# Creating a Pipeline

To start working with the system, you first need to import the main libraries and modules.\
If you plan to use **ISX** functions, import the package and pass it as a parameter when creating the `CIPipe` instance.

```
import isx
from ci_pipe.pipeline import CIPipe
```

The `CIPipe` class is responsible for building and executing an **analysis pipeline**.\
There are two main ways to create an instance: automatically from a directory of videos, or manually from a list of input files.\
Both approaches use the same parameters, with several optional ones that will be explained later.

***

#### 1. Automatic creation from a video directory

The most convenient way to initialize a pipeline is by using the class method `with_videos_from_directory`, which automatically generates the input list from a directory containing the videos to be processed.

```
pipeline = CIPipe.with_videos_from_directory(
    'input_dir',
    outputs_directory='output_dir',
    isx=isx
)
```

#### 2. Manual creation from a list of inputs

In more specific cases, the `CIPipe` class can be initialized directly by passing a list of input files or paths instead of a directory.

```
pipeline = CIPipe(pipeline_input, file_system=self._file_system, isx=isx)
```

***

#### Passing Arguments

When creating a `CIPipe` instance, additional arguments can be passed directly through the constructor or the class method. For example, to specify a custom branch name:

```
pipeline = CIPipe.with_videos_from_directory(
    'input_dir',
    outputs_directory='output_dir',
    branch_name='Experiment Branch'
)
```

#### Pipeline Setup Parameters

* **input / pipeline\_input**: path to the directory or list of files that will be used as pipeline inputs.\
  The system will read the videos from this location and apply the defined processing steps.
* **outputs\_directory**: name of the directory where the processing results will be stored.\
  If not specified, a folder named **`output`** will be automatically created in the current working directory.\
  You can specify a different name to organize separate runs or experiments.
* **isx** *(optional)*: the *Inscopix* (ISX) library module.\
  If your pipeline includes steps that use ISX, pass it as a parameter.\
  Otherwise, it can be omitted.
* **branch\_name** *(optional)*: the name of the pipeline branch (default: `"Main Branch"`).\
  This parameter allows defining different branches or versions of the pipeline, which will be explained in a later section.

Additionally, there are other optional parameters (set to `None` by default) that allow customizing aspects such as the filesystem, default values, and validation mechanisms. These will be covered in later sections.


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