Software Installation

This section describes how to get your host development environment set up with the necessary software including the system requirements before you begin installing the software.

The pre-requisites for installing the Palette software are listed in the System Requirements section.

LinuxWindows

Online Installation

Use this method when the host machine has a working internet connection.

Prerequisites

Ensure the following are installed before proceeding:

sima-cli

Note

Please install or upgrade sima-cli before continuing. This guide is intended for use with the latest sima-cli version.

Docker

The Palette software runs inside Docker. Install Docker Engine or Docker Desktop before continuing.

• Docker Engine post-install steps

• Docker Desktop installation instructions

To install Docker Engine manually:

sima-user@sima-user-machine:~$ sudo apt-get update
sima-user@sima-user-machine:~$ sudo apt-get install docker-engine

If you have a previous Palette installation running, stop the existing container before installing a new version to ensure a clean upgrade.

Important

In customer environments with strict firewall policies, coordinate with your IT team to allow outbound HTTPS (port 443) access to the following URL:

https://783709528641.dkr.ecr.us-west-2.amazonaws.com

Step 1. Select SDK containers to install

Run the following command to start the installation. You will be prompted to select which SDK components to install — for example, a Modalix-focused developer may skip the Yocto SDK.

sima-user@sima-user-machine:~$ sima-cli install sdk

When prompted, use the arrow keys and Space to select components, then press Enter to confirm:

✅ sima-cli is up-to-date
✅ OS version 22.04 for ubuntu is compatible.
✅ Metadata validated successfully.
╭─  Select one or more opt-in resources to download ───────────╮
│                                                              │
│  Use ↑ / ↓ to navigate                                       │
│  Press Space to select or deselect items                     │
│  Press Enter to confirm selection                            │
│  Tip: You can select multiple items before pressing Enter.   │
│                                                              │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
📦 : Use Space key to toggle selection(s)
❯ ◉ MPK CLI Tools (GStreamer pipeline builder and device manager)
○ Model SDK (Model compilation and quantization)
○ eLxr SDK (Cross-compile for eLxr Linux)
○ Yocto SDK (Cross-compile for Yocto Linux)
○ 🚫 Skip

Warning

You may bypass the OS compatibility check using the --force option. Proceed at your own risk — this configuration is unsupported and may cause unexpected behavior.

sima-user@sima-user-machine:~$ sima-cli install sdk --force

Step 2. Review the dependencies checklist

After downloading, sima-cli automatically verifies that your system meets the minimum requirements. Review all warnings before continuing.

╭──────────────────────╮
│ 🔧 SiMa.ai SDK Setup │
╰──────────────────────╯
🔍 Checking SiMa SDK Bridge Network...
✅ SiMa SDK Bridge Network found.
✅ Python 3.10.12 (Required ≥ 3.10.0)
✅ Docker 28.3.2 (Required ≥ 20.10.10)
✅ 14 cores / 31.0 GB RAM (Required ≥ 4 cores / 16 GB)
⚠️  Firewall may restrict Docker or SDK communication.

                   System Requirements Report
┌───────────┬───────────────────┬──────────────┬───────────┐
│ Component │ Required          │ Found        │ Result    │
├───────────┼───────────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┤
│ Python    │ ≥ 3.10.0          │ 3.10.12      │ ✅ PASS   │
├───────────┼───────────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┤
│ Docker    │ ≥ 20.10.10        │ 28.3.2       │ ✅ PASS   │
├───────────┼───────────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┤
│ CPU/RAM   │ ≥4 cores / ≥16 GB │ 14 / 31.0 GB │ ✅ PASS   │
├───────────┼───────────────────┼──────────────┼───────────┤
│ Firewall  │ Disabled          │ Unverified   │ ⚠️ WARNING │
└───────────┴───────────────────┴──────────────┴───────────┘

❌ Some system checks failed.
Do you want to continue anyway? [y/N]:

Step 3. Complete the SDK setup

Confirm to proceed, then select the SDK images to start. Enter a workspace directory when prompted — this is the directory mounted inside the container.

Do you want to continue anyway? [y/N]: y
⚠️  Proceeding despite warnings.
╭───────────────── 📘 SiMa.ai SDK Image Selection ──────────────────╮
│ • Use ↑/↓ and Space to select one or more images.                │
│ • Press Enter to confirm.                                        │
│ • Containers will be started automatically.                      │
│ • Press CTRL+C to cancel anytime.                                │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
Single SDK version detected: latest_master
? Select SDK images to start: 2 selected

🔍 Checking for running SDK containers...
ℹ️  No running SDK containers found.
Enter workspace directory [/home/sima/workspace]:
✅ Workspace set to: /home/sima/workspace

====================[ 🔄 STARTING: mpk_cli_toolset-latest_master ]====================

✅ Created configuration file at: /home/sima/workspace/config.json
🚀 Starting container 'mpk_cli_toolset-latest_master'
✅ Container started on port 49152.
✅ Container configured successfully.
✅ All selected containers started successfully!

╭─ Post-Installation Summary ────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ sima-cli sdk setup — Initialize the SDK environment.                   │
│ sima-cli sdk start — Start SDK containers.                             │
│ sima-cli sdk stop — Stop running SDK containers.                       │
│ sima-cli sdk remove — Remove installed SDK containers.                 │
│ sima-cli sdk mpk — Access the MPK CLI container.                       │
│ sima-cli sdk model — Access the Model SDK container.                   │
│ sima-cli sdk yocto — Work inside the Yocto SDK container.              │
│ sima-cli sdk elxr — Work inside the eLxr SDK container.                │
│                                                                        │
│ Tip: Use ``docker ps`` to verify running containers.                   │
│ Setup complete! Run ``sima-cli sdk start`` to begin.                   │
╰────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
✅ Installation completed successfully.

Note

The SDK setup can be re-run at any time using sima-cli sdk setup to modify your SDK configuration after the initial installation.

Step 4. Access the SDKs

Use sima-cli to enter any SDK container:

sima-user@sima-user-machine:~$ sima-cli sdk mpk
sima-user@sima-user-machine:~$ sima-cli sdk model

You can also run commands directly inside a container by appending a subcommand:

sima@SiMa-AE-002:~/workspace$ sima-cli sdk mpk mpk

Offline Installation

Use this method when the target host has limited or no internet access. The process requires two machines: one with internet access to download the artifacts, and the target host to install them.

Step 1. Download SDK artifacts (internet-connected machine)

On a machine with internet access, run the following commands to download all required installation files:

sima-user@sima-user-machine:~/$ mkdir sdk-install && cd sdk-install
sima-user@sima-user-machine:~/$ sima-cli install sdk -t offline --force

Step 2. Transfer files to the target host

Once the download is complete, transfer the entire sdk-install directory to the target host using your preferred method (e.g. USB drive, SCP, shared network drive).

Step 3. Install on the target host

On the target host, run the following commands to complete the installation:

sima-user@sima-user-machine:~/$ cd sdk-install
sima-user@sima-user-machine:~/$ python3 install.py && sima-cli sdk setup

Note

The target host must have sima-cli installed before running these commands.

After the setup completes, the SDK environment is ready for use.

Uninstalling the Palette Software

To remove the installed SDK containers, run:

sima-user@sima-user-machine:~$ sima-cli sdk remove