Software Setup

WarningMinimum requirements for this course
  1. Stata 19+ MP installed and licensed
  2. Positron (latest version)
  3. R (4.5.3+)
  4. Python (3.13+) with uv
  5. Quarto (1.9+) and Git (2.52+)

Why? This software stack powers the AI-assisted coding workflow used throughout the course.

What you need to do:

  1. Install seven tools: Stata, R, Python + uv, Positron, Quarto, and Git
  2. Verify each tool works correctly (see Verification)
  3. Troubleshoot any issues (see Common Problems)

Installation

  1. Restart your computer to ensure pending updates are applied.
  2. Open Software Center and install the items in Table 1 in order.
  3. If any program does not appear in the Software Center, submit a Software Installation Request or contact ITHelp@worldbankgroup.org.

Download and install each tool from the links in Table 1.

Table 1: Software
Software WB Laptop (Software Center) Private Laptop
Stata (19+ MP)
Positron (latest) positron.posit.co
Quarto (1.9+) quarto.org
R (4.5.3+) cran.r-project.org
Python (3.13+) python.org
uv Python package manager See below. See below.
Git (2.52+) git-scm.com

Install uv (Python package manager)

  1. Open PowerShell (press Windows key, type PowerShell, and open it).
  2. Run:
pip install uv
uv --version

You should see a version number printed. If not, see Common Problems.

Video guide

Note

If any software was previously installed from the Software Center:

Press “Install” and each eligible package will update to the latest version.

Warning

If any software was previously installed manually (by using an admin password):

Contact ITHelp@worldbankgroup.org to remove it first.

Verification

Open Positron — if it launches, it’s working. See Positron Overview for a tour of the layout.

Positron layout

Positron layout

In Positron, open the Console (Ctrl+Shift+P → “Console: Focus on Console”). You should see an R prompt.

In Positron, open the Terminal (Ctrl+Shift+`) and run:

python --version
pip list

You should see the Python version and a list of installed packages.

In the Terminal, run:

uv --version

You should see a version number.

In the Terminal, run:

quarto --version
quarto check

You should see a version number and a passing check.

Licences

Tool Licence
Stata Commercial
R Free and Open Source
Python Free and Open Source
Positron Elastic License 2.0 - Source code available, built by Posit
Quarto MIT - Free and open source, built by Posit
Git Free and Open Source
Stata MCP extension MIT - Free, open source
Positron Stata extension Not-clear…
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