Set-up for Developers

Most of the set-up instructions are identical to general users – see the instructor setup instructions. We point out a few minor differences.

Python installation

Similar to general developers, you should fork and clone the python package. Then, you can follow all the remaining installation instructions. The one key difference is that you should install the python package in editable mode: Specifically, use

pip install -e .

The -e flag means editable mode. Your environment points at the working copy of the repository, so Python sees your local code changes immediately.

MCP Setup

MCP setup for developers is installed the same way as it is for regular users; see the instructor-facing guide for MCP setup.

In practice, that means you should install llmgrader into the environment you want VS Code to use for MCP and then run:

llmgrader_mcp_setup --workspace .

If you are working inside this source repository, the generated .vscode/mcp.json will contain an interpreter-specific absolute path, so treat it as a local workspace override rather than something to commit.