[[setup]]
= Setup

[partintro]
--
This section includes information on how to setup *elasticsearch* and
get it running. If you haven't already, http://www.elasticsearch.org/download[download] it, and
then check the <<setup-installation,installation>> docs.

[[setup-installation]]
[float]
== Installation

After link:/download[downloading] the latest release and extracting it,
*elasticsearch* can be started using:

[source,sh]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch
--------------------------------------------------

Under *nix system, the command will start the process in the background.
To run it in the foreground, add the `-f` switch to it:

[source,sh]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch -f
--------------------------------------------------

ElasticSearch is built using Java, and requires at least
http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp[Java 6] in order to run.
The version of Java that will be used can be set by setting the
`JAVA_HOME` environment variable.

.*NIX
*************************************************************************
There are added features when using the `elasticsearch` shell script.
The first, which was explained earlier, is the ability to easily run the
process either in the foreground or the background.

Another feature is the ability to pass `-X` and `-D` directly to the
script. When set, both override anything set using either `JAVA_OPTS` or
`ES_JAVA_OPTS`. For example:

[source,sh]
--------------------------------------------------
$ bin/elasticsearch -f -Xmx2g -Xms2g -Des.index.store.type=memory
--------------------------------------------------
*************************************************************************
--

include::setup/configuration.asciidoc[]

include::setup/as-a-service.asciidoc[]

include::setup/dir-layout.asciidoc[]