ABR Server

This folder contains the code for the ABR server and the ABR Compose Design Interface. This is how you create visualizations quickly and visually in ABR!

Installation

Before you begin, this tutorial assumes that you have a modern version of Python (>= 3.10) installed; the commands shown here are NOT guaranteed to work with other versions of Python.

In this tutorial, we set up the Python configuration for the ABR Server app, which enables you to create visualizations with the ABR Compose design interface.

Effectively, we are setting up a "local" copy of each package the ABR Server depends on to reduce the chance of conflicts. If you're interested in learning more, check out the pipenv project for more information. If you're on Windows, replace python3 with py.

Tip

Run all these commands from a terminal in the ABRServer~ folder (/Packages/ABREngine-UnityPackage/ABRServer~). If you have the read-only Unity package (i.e., you just installed ABR from the Unity Package Manager), use the menu option ABR > Open ABRServer~ folder to open the ABRServer folder. After you've opened the folder, follow the instructions for your operating system to open a terminal.

• Windows
• MacOS
• Linux

• Windows Terminal instructions
• Git Bash instructions
• Command Prompt (cmd) instructions

To get started, first make sure you have the pipenv package installed in Python. We are using python3 -m pip instead of pip directly to ensure we have the correct pip/Python version pairing.

python3 -m pip install --user pipenv

Then, install the local dependencies:

python3 -m pipenv install

Note

The first time you run this command, you may need to provide Python path. You can usually get the Python path with a command like which python3 or where python3. Again, on Windows, replace python3 with py. For example:

• Windows
• MacOS
• Linux

py -m pipenv --python=/c/Python311/python.exe install

Then, to get ready to run the server, "activate" the Pipenv by entering a shell:

python3 -m pipenv shell

Note

If you reboot or close the terminal, you will need to re-run the above command.

Running the server

The server can be run local-only (on localhost:8000 by default):

python3 manage.py runserver

The server can also be broadcast to other devices (i.e., if you want to run the server on a desktop and use the design interface with a tablet):

python manage.py runserver 0.0.0.0:8000

After this command is running, test it but opening http://localhost:8000 in a web browser! You should see the ABR design interface appear:

Development with the server

This step is optional, and only recommended if you are editing the Python or JavaScript files for the Server or Design Interface. To enable live-reloading (automatically refresh browser when a file is changed), run these commands in separate terminals (the settings_dev enables live-reloading to work):

python manage.py livereload

python manage.py runserver --settings=abr_server.settings_dev