Skip to content

Troubleshooting Guide

This guide addresses common issues you might encounter when using EthoPy and provides solutions to help you resolve them quickly.

Installation Issues

Package Installation Failures

Problem: Installation fails with dependency conflicts.

Solution: 1. Try creating a fresh virtual environment: 

1
2
3
python -m venv ethopy_env
source ethopy_env/bin/activate  # On Windows: ethopy_env\Scripts\activate
pip install ethopy

  1. If specific dependencies are failing, try installing them manually first: 
    1
2
    pip install panda3d numpy pygame
pip install ethopy

ImportError After Installation

Problem: You get ImportError: No module named 'ethopy' after installation.

Solution: 1. Verify the package is installed: 

1
pip list | grep ethopy

  1. Make sure you're using the same Python environment where you installed the package.
  2. If installed in development mode, check that your working directory is properly set.

Database Connection Issues

Cannot Connect to Database

Problem: Error when connecting to MySQL database.

Solution: 1. Verify your connection information in local_conf.json: 

 1
 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
 8
 9
10
11
{
 "dj_local_conf": {
     "database.host": "127.0.0.1",
     "database.user": "your_username",
     "database.password": "your_password",
     "database.port": 3306,
     "database.reconnect": true,
     "database.use_tls": false,
     "datajoint.loglevel": "WARNING"
 },
}

  1. Make sure MySQL is running: 

    1
2
3
4
5
6
    # For Linux/Mac
sudo service mysql status
# or
sudo systemctl status mysql

# For Windows (check in services)

  2. Test connection with MySQL client: 

    1
    mysql -u your_username -p

Schema Creation Errors

Problem: Errors when creating the database schema.

Solution: 1. Make sure the user has privileges to create databases and tables: 

1
2
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'your_username'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

  1. Try manually running the schema setup: 

    1
2
3
4
5
6
       python3 -c 'from ethopy.core.experiment import *'
   python3 -c 'from ethopy.core.stimulus import *'
   python3 -c 'from ethopy.core.sehavior import *'
   python3 -c 'from ethopy.stimuli import *'
   python3 -c 'from ethopy.behaviors import *'
   python3 -c 'from ethopy.experiments import *'

  2. Check for database encoding issues. EthoPy requires UTF-8 encoding.

Hardware Interface Issues

Port Communication Problems

Problem: Cannot communicate with hardware ports.

Solutions: ToDo

Raspberry Pi Specific Issues

Problem: Issues when running on Raspberry Pi.

Experiment Execution Issues

Experiment Fails to Start

Problem: ethopy -p your_task.py fails to start the experiment.

Solution: 1. Check for syntax errors in your task file. 2. Verify that experiment, behavior, and stimulus classes are correctly imported and assigned. 3. Run with debug logging: 

1
ethopy -p your_task.py --log-console --log-level DEBUG

Reward Delivery Failures

Problem: Water rewards are not being delivered correctly.

Solution: 1. Run a calibration task to test the ports: 

1
ethopy -p calibrate_ports.py
2. Check solenoid connections and power supply. 3. Verify port configuration in your setup.

Data Logging Issues

Missing Trial Data

Problem: Some trial data is not being logged to the database.

Solution: 1. Check database connection during experiment execution. 2. Verify that your experiment states are correctly called.

Common Error Messages

"No task found with idx X"

Problem: ethopy --task-idx X returns "No task found with idx X".

TODO: Solution: 1. Verify the task exists in the database: 

1
ethopy --list-tasks
2. If missing, add your task to the database: 
1
ethopy --add-task your_task.py

"Multiple instances detected"

Problem: Attempt to run EthoPy when an instance is already running.

Solution: 1. Find and close the existing EthoPy process: 

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
# Linux/Mac
ps aux | grep ethopy
kill <pid>

# Windows
tasklist | findstr ethopy
taskkill /F /PID <pid>

Getting Help

If you're still experiencing issues:

  1. Check the documentation: Review related sections in the documentation for guidance.

  2. Search GitHub Issues: Check if your issue has been reported and addressed: EthoPy GitHub Issues

  3. Submit an Issue: If your problem persists, submit a detailed issue on GitHub with:

  4. EthoPy version (ethopy --version)
  5. Python version (python --version)
  6. Operating system details
  7. Complete error message and traceback

  8. Steps to reproduce the problem

  9. Contact Maintainers: For urgent issues, contact the package maintainers directly.

Appendix: Log Files

EthoPy creates log files that can be valuable for troubleshooting.

Reviewing these logs can provide insights into issues not apparent from console output.