How to Install Zipline on Elementary OS Latest

Zipline is a popular backtesting and live trading algorithmic trading library. In this tutorial, we will go through the steps to install Zipline on Elementary OS Latest.

Prerequisites

• Elementary OS Latest installed
• Python3 and pip3 installed
• Git installed

Step 1: Install Required Dependencies

Let's start by installing some dependencies that are required to install Zipline. Open the terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev libffi-dev python3-dev

This will install a few packages that are required for Zipline to function properly.

Step 2: Install Zipline

Zipline is an open-source library hosted on GitHub. Therefore, to install Zipline, we need to clone the repository to our machine. Open the terminal and run the following command:

git clone https://github.com/diced/zipline.git

This will clone the Zipline repository to your machine.

Step 3: Create a Virtual Environment

It is always recommended to create a virtual environment to avoid conflicts with the global Python installation. Run the following command in the terminal to create a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv zipline-env

This command will create a virtual environment named 'zipline-env'.

Step 4: Activate the Virtual Environment

Now, we need to activate the virtual environment that we just created. Run the following command in the terminal to activate the virtual environment:

source zipline-env/bin/activate

Step 5: Install Zipline

Now that we have activated the virtual environment, we can install Zipline using pip. Run the following command in the terminal:

pip install -e zipline

This command will install Zipline in editable mode which allows you to make changes to the source code and test them immediately.

Step 6: Test Zipline

Now that we have installed Zipline let's test it to make sure it's working correctly. Run the following command in the terminal:

zipline run --bundle quantopian-quandl --start 2019-1-1 --end 2021-1-1 -f zipline/examples/buyapple.py

This command will backtest a simple strategy that buys Apple stock and prints the resulting portfolio value. If everything is working correctly, you should see the portfolio value printed in the terminal.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Zipline on Elementary OS Latest, created a virtual environment, and tested it using a simple strategy.