Install from source

Install from a source checkout to use the repository fixtures, examples, and development commands documented on this site.

Requirements

• Python 3.12 or newer
• Git
• uv
• Network access only when you choose to fetch official DICOM artifacts

The project stores downloaded artifacts and generated databases outside the repository. The default cache is:

~/.cache/dicom-standard-kb/

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/beatrice-b-m/dicom-standard-kb.git
cd dicom-standard-kb

Choose an installation profile

Full source-development environment

This is the recommended setup for the documentation examples. It installs runtime, MCP, and development dependencies:

uv sync --all-extras --dev

The repository’s equivalent convenience command is:

make install

Runtime CLI only

uv sync

Runtime CLI with MCP support

uv sync --extra mcp

The MCP server is an optional dependency. A CLI-only environment can run local build and query commands but cannot start dicom-kb mcp serve.

Verify the executable

From the source checkout:

uv run dicom-kb --version
uv run dicom-kb --help
uv run dicom-kb doctor

doctor prints package metadata and the project legal notice. It does not verify a source cache or database; use dicom-kb verify after building one.

Optional standalone uv tool

From the repository root, install the command on uv’s tool path:

uv tool install .

Include MCP support when installing:

uv tool install '.[mcp]'

Reinstall an existing CLI-only tool with the extra:

uv tool install --reinstall '.[mcp]'

Fixture walkthrough

The offline getting-started workflow runs from a source checkout because it uses repository fixture files. A standalone tool install is most useful when you already have a local official-edition database or supply an explicit database path.

Confirm generated-data location

By default, future fetch and build commands use:

~/.cache/dicom-standard-kb/artifacts/
~/.cache/dicom-standard-kb/db/

Use --cache-dir or a configuration profile to put generated data elsewhere.

Troubleshooting

mcp dependency is missing

Install or resynchronize with the MCP extra:

uv sync --extra mcp

The CLI cannot find a database

Query commands do not create a database. Complete the offline fixture or official build, then pass the matching concrete edition and, when needed, --db.

Python is too old

The package metadata requires Python 3.12 or newer. Select a compatible Python with uv before synchronizing the environment.