github.com/kikitux/packer@v0.10.1-0.20160322154024-6237df566f9f/website/source/docs/installation.html.md (about)

     1  ---
     2  description: |
     3      Packer must first be installed on the machine you want to run it on. To make
     4      installation easy, Packer is distributed as a binary package for all supported
     5      platforms and architectures. This page will not cover how to compile Packer from
     6      source, as that is covered in the README and is only recommended for advanced
     7      users.
     8  layout: docs
     9  page_title: Install Packer
    10  ...
    11  
    12  # Install Packer
    13  
    14  Packer must first be installed on the machine you want to run it on. To make
    15  installation easy, Packer is distributed as a [binary package](/downloads.html)
    16  for all supported platforms and architectures. This page will not cover how to
    17  compile Packer from source, as that is covered in the
    18  [README](https://github.com/mitchellh/packer/blob/master/README.md) and is only
    19  recommended for advanced users.
    20  
    21  ## Installing Packer
    22  
    23  To install packer, first find the [appropriate package](/downloads.html) for
    24  your system and download it. Packer is packaged as a "zip" file.
    25  
    26  Next, unzip the downloaded package into a directory where Packer will be
    27  installed. On Unix systems, `~/packer` or `/usr/local/packer` is generally good,
    28  depending on whether you want to restrict the install to just your user or
    29  install it system-wide. On Windows systems, you can put it wherever you'd like.
    30  
    31  After unzipping the package, the directory should contain a set of binary
    32  programs, such as `packer`, `packer-build-amazon-ebs`, etc. The final step to
    33  installation is to make sure the directory you installed Packer to is on the
    34  PATH. See [this
    35  page](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14637979/how-to-permanently-set-path-on-linux)
    36  for instructions on setting the PATH on Linux and Mac. [This
    37  page](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1618280/where-can-i-set-path-to-make-exe-on-windows)
    38  contains instructions for setting the PATH on Windows.
    39  
    40  ## Verifying the Installation
    41  
    42  After installing Packer, verify the installation worked by opening a new command
    43  prompt or console, and checking that `packer` is available:
    44  
    45  ``` {.text}
    46  $ packer
    47  usage: packer [--version] [--help] <command> [<args>]
    48  
    49  Available commands are:
    50      build        build image(s) from template
    51      fix          fixes templates from old versions of packer
    52      inspect      see components of a template
    53      validate     check that a template is valid
    54  ```
    55  
    56  If you get an error that `packer` could not be found, then your PATH
    57  environmental variable was not setup properly. Please go back and ensure that
    58  your PATH variable contains the directory which has Packer installed.
    59  
    60  Otherwise, Packer is installed and you're ready to go!
    61  
    62  ## Alternative Installation Methods
    63  
    64  Installation from binary packages is currently the only officially supported
    65  installation method. The binary packages are guaranteed to be the latest
    66  available version and match the proper checksums. However, in addition to the
    67  official binaries, there are other unofficial 3rd party methods of installation
    68  managed by the Packer community:
    69  
    70  ### Homebrew
    71  
    72  If you're using OS X and [Homebrew](http://brew.sh), you can install Packer:
    73  
    74  ``` {.text}
    75  $ brew install packer
    76  ```
    77  
    78  ### Chocolatey
    79  
    80  If you're using Windows and [Chocolatey](http://chocolatey.org), you can install
    81  Packer from Windows command line (cmd). Remember that this is updated by a 3rd
    82  party, so it may not be the latest available version.
    83  
    84  ``` {.text}
    85  $ choco install packer
    86  ```