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This guide walks you through setting up a development environment for Syft-Flwr.

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Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:
  • Python: 3.12 or higher (< 3.14)
  • uv: Fast Python package manager (install instructions)
  • just: Command runner (optional, but recommended)

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Installing just

brew install just

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Installation

1

Clone the repository

Clone the Syft-Flwr repository from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/OpenMined/syft-flwr.git
cd syft-flwr
2

Create virtual environment

Create and activate a Python virtual environment using uv:
uv venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
3

Install dependencies

Install the package in editable mode with development dependencies:
uv pip install -e .
uv sync --group dev
This installs:
  • The syft-flwr package in editable mode
  • All development dependencies including pytest, pre-commit, jupyter, and more
4

Install pre-commit hooks (optional)

Set up pre-commit hooks to automatically check code quality:
uv run pre-commit install
This will run checks automatically before each commit.

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Verify Installation

Verify your setup is working correctly: 
# Check Python version
python --version

# Check syft-flwr is importable
python -c "import syft_flwr; print(syft_flwr.__version__)"

# List available just commands
just

# Run a quick test
just test-unit

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Development Dependencies

The development environment includes the following tools:
  • pytest: Testing framework
  • pytest-cov: Code coverage reporting
  • pytest-xdist: Parallel test execution
  • pytest-asyncio: Async test support
  • ruff: Fast Python linter and formatter
  • pre-commit: Git hook framework for automated checks
  • ipykernel: Jupyter kernel support
  • ipywidgets: Interactive widgets for notebooks
  • jupyterlab: Interactive development environment
  • python-dotenv: Environment variable management
  • commitizen: Conventional commits and version bumping
  • torch: PyTorch for ML model training
  • imblearn: Imbalanced learning utilities

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Google OAuth Setup (for Integration Tests)

Integration tests use Google Drive as the transport layer and require OAuth credentials. This setup is optional and only needed if you plan to run integration tests locally.
1

Create Google Cloud Project

  1. Go to Google Cloud Console
  2. Create a new project (or select existing one)
  3. Note your project name for later
2

Enable Google Drive API

  1. Go to “APIs & Services” → “Library”
  2. Search for “Google Drive API”
  3. Click “Enable”
3

Configure OAuth Consent Screen

  1. Go to “APIs & Services” → “OAuth consent screen”
  2. Choose “External” (or “Internal” if using Google Workspace)
  3. Fill in required fields:
    • App name (e.g., “SyftBox Integration Tests”)
    • User support email
    • Developer contact email
  4. Add scopes: https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive
  5. Add your test user emails (DO1, DO2, DS emails)
  6. Save
4

Publish OAuth App

To make tokens persistent (not expire after 7 days):
  1. Go to “APIs & Services” → “OAuth consent screen” → “Audience”
  2. Click “PUBLISH APP”
  3. Confirm the prompt
While in “Testing” mode, OAuth tokens expire after 7 days. Publishing prevents this expiration.
5

Create OAuth Credentials

Create credentials for each participant (DO1, DO2, DS):
  1. Go to “APIs & Services” → “Credentials”
  2. Click “Create Credentials” → “OAuth client ID”
  3. Application type: Desktop app
  4. Name it (e.g., “DO1 Client”, “DO2 Client”, “DS Client”)
  5. Click “Create”
  6. Download the JSON file
  7. Save as do1.json, do2.json, or ds.json in credentials/
6

Create environment file

Create credentials/.env with the following content:
credentials/.env
# Data Owner 1
SYFT_EMAIL_DO1="do1@gmail.com"
SYFT_CRED_FNAME_DO1="do1.json"
SYFT_TOKEN_FNAME_DO1="token_do1.json"

# Data Owner 2
SYFT_EMAIL_DO2="do2@gmail.com"
SYFT_CRED_FNAME_DO2="do2.json"
SYFT_TOKEN_FNAME_DO2="token_do2.json"

# Data Scientist
SYFT_EMAIL_DS="ds@gmail.com"
SYFT_CRED_FNAME_DS="ds.json"
SYFT_TOKEN_FNAME_DS="token_ds.json"
7

Generate tokens

Token files are generated automatically when you first run the integration tests:
just test-integration-gdrive
A browser window will open for each user to authenticate. Complete the OAuth flow for each account, and tokens will be saved to credentials/token_*.json.

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Required Files Structure

credentials/
├── do1.json              # Data Owner 1 OAuth credentials
├── do2.json              # Data Owner 2 OAuth credentials
├── ds.json               # Data Scientist OAuth credentials
├── token_do1.json        # Auto-generated on first run
├── token_do2.json        # Auto-generated on first run
├── token_ds.json         # Auto-generated on first run
└── .env                  # Environment variables

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Security Notes

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Next Steps

Now that your environment is set up:

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