Getting Started

This guide walks you through launching and using the RheoJAX GUI for the first time.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have RheoJAX installed (GUI dependencies are included):

uv sync

Verify the installation:

python -c "from PySide6.QtWidgets import QApplication; print('PySide6 OK')"

Launching the Application

Command Line

The simplest way to launch the GUI:

rheojax-gui

Python API

From within a Python script or interactive session:

from rheojax.gui import main
main()

First Launch

When you first launch RheoJAX GUI, you’ll see:

  1. Home Tab: Quick start guides and recent projects

  2. Navigation Sidebar: Access to Data, Fit, Bayesian, Transform, Export pages

  3. Status Bar: JAX device info and memory usage

The Main Window

Layout Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Menu Bar (File, Edit, View, Help)                     │
├───────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│       │                                                 │
│  Nav  │           Main Content Area                     │
│  Bar  │                                                 │
│       │   (Data / Fit / Bayesian / Transform / Export)  │
│       │                                                 │
├───────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Status Bar (Device: CPU/GPU | Memory | Progress)       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick Workflow

A typical analysis workflow:

  1. Load Data

    • Go to Data page

    • Drag-and-drop your data file

    • Map columns to X/Y variables

    • Select test mode (oscillation, relaxation, etc.)

  2. Select Model

    • Go to Fit page

    • Browse available models

    • Select appropriate model for your data

    • Review default parameters

  3. Run NLSQ Fit

    • Click “Fit Model”

    • Watch real-time progress

    • Review fit quality (R², residuals)

  4. Bayesian Inference (Optional)

    • Go to Bayesian page

    • Configure MCMC settings

    • Run inference

    • Review ArviZ diagnostics

  5. Export Results

    • Go to Export page

    • Select output formats

    • Generate reports

Settings and Preferences

Access settings via Edit > Preferences or Cmd/Ctrl + ,:

  • Theme: Light/Dark mode

  • Plot Style: Default matplotlib styles

  • Auto-save: Enable/disable project auto-save

  • Random Seed: Set reproducibility seed

Keyboard Shortcuts

Essential shortcuts:

  • Ctrl/Cmd + O: Open file

  • Ctrl/Cmd + S: Save project

  • Ctrl/Cmd + Z: Undo

  • Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z: Redo

  • Ctrl/Cmd + Q: Quit

See Keyboard Shortcuts for the complete list.

Troubleshooting

GUI Won’t Launch

  1. Verify PySide6 is installed:

    pip show PySide6

  2. Check for Qt platform issues (Linux):

    export QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb

  3. Try reinstalling:

    pip uninstall PySide6
pip install PySide6

Slow Performance

  1. Check JAX device (prefer GPU when available)

  2. Reduce data size for initial exploration

  3. Close unnecessary ArviZ diagnostic plots

Display Issues

For high-DPI displays, set environment variable:

export QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=1