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Installation

This page explains how to prepare your environment for running Freqtrade.

Installation Methods​

Freqtrade can be installed using several methods:

Recommendation

We recommend using the prebuilt Docker images to get started quickly while evaluating how Freqtrade works.

Requirements​

Hardware Requirements​

To run Freqtrade, we recommend:

  • 2GB RAM minimum
  • 1GB disk space minimum
  • 2 vCPU minimum
  • Stable internet connection

Software Requirements​

Option 1: Docker (Recommended)

  • Docker
  • Docker Compose

Option 2: Native Installation

  • Python 3.11 or higher
  • pip (pip3)
  • git
  • TA-Lib
  • virtualenv (Recommended)
System Clock

The system clock must be accurate and synchronized to an NTP server to avoid communication issues with exchanges.

ARM64 Systems

If you're running an ARM64 system (like macOS M1 or Oracle VM), please use Docker to run Freqtrade. While native installation is possible, it requires manual effort and is not officially supported.

Version Considerations​

When cloning the repository:

  • develop branch: Contains the latest features (relatively stable with automated tests)
  • stable branch: Contains the last release code (usually one month old, more stable)

Script Installation (Linux/macOS)​

Prerequisites​

Install system dependencies first:

Ubuntu/Debian:

# Update repository
sudo apt-get update

# Install packages
sudo apt install -y python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev python3-pandas git curl

macOS:

# Install Homebrew if not already installed
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install packages
brew install gettext libomp

Raspberry Pi:

sudo apt-get install python3-venv libatlas-base-dev cmake curl libffi-dev

# Use piwheels.org to speed up installation
sudo echo "[global]\nextra-index-url=https://www.piwheels.org/simple" > /etc/pip.conf

Download and Install​

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/freqtrade/freqtrade.git
cd freqtrade

# Choose your branch
git checkout stable    # For stable release
# OR
git checkout develop   # For latest features

# Run installation script
./setup.sh -i

Activate Virtual Environment​

Each time you open a new terminal:

# Activate virtual environment
source ./.venv/bin/activate

Script Options​

# Update to latest version
./setup.sh -u

# Hard reset your branch
./setup.sh -r

Manual Installation​

Install TA-Lib​

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install libta-lib-dev

macOS:

brew install ta-lib

From Source:

wget http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ta-lib/ta-lib-0.4.0-src.tar.gz
tar -xzf ta-lib-0.4.0-src.tar.gz
cd ta-lib/
./configure --prefix=/usr
make
sudo make install

Install Freqtrade​

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/freqtrade/freqtrade.git
cd freqtrade

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install dependencies
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
python3 -m pip install -e .

# Install additional dependencies (optional)
python3 -m pip install -e .[hyperopt]  # For hyperoptimization
python3 -m pip install -e .[plot]      # For plotting

Conda Installation​

# Create conda environment
conda create -n freqtrade python=3.11
conda activate freqtrade

# Install TA-Lib
conda install -c conda-forge ta-lib

# Clone and install Freqtrade
git clone https://github.com/freqtrade/freqtrade.git
cd freqtrade
pip install -e .

PyPI Installation​

Not Recommended

Installing from PyPI requires TA-Lib to be pre-installed and is not the recommended installation method.

pip install freqtrade

Verification​

Test your installation:

# Activate environment (if using virtual environment)
source .venv/bin/activate

# Check Freqtrade version
freqtrade --version

# Run help command
freqtrade --help

Next Steps​

After successful installation:

  1. Configuration - Set up your bot configuration
  2. Docker Quickstart - Alternative Docker setup
  3. Bot Basics - Learn the fundamentals
  4. Strategy Development - Create your first strategy

Troubleshooting​

Common Issues​

TA-Lib Installation Fails:

  • Ensure you have the development headers installed
  • On Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install python3-dev
  • On CentOS: sudo yum install python3-devel

Permission Errors:

  • Use virtual environments to avoid system-wide installations
  • Don't use sudo with pip in virtual environments

ARM64 Issues:

  • Use Docker instead of native installation
  • Some dependencies may not have ARM64 wheels available

Python Version Issues:

  • Ensure you're using Python 3.11 or higher
  • Use python3 --version to check your version

Getting Help​

Windows Installation​

For Windows-specific installation instructions, see the Windows Installation Guide.

Last updated on by huojiabin