Installation

Wyss DBS Annotator runs on iPadOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux, and is published by the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering. Every platform runs the same application and writes the same files.

Download Choose your platform below.

The button recognises the device you are reading this on and takes you to the right place: the store page for the app on iPadOS, Android, Windows and macOS, or the install command on Linux. To install on a different device, pick it here:

Platform

Where to get it

iPadOS

App Store

Android

Google Play

Windows

Microsoft Store

macOS

Mac App Store

Linux

One command in a terminal

On the four store platforms, installing from the store is the whole procedure: the store checks the app’s signature and keeps it up to date. If a link does not open, search the store for Wyss DBS Annotator.

Install on Linux

On Linux the app is not in a store. Paste this into a terminal; it downloads the latest release from GitHub, unpacks it into your home folder and adds a dbs-annotator command. It needs no administrator rights.

mkdir -p ~/.local/share/dbs-annotator ~/.local/bin
curl -fsSL https://github.com/WyssCenter/DBSAnnotator/releases/latest/download/dbs-annotator-linux-x64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C ~/.local/share/dbs-annotator
ln -sf ~/.local/share/dbs-annotator/dbs_annotator ~/.local/bin/dbs-annotator

Then start it with dbs-annotator. If the shell says the command is not found, ~/.local/bin is not on your PATH yet: open a new terminal, or run ~/.local/share/dbs-annotator/dbs_annotator directly.

  • Requirements: a 64-bit (x86-64) desktop with GTK 3, which every mainstream desktop distribution already has. The open dialog comes from the XDG desktop portal of your session; without it, opening a file fails with a message.

  • Updating: run the same command again. It replaces the program files; your sessions and preferences are kept.

  • Uninstalling: rm -rf ~/.local/share/dbs-annotator ~/.local/bin/dbs-annotator. This removes the program only; see Privacy for where preferences and the working copy are kept.

Where your data goes

Session files are written where you choose to save them, through the platform’s own file picker or share sheet. While you record, the app also keeps a working copy of the current session inside its own storage, so a crash or a closed window loses nothing. When you leave a session, the app asks whether to keep that copy or discard it; it is only ever deleted when you choose to. Preferences (scale presets, paper size, panel order) are stored in the app’s own settings folder. Nothing is uploaded. See Privacy for the details.

Building from source

For developers who want to run or modify the code. On every platform you need Git and the Flutter SDK 3.47 or later, with Flutter’s bin folder on your PATH. Then get the code:

git clone https://github.com/neuromodulation/DBSAnnotator.git
cd DBSAnnotator
flutter pub get
flutter doctor       # lists anything still missing for your platform

Nothing needs generating first: the data contract and the fonts are committed. flutter analyze and flutter test check the checkout; neither needs a device.

Each platform below adds its own tools, how to run the app, and how to build a release.

Windows

  • Tools: Visual Studio 2022 (the free Community edition is enough) with the Desktop development with C++ workload. VS Code alone is not enough.

  • Run: flutter run -d windows

  • Release build: flutter build windows --release. The program is build\windows\x64\runner\Release\dbs_annotator.exe; copy the whole Release folder, since it needs the DLLs and the data folder beside it. Windows shows “Windows protected your PC” on first launch of an unsigned build: More info → Run anyway.

macOS

  • Tools: Xcode from the Mac App Store, then sudo xcodebuild -runFirstLaunch and CocoaPods (brew install cocoapods).

  • Run: flutter run -d macos

  • Release build: flutter build macos --release. The app is build/macos/Build/Products/Release/dbs_annotator.app. An unsigned build is blocked on double-click; right-click it → Open allows it once.

Linux

  • Tools (Debian and Ubuntu; other distributions have the same packages):

    sudo apt-get install clang cmake ninja-build pkg-config libgtk-3-dev

    The save dialog is drawn by GTK. The open dialog comes from the XDG desktop portal of your session; without it, opening a file fails with a message. If a save dialog cannot open, the app saves to a fixed folder and tells you where.

  • Run: flutter run -d linux

  • Release build: flutter build linux --release. The program is build/linux/x64/release/bundle/dbs_annotator; copy the whole bundle folder.

Android

  • Tools: Android Studio, which installs the Android SDK. Then accept the SDK licences with flutter doctor --android-licenses.

  • Run: on a device with USB debugging turned on in its developer options, or on an emulator from Android Studio: flutter run

  • Release build: flutter build apk --release. The installer is build/app/outputs/flutter-apk/app-release.apk; copy it to the device and open it, allowing installation from that source when asked. Unless a signing key is configured the build is signed with a development key, which cannot later be replaced in place by a store build: that needs an uninstall first, which removes the app’s saved preferences.

iPadOS

  • Tools: a Mac with Xcode and CocoaPods, as for macOS.

  • Signing: open ios/Runner.xcworkspace in Xcode, select the Runner target, and under Signing & Capabilities choose your team. A free Apple ID works for your own iPad.

  • Run: connect the iPad, trust the Mac on it, then flutter run

  • A build signed with a free Apple ID stops opening after seven days and has to be installed again; a paid Apple Developer account removes that limit.

Common problems

  • flutter is not found: the terminal was opened before PATH changed; open a new one.

  • C1083: Cannot open source file on Windows after switching branches: run flutter clean, then build again.

  • Errors about long paths when cloning on Windows: git config --global core.longpaths true.