Installing the GUI

The Open Ephys GUI works equally well on Windows, Linux, and macOS, so which platform you choose is mostly up to you. However, there are some plugins (such as Neuropixels) that are currently only available for Windows. We recommend reading through the documentation of any Plugins you plan to use to find out about potential limitations.

Windows

Via installer (recommended)

1. Click the “Windows” link on this page to download the installer for the latest version of the GUI.

2. Double-click the downloaded executable to launch the installer.

3. Follow the instructions within the installer.

4. The GUI will be installed in C:\Program Files\Open Ephys\open-ephys.exe.

Via .zip file

1. Download a .zip file for any previous release via this link: https://openephysgui.jfrog.io/artifactory/Release/windows/

2. Drag and drop the downloaded and unzipped folder to the location of your choice, and rename it “Open Ephys”

3. Run FrontPanelUSB-DriverOnly-4.4.0.exe to install the Open Ephys acquisition board driver.

4. Double-click the open-ephys executable to run the application.

Note

If this is your first time running the GUI on a particular machine, you will need to install the Visual Studio 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2022 redistributable package before opening the application. This only applies to the .zip download, as this package will be added automatically when using the Windows installer.

Linux

Via installer (Ubuntu only)

1. Click the “Linux” link on this page to download the .deb file for the latest version of the GUI.

2. Double-click on the .deb file, and enter your password when prompted.

3. The GUI will be installed in /usr/local/bin/open-ephys-gui.

4. Type open-ephys to launch the GUI.

5. To uninstall, type sudo dpkg --remove open-ephys in a terminal window.

Via Portage (Gentoo only)

The GUI is available at the gentoo science overlay.

1. Install the eselect-repository package: emerge --ask --noreplace --verbose eselect-repository

2. Activate the science overlay: eselect repository enable science

3. Install the GUI: emerge --ask --verbose open-ephys-gui

4. Run open-ephys-VERSION to launch the GUI, where VERSION is the installed version. To see all installed versions, run ls /usr/bin/open-ephys*.

5. To uninstall a specific version, run emerge --ask --verbose --depclean =sci-biology/open-ephys-gui-VERSION.

6. To uninstall all installed versions, run emerge --ask --verbose --depclean open-ephys-gui.

Note

Having the GUI version in the executable name may be a minor inconvenience, but it allows installation of multiple versions of the GUI, which can be very useful for testing a new version while keepping the current version in case something goes wrong.

Note

Brave users can also install the main branch version (emerge --ask --verbose =sci-biology/open-ephys-gui-9999) or the development branch version (emerge --ask --verbose =sci-biology/open-ephys-gui-99999999). Since installation is slotted, you can keep all versions installed simultaneously, in case you want to try them without removing the stable version.

Via .zip file (all distros)

1. Download a .zip file for any previous release via this link: https://openephysgui.jfrog.io/artifactory/Release/linux/

2. Drag and drop the downloaded and unzipped folder to the location of your choice, and rename it “Open Ephys”

3. Open a terminal and set your working directory to the folder you just renamed.

4. Enter sudo cp 40-open-ephys.rules /etc/udev/rules.d followed by your password.

5. Enter service udev restart on Ubuntu/Debian or sudo udevadm control --reload-rules on Fedora/CentOS/Gentoo to allow the GUI to communicate with the Open Ephys acquisition board.

6. Double-click the open-ephys executable (or enter ./open-ephys in the terminal) to run the application.

macOS

Via DMG (recommended)

1. Click the “macOS” link on this page to download the DMG file for the latest version of the GUI.

2. Double-click on the downloaded file to open it.

3. Drag open-ephys to the “Applications” folder.

4. Double-click on the open-ephys app bundle to launch the GUI.

Note

Depending on your security settings, you may see a message announcing that “‘open-ephys’ cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified.” If so, go to System Prefererences > Security and Privacy > General and click “Open Anyway” to allow the GUI to launch.

Via .zip file

1. Download a .zip file for any previous release via this link: https://openephysgui.jfrog.io/artifactory/Release/mac/

2. Drag and drop the downloaded and unzipped folder to the location of your choice, and rename it “Open Ephys”

3. Double-click open-ephys to run the application.