Installation Guide

This guide provides detailed instructions for installing the BCRA API Connector using various methods.

Prerequisites

Python 3.9 or higher
pip (Python package installer)

Quick Installation

For most users, installing via pip is the simplest method:

pip install bcra-connector

This command will install the BCRA API Connector and all its dependencies.

Installation for Development

If you’re planning to contribute to the BCRA API Connector or need the latest development version, you can install directly from the GitHub repository:

pip install git+https://github.com/PPeitsch/bcra-connector.git

Manual Installation

For those who prefer manual installation or are working in environments without internet access:

Download the source code from the BCRA API Connector repository.
Navigate to the downloaded directory.
Run the following command:
```
python setup.py install
```

Installation in a Virtual Environment

It’s often recommended to install Python packages in a virtual environment to avoid conflicts with other projects or system-wide packages:

Create a virtual environment:
```
python -m venv bcra_env
```
Activate the virtual environment:
- On Windows:
```
bcra_env\Scripts\activate
```
- On macOS and Linux:
```
source bcra_env/bin/activate
```
Install the BCRA API Connector:
```
pip install bcra-connector
```

Verifying the Installation

After installation, you can verify that BCRA API Connector is correctly installed by running:

import bcra_connector
print(bcra_connector.__version__)

This should print the version number of the installed BCRA API Connector.

Dependencies

The BCRA API Connector has the following dependencies:

requests>=2.32.0,<2.33
matplotlib>=3.7.3,<3.8
setuptools>=70.0.0,<71
urllib3>=2.2.1,<3.0

These will be automatically installed when using pip. If you’re installing manually, ensure these dependencies are installed.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues during installation, please check our troubleshooting guide or open an issue on our BCRA API Connector issues page.

Next Steps

Now that you have BCRA API Connector installed, you’re ready to start fetching economic data! Head over to the Usage guide to learn how to use the library.