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Developer Installation

Set Up Your Development Environment

This guide covers the complete setup process for developers who want to run RivalSearchMCP locally, contribute to the codebase, or customize the server.

Prerequisites

System Requirements

  • Python: 3.8 or higher
  • Git: Latest version
  • Memory: At least 2GB RAM
  • Storage: 1GB free space

Python Version Check

python3 --version
# Should show Python 3.8.0 or higher

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/damionrashford/RivalSearchMCP.git
cd RivalSearchMCP

Step 2: Set Up Virtual Environment

Create Virtual Environment

# On macOS/Linux
python3 -m venv .venv

# On Windows
python -m venv .venv

Activate Virtual Environment

# On macOS/Linux
source .venv/bin/activate

# On Windows
.venv\Scripts\activate

Step 3: Install Dependencies

Install from Requirements

pip install -r requirements.txt

Install Development Dependencies

pip install -r requirements-dev.txt  # If available
pip install black isort flake8 pylint  # Code quality tools

Step 4: Verify Installation

Check Python Path

which python
# Should point to your virtual environment

Test Import

python -c "import src.server; print('Import successful!')"

Step 5: Run the Development Server

Start Server

python -m src.server

Test with MCP Client

# In another terminal, test the connection
python test_server.py

Configuration

Environment Variables

export RIVAL_SEARCH_DEBUG=true
export RIVAL_SEARCH_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
export RIVAL_SEARCH_MAX_WORKERS=4

Configuration File

Create config/local.py for local development: 

DEBUG = True
LOG_LEVEL = "DEBUG"
MAX_WORKERS = 4
SEARCH_TIMEOUT = 30

Development Tools

Code Quality

# Format code
black src/
isort src/

# Lint code
flake8 src/
pylint src/

Testing

# Run all tests
python -m pytest

# Run specific test file
python -m pytest tests/test_search.py

# Run with coverage
python -m pytest --cov=src

Type Checking

# Check types
mypy src/

# Install mypy if needed
pip install mypy

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Import Errors

# Make sure virtual environment is activated
source .venv/bin/activate

# Check Python path
which python

Dependency Issues

# Upgrade pip
pip install --upgrade pip

# Clear cache and reinstall
pip cache purge
pip install -r requirements.txt

Permission Issues

# On macOS/Linux, you might need
chmod +x scripts/*.sh

Debug Mode

# Enable debug logging
export RIVAL_SEARCH_DEBUG=true
python -m src.server --debug

Next Steps

Getting Help