README_DEV.md

To run Gradio apps locally using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Visual Studio Code (VSCode), follow these steps:

## **1. Set Up WSL**

### **Enable WSL**
1. **Windows Features Dialog:**
   - Open the Windows search bar, type "features," and select *Turn Windows Features on or off*.
   - Scroll down and check *Windows Subsystem for Linux*.
   - Click *OK* and restart your computer.

2. **PowerShell:**
   - Open PowerShell as an Administrator and run:
     ```powershell
     Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux
     ```
   - Restart your computer when prompted.

### **Install a Linux Distro**
1. Open the Microsoft Store and search for a Linux distribution (e.g., Ubuntu).
2. Install and launch the distribution.
3. Follow the prompts to complete the installation and create a user ID and password.

## **2. Set Up Visual Studio Code with WSL**

### **Install VSCode and WSL Extension**
1. Download and install [Visual Studio Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/).
2. Install the *Remote - WSL* extension from the VSCode marketplace.

### **Open a WSL Terminal in VSCode**
1. Open your WSL terminal (e.g., Ubuntu).
2. Navigate to your project directory.
3. Type `code .` to open the current directory in VSCode.

## **3. Install and Run Gradio in a Virtual Environment**

### **Create a Virtual Environment**
1. In your WSL terminal, navigate to your project directory:
   ```bash
   cd /path/to/your/project
   ```
2. Create a virtual environment:
   ```bash
   python3 -m venv gradio-env
   ```
3. Activate the virtual environment:
   ```bash
   source gradio-env/bin/activate
   ```

### **Install Gradio**
1. With the virtual environment activated, install Gradio:
   ```bash
   pip install gradio
   ```

### **Run the App**

   ```
2. Run the Gradio app:
   ```bash
   python app.py
   ```
3. The app will open in a browser at `http://localhost:7860`.

### **Hot Reload Mode (Optional)**
For development convenience, you can use Gradio's hot reload mode:
```bash
gradio app.py
```

This setup allows you to develop and run Gradio apps efficiently using WSL and VSCode, leveraging the power of a Linux environment on a Windows machine[1][3][4][5].

Citations:
[1] https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/wsl-tutorial
[2] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ai/toolkit/toolkit-fine-tune
[3] https://www.gradio.app/guides/quickstart
[4] https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/wsl
[5] https://www.gradio.app/guides/installing-gradio-in-a-virtual-environment

To automatically create and update a requirements.txt file for your Python application, you have several options. Here are the most effective methods:

# Updating the requirements.txt

## **Using pipreqs (Recommended)**

Pipreqs is a third-party tool that analyzes your project's imports and generates a more accurate requirements.txt file[4][8].

1. Install pipreqs:
   ```bash
   pip install pipreqs
   ```
2. Navigate to your project directory.
3. Run pipreqs:
   ```bash
   pipreqs .
   ```

Pipreqs will scan your project, identify the imports, and create a requirements.txt file with only the packages your project actually uses[4][8].

## **TODO Automating with GitHub Actions**

For projects hosted on GitHub, you can automate the process using GitHub Actions:

1. Create a workflow file (e.g., `.github/workflows/update-requirements.yml`).
2. Use an action like `timmypidashev/auto-pipreqs-cpy@master` to automatically generate the requirements.txt file[5].

## **Best Practices**

1. **Use virtual environments**: This ensures your requirements.txt only includes project-specific dependencies[4].
2. **Specify versions**: Use `==` to pin exact versions for reproducibility[4].
3. **Update regularly**: Keep your requirements.txt up to date as you add or remove dependencies[4].
4. **Review generated files**: Always review automatically generated requirements.txt files to ensure they're accurate and complete[6].

By following these methods and best practices, you can efficiently manage your Python project's dependencies and ensure consistency across different environments.

Citations:
[1] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31684375/automatically-create-file-requirements-txt
[2] https://www.mend.io/free-developer-tools/a/community/software-dependencies/how-can-i-automatically-generate-and-update-a-requirements-txt-file-from-a-pipfile-using-pipenv/
[3] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24764549/upgrade-python-packages-from-requirements-txt-using-pip-command
[4] https://www.squash.io/how-to-automatically-create-requirementstxt-in-python/
[5] https://github.com/marketplace/actions/automatic-requirements-txt-generation-for-python-projects
[6] https://pynwb.readthedocs.io/en/stable/update_requirements.html
[7] https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/how-to-create-requirements-txt-file-in-python/
[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZeoruSobc4
[9] https://www.paleblueapps.com/rockandnull/python-update-requirements-txt/
[10] https://www.scaler.com/topics/how-to-create-requirements-txt-python/
[11] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/python/managing-required-packages-with-requirements-txt?view=vs-2022
[12] https://www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/managing-dependencies.html
[13] https://note.nkmk.me/en/python-pip-install-requirements/
[14] https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/python-requirementstxt-explained/
[15] https://learnpython.com/blog/python-requirements-file/