Installation | SignalWire

System Requirements

Language	Runtime	Package Manager	OS
Python	3.10+	pip	Linux, macOS, Windows
TypeScript	Node.js 22+	npm	Linux, macOS, Windows

Basic Installation

Python

TypeScript

pip install signalwire-sdk

Verify Installation

Python

TypeScript

python -c "from signalwire import AgentBase; print('SDK installed successfully!')"

Installation Extras (Python)

The Python SDK provides optional extras for additional features:

Search Capabilities

# Query-only (read .swsearch files) - ~400MB
pip install "signalwire-sdk[search-queryonly]"
# Build indexes + vector search - ~500MB
pip install "signalwire-sdk[search]"
# Full document processing (PDF, DOCX) - ~600MB
pip install "signalwire-sdk[search-full]"
# NLP features (spaCy) - ~600MB
pip install "signalwire-sdk[search-nlp]"
# All search features - ~700MB
pip install "signalwire-sdk[search-all]"

Database Support

# PostgreSQL vector database support
pip install "signalwire-sdk[pgvector]"

Development Dependencies

# All development tools (testing, linting)
pip install "signalwire-sdk[dev]"

Search extras and optional dependencies are available in all language SDKs. See each SDK’s repository for language-specific installation extras.

Installation from Source

For development or to get the latest changes:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/signalwire/signalwire-python.git
cd signalwire-python
# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
# Install in development mode
pip install -e .
# Or with extras
pip install -e ".[search,dev]"

Virtual Environment Setup

Always use a virtual environment to avoid conflicts:

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
# Activate (Linux/macOS)
source venv/bin/activate
# Activate (Windows Command Prompt)
venv\Scripts\activate
# Activate (Windows PowerShell)
venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
# Install the SDK
pip install signalwire-sdk
# Verify activation (should show venv path)
which python

Quick Verification Script

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""Verify SignalWire Server SDK installation."""
def main():
    print("Checking SignalWire Server SDK installation...\n")
    # Check core import
    try:
        from signalwire import AgentBase
        print("[OK] Core SDK: AgentBase imported successfully")
    except ImportError as e:
        print(f"[FAIL] Core SDK: Failed to import AgentBase - {e}")
        return False
    # Check SWAIG function support
    try:
        from signalwire import FunctionResult
        print("[OK] SWAIG: FunctionResult imported successfully")
    except ImportError as e:
        print(f"[FAIL] SWAIG: Failed to import FunctionResult - {e}")
        return False
    # Check prefabs
    try:
        from signalwire.prefabs import InfoGathererAgent
        print("[OK] Prefabs: InfoGathererAgent imported successfully")
    except ImportError as e:
        print(f"[FAIL] Prefabs: Failed to import - {e}")
    # Check search (optional)
    try:
        from signalwire.search import SearchEngine
        print("[OK] Search: SearchEngine available")
    except ImportError:
        print("[SKIP] Search: Not installed (optional)")
    print("\n" + "=" * 50)
    print("Installation verification complete!")
    print("=" * 50)
    return True
if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Run it:

python verify_install.py

Expected output:

Checking SignalWire Server SDK installation...
[OK] Core SDK: AgentBase imported successfully
[OK] SWAIG: FunctionResult imported successfully
[OK] Prefabs: InfoGathererAgent imported successfully
[SKIP] Search: Not installed (optional)
==================================================
Installation verification complete!
==================================================

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Problem	Cause	Solution
`ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'signalwire'`	Package not installed	Run `pip install signalwire-sdk`
`pip: command not found`	pip not in PATH	Use `python -m pip install signalwire-sdk`
Permission errors	Installing globally without sudo	Use virtual environment or `pip install --user`
Old pip version	pip can’t resolve dependencies	Run `pip install --upgrade pip`
Conflicts with other packages	Dependency version mismatch	Use a fresh virtual environment

Python Version Check

Ensure you have Python 3.10+:

python --version
# or
python3 --version

If you have multiple Python versions:

# Use specific version
python3.10 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install signalwire-sdk

Upgrade Existing Installation

pip install --upgrade signalwire-sdk

Clean Reinstall

pip uninstall signalwire-sdk
pip cache purge
pip install signalwire-sdk

CLI Tools

The SDK includes command-line tools:

Tool	Purpose
`swaig-test`	Test agents and functions locally
`sw-search`	Build and query search indexes
`sw-agent-init`	Create new agent projects

Verify CLI tools are available:

swaig-test --help
sw-agent-init --help

What Gets Installed

The SDK installs these core dependencies:

Package	Purpose
`fastapi`	Web framework for serving SWML
`uvicorn`	ASGI server for running the agent
`pydantic`	Data validation and settings
`structlog`	Structured logging
`requests`	HTTP client for API calls