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Development Environment Setup

WalnutPi​

The WalnutPi factory system comes with PyQt5 already installed, and the desktop version comes with QT Designer pre-installed. QT Designer is a powerful visual GUI design tool that can greatly improve development efficiency.

Tip

We recommend using the WalnutPi desktop system for development, as it makes debugging easier.

PyQt5​

You can check if PyQt5 is installed with the following commands:

Since PyQt5 is a series of Python libraries, first enter Python:

python

Then import it — pay attention to letter case. If there's no error, it means the system already has it installed. If it says the library is not found, please re-burn the latest image.

import PyQt5

setup1

Qt Designer​

The WalnutPi system comes with QT Designer pre-installed, located under Start Menu > Development:

setup2

After opening, the software interface looks like this:

setup3

Windows​

One great advantage of PyQt5 is its strong portability, meaning the code works across Windows, Mac, and Linux. If you want to develop on Windows and then use the code on the WalnutPi, that's perfectly fine.

Installing Python​

  1. Make sure Python 3 is installed on your computer. Run the python command in the terminal to check:

On Windows, press Win + R and type cmd to quickly open the terminal:

setup4

setup5

Type python in the terminal — if you can see the Python version, it means it's installed.

setup6

If not installed, download from the Python official download page. Python 3.10 or above is recommended. Make sure to check the option to add to PATH during installation.

Installing PyQt5​

Install via the Windows terminal with the following command:

pip3 install pyqt5

Installing Qt Designer​

Install via the Windows terminal with the following command:

pip3 install pyqt5-tools

After installation, the executable is located in the lib directory of your Python installation path:

C:\Users{YourUser}\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python310\Lib\site-packages\qt5_applications\Qt\bin

Since it's frequently used, you can drag it to the desktop to create a shortcut.

setup7

After opening, the software looks like this:

setup8