% Installing Rust

The first step to using Rust is to install it! There are a number of ways to
install Rust, but the easiest is to use the `rustup` script. If we're on Linux
or a Mac, all we need to do is this:

> Note: we don't need to type in the `$`s, they just indicate the start of
> each command. We’ll see many tutorials and examples around the web that
> follow this convention: `$` for commands run as our regular user, and `#` for
> commands we should be running as an administrator.

```bash
$ curl -sf -L https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup.sh | sh
```

If we're concerned about the [potential insecurity][insecurity] of using `curl |
sh`, please keep reading and see our disclaimer below. And feel free to use a
two-step version of the installation and examine our installation script:

```bash
$ curl -f -L https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup.sh -O
$ sh rustup.sh
```

[insecurity]: http://curlpipesh.tumblr.com

If you're on Windows, please download the appropriate [installer][install-page].

> Note: By default, the Windows installer won't add Rust to the %PATH% system
> variable. If this is the only version of Rust we are installing and we want to
> be able to run it from the command line, click on "Advanced" on the install
> dialog and on the "Product Features" page ensure "Add to PATH" is installed on
> the local hard drive.


[install-page]: https://www.rust-lang.org/install.html

## Uninstalling

If you decide you don't want Rust anymore, we'll be a bit sad, but that's okay.
Not every programming language is great for everyone. We'll just run the
uninstall script:

```bash
$ sudo /usr/local/lib/rustlib/uninstall.sh
```

If we used the Windows installer, we'll just re-run the `.msi` and it will give
us an uninstall option.

## That disclaimer we promised

Some people, and somewhat rightfully so, get very upset when we tell them to
`curl | sh`. Basically, when they do this, they are trusting that the good
people who maintain Rust aren't going to hack their computer and do bad things.
That's a good instinct! If you're one of those people, please check out the
documentation on [building Rust from Source][from-source], or [the official
binary downloads][install-page].

[from-source]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust#building-from-source

## Platform support

Oh, we should also mention the officially supported platforms:

* Windows (7 or later, Server 2008 R2)
* Linux (2.6.18 or later, various distributions), x86 and x86-64
* OSX 10.7 (Lion) or later, x86 and x86-64

We extensively test Rust on these platforms, and a few others, too, like
Android. But these are the ones most likely to work, as they have the most
testing.

Finally, a comment about Windows. Rust considers Windows to be a first-class
platform upon release, but if we're honest, the Windows experience isn't as
integrated as the Linux/OS X experience is. We're working on it! If anything
doesn't work, it is a bug. Please let us know if that happens. Each and every
commit is tested against Windows just like any other platform.

## After installation

If we've got Rust installed, we can open up a shell, and type this:

```bash
$ rustc --version
```

You should see the version number, commit hash, and commit date.

If you do, Rust has been installed successfully! Congrats!

If you don't and you're on Windows, check that Rust is in your %PATH% system
variable. If it isn't, run the installer again, select "Change" on the "Change,
repair, or remove installation" page and ensure "Add to PATH" is installed on
the local hard drive.

This installer also installs a copy of the documentation locally, so we can read
it offline. On UNIX systems, `/usr/local/share/doc/rust` is the location. On
Windows, it's in a `share/doc` directory, inside the directory to which Rust was
installed.

If not, there are a number of places where we can get help. The easiest is
[the #rust IRC channel on irc.mozilla.org][irc], which we can access through
[Mibbit][mibbit]. Click that link, and we'll be chatting with other Rustaceans
(a silly nickname we call ourselves) who can help us out. Other great resources
include [the user’s forum][users], and [Stack Overflow][stackoverflow].

[irc]: irc://irc.mozilla.org/#rust
[mibbit]: http://chat.mibbit.com/?server=irc.mozilla.org&channel=%23rust
[users]: https://users.rust-lang.org/
[stackoverflow]: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/rust