Install the NeMo Guardrails Library

Follow these steps to install the NeMo Guardrails library.

Prerequisites

Verify your system meets the following requirements before installation.

Quick Start

Use the following steps to install the NeMo Guardrails library in a virtual environment.

1. Create and activate a virtual environment:

   Linux/macOS

   Windows (Git Bash)

   $
   python3 -m venv .venv
   $
   source .venv/bin/activate

2. Install the NeMo Guardrails library. Set NVIDIA_API_KEY to your personal API key generated on build.nvidia.com.

   $
   pip install nemoguardrails

3. Set up an environment variable for your NVIDIA API key.

   $
   export NVIDIA_API_KEY="your-nvidia-api-key"

   This is required to access NVIDIA-hosted models on build.nvidia.com. The tutorials and example configurations (examples/configs) in this library include configurations that use NVIDIA-hosted models.

Alternative Installation Methods

Install the NeMo Guardrails library from source using pip or Poetry. Choose this method if you want to contribute to the library or use the latest development version.

$
git clone https://github.com/NVIDIA-NeMo/Guardrails.git nemoguardrails
$
cd nemoguardrails
$
python -m venv .venv
$
source .venv/bin/activate
$
pip install -e .

Extra Dependencies

You can install the NeMo Guardrails library with optional extra packages to add useful functionalities. The table below shows a comprehensive list.

Some features such as AlignScore have additional requirements. See the feature documentation for details.

Docker

You can run the NeMo Guardrails library in a Docker container. For containerized deployment, see NeMo Guardrails with Docker.

Troubleshooting Installation Issues

Use the following information to resolve common installation issues.

C++ Runtime Errors

The library uses Annoy, which requires a C++ compiler. Most systems already have one installed. To check, run the following command:

$
g++ --version

$
apt-get install gcc g++ python3-dev