Installation Tutorial for Mac

QuantRocket runs on Docker, so installing QuantRocket is a two-part process:

  • install Docker
  • install QuantRocket
QuantRocket only supports Macs with Intel chips, not Macs with the newer M1 chip. We will support Macs with M1 chips as soon as possible but are currently waiting for necessary updates to occur in Docker Hub and in certain underlying libraries that QuantRocket depends on.

Install Docker Desktop

Visit Docker's website and follow the instructions to download and install Docker Desktop on your computer.

After the installation, start Docker Desktop if it isn't already started.

Adjust Docker's memory setting

By default, Docker Desktop uses 2 GB of your system memory. Giving Docker at least 4 GB of memory is recommended for QuantRocket. Generally, reserve at least 4 GB for your operating system or your computer might be sluggish. This means your computer should have a minimum of 8 GB of memory. If you plan to collect minute data, 8-12 GB is recommended for Docker (12-16 GB total). The more memory you give Docker, the larger the backtests and data analysis you can do.

To adjust Docker's memory setting, click Docker icon -> Preferences in the menu bar, then click Resources -> Advanced and adjust the Memory slider to the desired position.

Docker settings

Install QuantRocket

To install QuantRocket, download a Docker Compose file which tells Docker how to create the QuantRocket stack. A Compose file is a YAML file that defines a multi-container Docker application.

On your Mac, open a Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal).

Create a folder for QuantRocket under your home directory:

$ cd ~
$ mkdir quantrocket
$ cd quantrocket

Copy and paste the following command to download the latest Compose file and save to your computer:

$ curl 'https://www.quantrocket.com/composefiles/latest/local/docker-compose.yml' -o docker-compose.yml

(You can also download the Compose file from the downloads page.)

Now, use docker-compose to deploy QuantRocket:

$ cd ~/quantrocket
$ docker-compose -p quantrocket up -d

Docker Compose will read your docker-compose.yml, pull the images down from Docker Hub, and create and run containers from the images. This process takes 5-15 minutes. You will see output like this:

Output
Creating network "quantrocket_default" with the default driver
Creating volume "quantrocket_codeload" with default driver
Creating volume "quantrocket_db" with default driver
Creating volume "quantrocket_flightlog" with default driver
Creating volume "quantrocket_settings" with default driver
Pulling codeload (quantrocket/codeload:2.5.0)...
2.5.0: Pulling from quantrocket/codeload
852e50cd189d: Pull complete
a6236801494d: Downloading [======================================>            ]  62.63MB/80.38MB
679c171d6942: Download complete
8fe74afaa3e3: Download complete
d9ada034b8a6: Downloading [=============>                                     ]   4.94MB/18.95MB

You can list all the containers that are running:

$ docker ps
Output
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                         COMMAND                  CREATED             STATUS             PORTS                                            NAMES
d26da467ac03   bc77b14f9c3d                  "uwsgi-quantrocket -…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour   80/tcp                                           quantrocket_master_1
b1569b403b38   f2226cb5f6c3                  "uwsgi-quantrocket -…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour   80/tcp                                           quantrocket_fundamental_1
fcf1c7b0fb36   1ca2dbd9bfd2                  "uwsgi-quantrocket -…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour   80/tcp                                           quantrocket_realtime_1
952089561d20   fcade8902208                  "uwsgi-quantrocket -…"   About an hour ago   Up About an hour   80/tcp                                           quantrocket_history_1
...

You can now access the Jupyter environment in your browser at:

http://localhost:1969

You may want to bookmark this URL.

In JupyterLab you'll see the JupyterLab dashboard. Click the Quickstart button to find an interactive tour and other resources to help you get started with QuantRocket:

JupyterLab home

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