Use Pixeltable directly in Google Colab: Pixeltable Basics Tutorial.

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Local Pixeltable Runtime

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System Requirements

Before installing, ensure your system meets these requirements:

  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • Linux, MacOs, or Windows
1

Create virtual environment

python -m venv venv

This creates an isolated Python environment for your Pixeltable installation.

2

Activate environment

venv\Scripts\activate
3

Install Pixeltable

pip install pixeltable

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Notebooks

1

Install Jupyter

If not already installed:

pip install jupyter
2

Start Jupyter server

jupyter notebook
3

Create notebook

Select “Python 3 (ipykernel)” as the kernel via File / New / Notebook

4

Test installation

import pixeltable as pxt
pxt.init()

Wait a minute for Pixeltable to load. You should see a message once connected to the database.

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Configuration Options

Pixeltable can be configured through:

  • Environment variables
  • System configuration file (~/.pixeltable/config.toml on Linux/macOS or C:\Users\<username>\.pixeltable\config.toml on Windows)

Example config.toml:

[pixeltable]
file_cache_size_g = 250
time_zone = "America/Los_Angeles"
hide_warnings = true
verbosity = 2

[openai]
api_key = 'my-openai-api-key'

[label_studio]
url = 'http://localhost:8080/'
api_key = 'my-label-studio-api-key'

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System Settings

Environment VariableConfig FileMeaning
PIXELTABLE_HOME(string) Pixeltable user directory; default is ~/.pixeltable
PIXELTABLE_CONFIG(string) Pixeltable config file; default is $PIXELTABLE_HOME/config.toml
PIXELTABLE_PGDATA(string) Directory where Pixeltable DB is stored; default is $PIXELTABLE_HOME/pgdata
PIXELTABLE_DB(string) Pixeltable database name; default is pixeltable
PIXELTABLE_FILE_CACHE_SIZE_G[pixeltable]
file_cache_size_g		(float) Maximum size of the Pixeltable file cache, in GiB; required
PIXELTABLE_TIME_ZONE[pixeltable]
time_zone		(string) Default time zone in IANA format; defaults to the system time zone
PIXELTABLE_HIDE_WARNINGS[pixeltable]
hide_warnings		(bool) Suppress warnings generated by various libraries used by Pixeltable; default is false
PIXELTABLE_VERBOSITY[pixeltable]
verbosity		(int) Verbosity for Pixeltable console logging (0: minimum, 1: normal, 2: maximum); default is 1

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API Configuration

Environment VariableConfig FileMeaning
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY[anthropic]
api_key		(string) API key to use for Anthropic services
DEEPSEEK_API_KEY[deepseek]
api_key		(string) API key to use for Deepseek services
FIREWORKS_API_KEY[fireworks]
api_key		(string) API key to use for Fireworks AI services
GEMINI_API_KEY[gemini]
api_key		(string) API key to use for Google Gemini services
LABEL_STUDIO_API_KEY[label_studio]
api_key		(string) API key to use for Label Studio
LABEL_STUDIO_URL[label_studio]
url		(string) URL of the Label Studio server to use
MISTRAL_API_KEY[mistral]
api_key		(string) API key to use for Mistral AI services
OPENAI_API_KEY[openai]
api_key		(string) API key to use for OpenAI services
REPLICATE_API_TOKEN[replicate]
api_token		(string) API token to use for Replicate services
TOGETHER_API_KEY[together]
api_key		(string) API key to use for Together AI services

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Troubleshooting

Common installation issues and solutions:

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Next Steps

Quick Start Tutorial

Build your first AI application with Pixeltable

Example Gallery

Explore example applications and use cases

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Getting Help