diff --git a/start_ui.bat b/start_ui.bat
index d412101..d53ca9c 100644
--- a/start_ui.bat
+++ b/start_ui.bat
@@ -18,6 +18,19 @@ if %ERRORLEVEL% neq 0 (
     exit /b 1
 )
 
+REM Check if venv exists, create if not
+if not exist "venv" (
+    echo Creating virtual environment...
+    python -m venv venv
+)
+
+REM Activate the virtual environment
+call venv\Scripts\activate.bat
+
+REM Install dependencies
+echo Installing dependencies...
+pip install -r requirements.txt --quiet
+
 REM Run the Python launcher
 python "%~dp0start_ui.py" %*
 
diff --git a/start_ui.sh b/start_ui.sh
index 33adea0..644db74 100644
--- a/start_ui.sh
+++ b/start_ui.sh
@@ -21,5 +21,18 @@ else
     PYTHON_CMD="python3"
 fi
 
+# Check if venv exists, create if not
+if [ ! -d "venv" ]; then
+    echo "Creating virtual environment..."
+    $PYTHON_CMD -m venv venv
+fi
+
+# Activate the virtual environment
+source venv/bin/activate
+
+# Install dependencies
+echo "Installing dependencies..."
+pip install -r requirements.txt --quiet
+
 # Run the Python launcher
-$PYTHON_CMD start_ui.py "$@"
+python start_ui.py "$@"