-Graz/prism-studio.git
cd prism-studio
./setup.sh

# Launch PRISM Studio
python prism-studio.py

Your browser will open automatically at http://localhost:5001.

Windows

# Clone and setup
git clone https://github.com/MRI-Lab-Graz/prism-studio.git
cd prism-studio
.\setup.ps1

# Launch PRISM Studio
python prism-studio.py

Tip

If the browser does not open automatically on Windows, navigate to http://localhost:5001.

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Requirements

Requirement	Version	Notes
Python	3.9+	Download
Git	Any	Download
Deno	Optional	For BIDS validation (auto-installed by setup)

Windows-Specific Notes

When installing Python on Windows, make sure to:

• Check “Add Python to PATH”

• Check “tcl/tk and IDLE” (required for folder picker)

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Installation Options

Option 1: Prebuilt PRISM Studio (Recommended)

Use this if you want the fastest start with minimal setup:

1. Download from releases: https://github.com/MRI-Lab-Graz/prism-studio/releases

2. Extract and launch PRISM Studio.

Note

Prebuilt packages are intended for normal end users. They are the preferred quickstart path.

Option 2: PRISM Studio from Source

Use source installation if you need development workflows or custom local changes.

The web interface is still the default way to use PRISM Studio:

python prism-studio.py

Features:

• Project management with YODA layout

• Data conversion from Excel/CSV/SPSS

• Interactive validation with error explanations

• Survey library browser

• Recipe-based scoring

Option 3: Command Line (Optional)

For scripting and batch processing:

# Validate a dataset
python prism-validator /path/to/dataset

# Run recipes
python prism_tools.py recipes survey --prism /path/to/dataset

See the CLI Reference for all commands.

Option 4: Validator-Only Binary (Windows)

If you only need validation (without full Studio workflows), use PrismValidator.exe from releases.

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Verify Installation

Primary check (recommended):

python prism-studio.py

If Studio opens at http://localhost:5001, installation is successful.

For prebuilt installs, successful launch of the bundled app from the extracted release folder is sufficient.

Optional CLI check:

python prism-validator --version

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Updating PRISM Studio

cd prism-studio
git pull
pip install -r requirements.txt

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Troubleshooting

“Python not found”

Make sure Python is in your PATH:

python --version
# or
python3 --version

“Module not found” errors

Activate the virtual environment first:

# macOS/Linux
source .venv/bin/activate

# Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate

Windows SmartScreen warning

The standalone .exe may trigger SmartScreen warnings. This is normal for open-source software.

macOS Gatekeeper warning

Unsigned or non-notarized macOS apps can be blocked on first launch after download.

Use the bundled helper script in the extracted release folder:

./Open\ Prism\ Studio.command

Preferred helper (double-click in Finder): Prism Studio Installer.app

If Finder still shows a warning, right-click PrismStudio.app and choose Open once.

Official Apple instructions for “Open Anyway”: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-a-mac-app-from-an-unidentified-developer-mh40616/mac

Note

Full out-of-the-box trust on macOS typically requires Apple Developer ID signing and notarization. Without notarization, Gatekeeper prompts are expected for downloaded binaries.

Folder picker not working

On Linux, install tkinter:

sudo apt-get install python3-tk

EDF/EDF+ support (optional)

PRISM Studio can extract metadata from EDF files if pyedflib is installed. This is optional.

Most users: pyedflib installs automatically via setup.sh or setup.ps1.

Windows users without a C++ compiler: pre-compiled pyedflib is bundled in vendor/. Test it:

scripts\test_pyedflib.bat

If you see SUCCESS, EDF support is working. If not, you can:

• Use the bundled version (automatic)

• Or install manually: pip install pyedflib (requires Visual C++ compiler)

See vendor/BUNDLE_GUIDE.md for details.

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Next Steps

• Quick Start: Create your first project

• Workshop: Hands-on exercises

• Studio Overview: Tour of the web interface