github.com/phobos182/packer@v0.2.3-0.20130819023704-c84d2aeffc68/website/source/intro/getting-started/setup.html.markdown (about)

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