github.com/phobos182/packer@v0.2.3-0.20130819023704-c84d2aeffc68/website/source/docs/installation.html.markdown (about)

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