FAQ—Building Environment

How do I use the PostInstall script?

Sometimes you will need software that isn't currently available through a package manager, or which needs a precisely specified order of operations. For these use cases, use the postInstall script. Here, you can run any commands that you could run on a Linux system (e.g., curl , unzip /tar , or git clone ). It will be available underneath the package managers in the Environment screen.

Because the script will be run as part of the build phase, any commands will be run once, and will then be cached as part of your capsule's custom environment.

A few things to note:

• Many software installation instructions will specify commands such as sudo apt-get install python-dev; sudo is neither necessary nor available on Code Ocean and can simply be omitted.

• postInstall script cannot access /code or /data folders.

• Referring folder built in the postInstall script:

  • The working directory for the postInstall script is / (root), which means if you include a command like mkdir mylibrary to create a folder, when you later need to refer to that folder, it'll be available at /mylibrary.

  • The/opt folder can be accessed from postInstall script and reproducible runs. Therefore, you can use /opt folder to keep source or downloaded files and configure the package. Then add /opt to the path and use the package in a reproducible run.

Can I use the Mamba Package Manager in Code Ocean?

Yes, Mamba is supported as of Code Ocean v2.13. Mamba will automatically be populated as a Package Manager in the Environment Editor if the Starter Environment you've selected includes Mamba. If the Starter Environment was deployed prior to upgrading your VPC to Code Ocean v2.13, it will need to be Remapped by an Admin.