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Install

Requirements

Required:

  • Python 3.11 or newer
  • Git
  • pipx, recommended for isolated CLI installs

Installed as Python package dependencies:

  • openpyxl, for Excel workbooks
  • pypdf, for PDF packet generation and PDF parsing fallback

Recommended system dependency:

  • Poppler: pdfinfo, pdftotext, and pdftoppm

Poppler gives faster PDF extraction and candidate page image rendering. Without Poppler, some PDF operations can fall back to pypdf, but page images are unavailable.

Install With pipx

Install the CLI:

pipx install contractor-bid

Install the CLI plus the optional MCP server for agent integrations:

pipx install "contractor-bid[mcp]"

Check the install:

contractor-bid doctor

Install From A Source Checkout

macOS or Linux:

git clone https://github.com/ContractorKeith/contractor-bid.git
cd contractor-bid
scripts/install.sh --install-poppler

Windows PowerShell:

git clone https://github.com/ContractorKeith/contractor-bid.git
cd contractor-bid
.\scripts\install.ps1 -InstallPoppler

Development Install

From a cloned repo:

python3 -m pip install -e ".[mcp]"
contractor-bid doctor

For docs work:

python3 -m pip install -e ".[docs]"
mkdocs serve