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MAX is available as a conda package and we recommend installing it into a virtual environment with the magic CLI. Magic handles your project-specific virtual environments, package dependencies, package lock files, and more. You can also use Magic to install different versions such as MAX nightly builds) for different projects.

Create a Python project with MAX​

You can create a new project with magic init. Each project has its own Python version and package dependencies.

Here's how to create a project that includes the MAX Python API:

  1. Create a project in a new path with magic init:

    magic init my-project
    magic init my-project
  2. Add the MAX Python package with magic add:

    cd my-project
    cd my-project
    magic add max
    magic add max

    This ensures that you always have the latest version of MAX. You can instead specify the version using Python version operators. For example, here's how to use any version compatible with v24.4:

    magic add "max~=24.4"
    magic add "max~=24.4"

That's it.

You can check the installed max version like this:

magic run python3 -c 'from max import engine; print(engine.__version__)'
magic run python3 -c 'from max import engine; print(engine.__version__)'
24.4.0-59977802-release
24.4.0-59977802-release

To learn more, see the Magic documentation.

Create a project with MAX nightly​

Nightly builds let you try the latest APIs and bug fixes, but they can also include new bugs. However, you can safely use the nightly build in one project without affecting your other projects, because every project you create with magic has its own package dependencies.

  1. Create a new project and specify the max-nightly channel with the magic init -c option:

    magic init nightly-project \
    -c conda-forge -c https://conda.modular.com/max-nightly
    magic init nightly-project \
    -c conda-forge -c https://conda.modular.com/max-nightly

    When you include the -c (--channel) option, you must specify all channels for your project. Be sure to include conda-forge (or another conda channel) to install packages other than MAX.

    Or, update an existing project to use nightlies by changing the conda.modular.com/max channel to max-nightly. For example:

    pixi.toml
    [project]
    channels = ["conda-forge", "https://conda.modular.com/max-nightly"]
    [project]
    channels = ["conda-forge", "https://conda.modular.com/max-nightly"]
  2. Add the MAX package with magic add:

    cd nightly-project
    cd nightly-project
    magic add max
    magic add max

Now this project always has the latest nightly build.

Next steps​

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