[FEAT] installing the mfa

[nrgslp]

Story

VoxKit's target audience (researchers who do not run command line utilities) will need step by step instructions on how to install conda and create an aligner env. (Related: my conda env for the MFA is not called "aligner", even though that is the MFA default, so flexibility in that would be nice.)

Proposal

Include "one time setup" as part of the workflow. MVP: include link to MFA install documentation in the error message.

Notes

[nrgslp]

I installed the aligner env and am still blocked. It seems like non-standard conda locations are not in the search list. As a user on a university-managed computer, my conda needs to live in a whitelisted nonstandard folder. But, it doesn't make sense to whitelist my specific folder because other researchers will have different folders. How should VoxKit handle this?

[BeckettFrey]

Hey @nrgslp ; thanks for bringing this up. The instructions are on the voxkit website, and part of the release notes on github (per release). This is the kind of problem that brings up the case for switching to the mfa library, I'll think about that. It also happens to be the biggest weakness of the app, the one-time command-line setup step is a big ask given the audience as you point out. Either way this deserves a solution.

[BeckettFrey]

I think the quick fix is to make the root path configurable through the gui, and the zoomed out fix is to switch to the mfa library. Michael had reccomended intially that I start with the cli for simplicity.

If you want an immediate fix, you can alter def _find_conda() located @ /src/voxkit/services/mfa.py to resolve the root correctly w.r.t. your setup.

Important

Just make sure to checkout the most recent release tagged as v0.4.1 on github (if you're using the code rather than the published release). Thanks again.

[BeckettFrey]

@nrgslp Added a temporary fix to this on branch: develop (while I hopefully figure out the mfa library).

[nrgslp]

this worked. I needed to use the gearbox on the "generate alignments" page to enter my conda_path. deferring usability recs until a permanent fix is identified.