Install and configure psiturk
To get psiTurk up and running on your local computer, you need to do two things:
Before you can install psiTurk on OSX, you need to install a C complier. Install the XCode C complier via the terminal by typing the command:
xcode-select --install
If you receive the error message below, this means you already have XCode installed and can proceed to the installation options.
There are a number of ways to install psiTurk on your local machine. Here are the two ways I recommend for OSX:
The simplest way to get psiTurk up and running is to just run:
sudo pip install git+git://github.com/NYUCCL/psiTurk.git@master
See the psiTurk documentation for updated installation instructions and troubleshooting tips.
I install psiTurk on my machines into a conda environment, which is kind of like a virtual environment. These instructions assume that you use miniconda as your python distribution. Before you can follow these instructions you must install miniconda. For instructions on how to do that, visit guide.kathrynschuler.com/computer-setup.
Create a new conda environment named psiturk and give it the pip package
conda create --name psiturk pip
Enter your new conda environment
source activate psiturk
Install the latest stable version of psiturk into that environment.
sudo pip install git+git://github.com/NYUCCL/psiTurk.git@master
To leave the conda environment, type
source deactivate
Before you can use psiTurk on your local machine, you need to provide your psiTurk installation with your security credentials for both your AWS account and your psiTurk Secure Ad Server account. You created these accounts in the [previous step](Setup required accounts).
To do this, open your psiTurk global configuration file by typing
open ~/.psiturkconfig
A text file will open that looks something like this:
- Enter your AWS access key and secret access key after the appropriate equals sign.
- Enter your psiTurk access key and secret access key after the appropriate equals sign.
- Save and close the file.
You have completed the second step in running experiments on mechanical turk! Go on to [Step 3: Modify the psiTurk templates](Modify the psiTurk templates) or return to the main wiki page to continue to the next steps.