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Net Worth Navigator

Installation

This guide walks you through installing Net Worth Navigator on Windows, Linux, or macOS.

Prerequisites: Install Python

Section titled “Prerequisites: Install Python”

Net Worth Navigator requires Python 3.11 or later.

New to Python? Here’s what to do:

  • Download Python from python.org/downloads. Get the latest 3.11.x, 3.12.x, or 3.13.x release.
  • Install it.
  1. Check the box that says “Add Python to PATH” during installation — this is critical. Without it, Windows won’t know where to find Python when you type python in a terminal.
  2. Open PowerShell (right-click Start → Windows PowerShell) and verify:
    Terminal window
    python --version
    You should see something like Python 3.12.4.

What’s a “virtual environment”? You’ll see .venv in many commands below. A virtual environment is an isolated folder that keeps this project’s dependencies separate from your other Python projects. You create it once and use it when you want to run the app.

Get the Code

Section titled “Get the Code”

You need to download the Net Worth Navigator project files to your computer. First, decide where you want the project to live. A good choice is a folder where you keep your projects — for example:

Create a folder like C:\Users\yourname\Projects. Open PowerShell and run:

Terminal window
cd $env:USERPROFILE
mkdir Projects -Force
cd Projects

If you already have a folder you use for projects, cd into that instead.

Now download the project. Pick one of the two methods below:

Section titled “Option A: Git Clone (recommended)”

Git is the easiest way to get the code and keep it up to date later. If you don’t have Git yet:

Once Git is ready, clone the repository:

Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/LemurTech/Net-Worth-Navigator.git
cd Net-Worth-Navigator

Option B: Download as ZIP

Section titled “Option B: Download as ZIP”

If you prefer not to install Git, you can download the project as a ZIP file:

  1. Go to github.com/LemurTech/Net-Worth-Navigator
  2. Click the green Code button, then Download ZIP
  3. Extract the ZIP file into your Projects folder (or wherever you chose above)
  4. Rename the extracted folder from Net-Worth-Navigator-main to Net-Worth-Navigator

Then open a terminal and cd into that folder:

Terminal window
cd $env:USERPROFILE\Projects\Net-Worth-Navigator

Tip: Git makes updating the app much easier later on (a single git pull command). If you choose the ZIP method now, consider installing Git when you want to update.

Set Up the Environment

Section titled “Set Up the Environment”
Terminal window
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Troubleshooting: If pip install fails, make sure you’re using the .venv/bin/python (or .venv\Scripts\python.exe on Windows) path — don’t just run pip install directly, as that may use your system Python instead of the virtual environment.

Verify the Installation

Section titled “Verify the Installation”
Terminal window
.venv\Scripts\python.exe scripts/verify_install.py

This checks Python version, dependencies, and file structure. You should see [OK] All checks passed! at the end.

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”

Once the installation is verified, head to the Quick Start to try the sample scenario and create your first own plan.