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Installation

This guide will help you install and set up CitizenAI on your system.

Prerequisites

Before installing CitizenAI, ensure you have the following prerequisites:

System Requirements

  • Python: 3.11 or higher
  • Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux
  • Memory: At least 4GB RAM recommended
  • Storage: 1GB free disk space

Required Software

# Check Python version
python --version
# Should return Python 3.11.x or higher

# Install Git (if not already installed)
# Windows: Download from https://git-scm.com/
# macOS: brew install git
# Linux: sudo apt-get install git

# Verify installation
git --version

# pip is included with Python 3.11+
# Verify installation
pip --version

Installation Methods

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/AkhileshMalthi/Citizen-AI.git

# Navigate to the project directory
cd Citizen-AI

# Create a virtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv .venv

# Activate the virtual environment
# Windows:
.venv\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux:
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Method 2: Download ZIP

  1. Go to the GitHub repository
  2. Click on "Code" → "Download ZIP"
  3. Extract the ZIP file to your desired location
  4. Open terminal/command prompt in the extracted folder
  5. Follow steps 3-6 from Method 1

Dependencies

CitizenAI relies on several Python packages:

requirements.txt
Flask==2.3.3
flask-session==0.5.0
requests==2.31.0
python-dotenv==1.0.0
ibm-watson==7.0.1
ibm-cloud-sdk-core==3.18.0
plotly==5.17.0
pandas==2.1.3
numpy==1.25.2
Werkzeug==2.3.7

Virtual Environment

It's highly recommended to use a virtual environment to avoid conflicts with other Python projects:

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv citizenai-env

# Activate it
# Windows:
citizenai-env\Scripts\activate
# macOS/Linux:
source citizenai-env/bin/activate

Verification

After installation, verify that everything is working correctly:

# Run the demo version (lightweight, no AI dependencies)
python app_demo.py

# You should see output similar to:
# * Running on http://127.0.0.1:5000
# * Debug mode: on

Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:5000. You should see the CitizenAI interface.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Python version issues

If you're getting Python version errors:

# Check your Python version
python --version

# If using Python 3.11+ but still getting errors, try:
python3 --version
python3.11 --version
Permission errors during installation

On Windows, try running as administrator: 

# Run command prompt as administrator
pip install -r requirements.txt

On macOS/Linux: 

sudo pip install -r requirements.txt
# Or better, use a virtual environment

Module not found errors

Ensure you're in the correct directory and virtual environment: 

# Check current directory
pwd  # or cd on Windows

# Ensure virtual environment is activated
which python  # or where python on Windows

Getting Help

If you encounter issues not covered here:

  1. Check the Troubleshooting section
  2. Search existing GitHub Issues
  3. Create a new issue with detailed error information

Next Steps

Once installation is complete, proceed to the Quick Start guide to learn how to configure and run CitizenAI.