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PACE Framework PACE Framework PACE Framework

Dev Environment Setup

This page walks you through getting a local copy of PACE that you can modify and test.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.12
  • Git
  • An Anthropic API key (or another supported LLM provider key)

1 — Fork and clone

Fork the repository on GitHub, then clone your fork:

Terminal window
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/pace-framework-starter.git
cd pace-framework-starter

Add the upstream remote so you can pull future changes:

Terminal window
git remote add upstream https://github.com/pace-framework-org/pace-framework-starter.git

2 — Create a virtual environment

Terminal window
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate    # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate

3 — Install dependencies

Terminal window
pip install -r pace/requirements.txt

For development you may also want the full set of optional adapters:

Terminal window
# All LLM providers
pip install anthropic litellm


# All platform adapters
pip install PyGithub python-gitlab requests

4 — Configure PACE

Copy the config template:

Terminal window
cp pace/pace.config.yaml pace/pace.config.yaml.bak   # optional backup

At minimum, set:

product:
  name: "Test Project"
  description: "Local dev test"
  github_org: "your-org"


platform:
  type: local    # no GitHub token needed for local testing


llm:
  provider: anthropic
  model: claude-sonnet-4-6

5 — Set your API key

Terminal window
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="sk-ant-..."

6 — Smoke test

Verify the orchestrator imports cleanly:

Terminal window
python -c "from pace.orchestrator import main; print('OK')"

Run the test suite:

Terminal window
pytest -v --tb=short

All tests should pass before you make any changes. If something fails out of the box, open an issue.

Keeping your fork up to date

Before starting any new branch, pull the latest from upstream:

Terminal window
git fetch upstream
git checkout main
git merge upstream/main

Next steps