Prerequisites Checker¶

Before installing OPAL, run our prerequisites checker to verify your system is ready. This tool will identify potential issues and provide specific solutions.

Quick Check¶

Run this single command to check your system:

python check_prerequisites.py

The checker will automatically verify all requirements and give you a detailed report.

What It Checks¶

✅ Python Environment¶

Python Version: Ensures you have Python 3.8+ (required for OPAL)
Package Installer (pip): Verifies pip is available for installing packages
Virtual Environment: Checks if you're using a virtual environment (recommended)

✅ Required Packages¶

requests: HTTP library for web requests
beautifulsoup4: HTML parsing library
selenium: Web browser automation for court scraping
webdriver-manager: Automatic ChromeDriver management

✅ Browser Requirements¶

Google Chrome: Required for court scraping functionality
ChromeDriver Management: Verifies automatic driver setup will work

✅ Network Connectivity¶

Tests connections to: - 1819news.com - Alabama Daily News - Alabama Appeals Court portal - Python Package Index (PyPI)

✅ System Resources¶

File Permissions: Can write output files
Memory (RAM): Sufficient for scraping operations
Disk Space: Available for storing scraped data

Understanding the Results¶

🟢 Passed Checks¶

✅ Python Version: Python 3.9.7 (compatible)
✅ Package Installer (pip): pip 21.3.1 available
✅ Google Chrome: Found at /Applications/Google Chrome.app

These items are working correctly and ready for OPAL.

🟡 Warnings¶

⚠️  Virtual Environment: Not running in virtual environment
   💡 Fix: Create virtual environment: python -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate

⚠️  requests: Not installed (HTTP library for web requests)
   💡 Fix: Install with: pip install requests

Warnings indicate items that should be addressed but won't prevent OPAL from working.

🔴 Failed Checks¶

❌ Python Version: Python 2.7.18 (incompatible)
   💡 Fix: Install Python 3.8 or higher from https://python.org

❌ Google Chrome: Google Chrome not found
   💡 Fix: Install Chrome from https://google.com/chrome for court scraping functionality

Failed checks must be fixed before OPAL will work properly.

Sample Output¶

Here's what a typical check looks like:

============================================================
OPAL Prerequisites Checker
============================================================

📋 Python Environment
------------------
✅ Python Version: Python 3.9.7 (compatible)

✅ Package Installer (pip): pip 21.3.1 available

⚠️  Virtual Environment: Not running in virtual environment
   💡 Fix: Create virtual environment: python -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate

📋 Required Packages
-----------------
⚠️  requests: Not installed (HTTP library for web requests)
   💡 Fix: Install with: pip install requests

⚠️  beautifulsoup4: Not installed (HTML parsing library)
   💡 Fix: Install with: pip install beautifulsoup4

⚠️  selenium: Not installed (Web browser automation)
   💡 Fix: Install with: pip install selenium

⚠️  webdriver-manager: Not installed (Automatic ChromeDriver management)
   💡 Fix: Install with: pip install webdriver-manager

📋 Browser Requirements
--------------------
✅ Google Chrome: Found at /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome

✅ ChromeDriver Management: webdriver-manager will handle ChromeDriver automatically

📋 Network Connectivity
---------------------
✅ Connection to 1819news.com: Successfully connected (200)

✅ Connection to Alabama Daily News: Successfully connected (200)

✅ Connection to Alabama Appeals Court: Successfully connected (200)

✅ Connection to Python Package Index: Successfully connected (200)

📋 File System Permissions
------------------------
✅ Write Permissions: Can write files in current directory

✅ Home Directory Access: Can write to home directory

📋 System Resources
-----------------
✅ Memory (RAM): 16.0 GB available

✅ Disk Space: 45.2 GB free space available

📊 Summary
============================================================
Total checks: 14
✅ Passed: 8
⚠️  Warnings: 6
❌ Failed: 0

✅ Good to go with minor warnings!

Your system should work with OPAL, but consider addressing the warnings above.

Next steps:
1. Install OPAL: pip install -e .
2. Try the quick start tutorial

📚 For help with setup:
- Complete Setup Guide: docs/getting-started/complete-setup-guide.md
- Environment-specific guides: docs/getting-started/environment-guides.md
- Troubleshooting: docs/user-guide/understanding-errors.md

Happy scraping! 🚀

Common Issues and Fixes¶

Python Version Issues¶

Problem: "Python 2.7.18 (incompatible)" Solution: Install Python 3.8+ from python.org

Problem: "Python 3.6.9 (minimum supported, but 3.8+ recommended)" Solution: Consider upgrading to Python 3.8+ for best compatibility

Package Installation Issues¶

Problem: "pip not found" Solution: Install pip with python -m ensurepip --upgrade

Problem: Multiple package warnings Solution: These will be automatically installed when you run pip install -e .

Browser Issues¶

Problem: "Google Chrome not found" Solution: Install Chrome from google.com/chrome

Problem: ChromeDriver issues Solution: The webdriver-manager package handles this automatically

Network Issues¶

Problem: Connection failures to websites Solution: - Check your internet connection - Try again later (websites may be temporarily down) - Use a VPN if you're in a restricted network

Permission Issues¶

Problem: "Cannot write to current directory" Solution: - Run from a directory where you have write permissions - On Linux/Mac: chmod 755 . to fix permissions - On Windows: Run as administrator if needed

When to Run the Checker¶

Before First Installation¶

Run the checker before installing OPAL to catch issues early:

# Download OPAL
git clone https://github.com/your-repo/opal
cd opal

# Check prerequisites first
python check_prerequisites.py

# Then install if checks pass
pip install -e .

After System Changes¶

Re-run the checker if you: - Update Python - Change virtual environments
- Update your operating system - Move OPAL to a different computer

Troubleshooting Issues¶

If OPAL isn't working properly, run the checker to identify potential causes:

python check_prerequisites.py

Advanced Usage¶

Verbose Output¶

For more detailed information during checks:

python check_prerequisites.py --verbose

Save Results to File¶

To save the check results for troubleshooting:

python check_prerequisites.py > system_check.txt 2>&1

CI/CD Integration¶

Use in automated testing:

# Exit code 0 = all critical checks passed
# Exit code 1 = critical issues found
python check_prerequisites.py
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "System ready for OPAL"
    pip install -e .
else
    echo "Prerequisites not met"
    exit 1
fi

Getting Help¶

If the prerequisites checker shows issues you can't resolve:

Check the suggested fixes - Each failed check includes specific solutions
Review the setup guide - Complete Setup Guide has detailed instructions
Check environment-specific guides - Environment Guides for your OS
Look for error solutions - Understanding Errors for common problems

The prerequisites checker is designed to catch 95% of setup issues before they cause problems. Running it first will save you time and frustration during installation!