Python 3.11 or later.

A venv keeps IDOL's dependencies isolated from your system Python so nothing else on your machine is affected. If you're new to Python, this is the safe default.

From the IDOL folder:

Windows (PowerShell)

py -3 -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
pip install -r requirements.txt

macOS / Linux

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

requirements.txt covers everything: PTY, LSP (python-lsp-server), diagnostics (ruff), debugger (debugpy), and the rest.

With the venv active:

python main.py

Optionally open a file directly:

python main.py path/to/file.py

Next time you open a new terminal, re-activate the venv first (.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1 on Windows, source .venv/bin/activate elsewhere) before running python main.py.

1. Open a file — Ctrl+O or File → Open File
2. Create a project — File → New Project… launches the 4-step wizard; it sets up your interpreter, optional venv, and git
3. Explore features — press F1 to open Learning Mode and hover any IDE element for a plain-English explanation

The visual GUI designer is only active for Tkinter GUI App projects:

1. File → New Project…
2. Select Tkinter GUI App as the project type
3. Complete the wizard — IDOL scaffolds Form1.py, Form1.form.json, and a main.py entry point
4. The canvas opens automatically in Designer mode

See designer.md for full designer documentation.

The AI Chat panel and AI-powered explanations require Ollama running locally:

1. Install Ollama from ollama.com
2. Pull the recommended model:

   ollama pull qwen2.5-coder
   

3. Press F2 in IDOL to open the AI Chat panel

No API key required — runs fully offline.