---
layout: "intro"
page_title: "Install Packer"
prev_url: "/intro/platforms.html"
next_url: "/intro/getting-started/build-image.html"
next_title: "Build an Image"
---

# Install Packer

Packer must first be installed on the machine you want to run it on.
To make installation easy, Packer is distributed as a [binary package](/downloads.html)
for all supported platforms and architectures. This page will not cover how
to compile Packer from source, as that is covered in the
[README](https://github.com/mitchellh/packer/blob/master/README.md) and is only
recommended for advanced users.

## Installing Packer

To install packer, first find the [appropriate package](/downloads.html)
for your system and download it. Packer is packaged as a "zip" file.

Next, unzip the downloaded package into a directory where Packer will be
installed. On Unix systems, `~/packer` or `/usr/local/packer` is generally good,
depending on whether you want to restrict the install to just your user
or install it system-wide. On Windows systems, you can put it wherever you'd
like.

After unzipping the package, the directory should contain a set of binary
programs, such as `packer`, `packer-build-amazon-ebs`, etc. The final step
to installation is to make sure the directory you installed Packer to
is on the PATH. See [this page](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/14637979/how-to-permanently-set-path-on-linux)
for instructions on setting the PATH on Linux and Mac.
[This page](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1618280/where-can-i-set-path-to-make-exe-on-windows)
contains instructions for setting the PATH on Windows.

## Verifying the Installation

After installing Packer, verify the installation worked by opening
a new command prompt or console, and checking that `packer` is available:

```
$ packer
usage: packer [--version] [--help] <command> [<args>]

Available commands are:
    build        build image(s) from template
    fix           fixes templates from old versions of packer
    inspect      see components of a template
    validate     check that a template is valid
```

If you get an error that `packer` could not be found, then your PATH
environment variable was not setup properly. Please go back and ensure
that your PATH variable contains the directory which has Packer installed.

Otherwise, Packer is installed and you're ready to go!

## Alternative Installation Methods

While the binary packages is the only official method of installation, there
are alternatives available.

### Homebrew

If you're using OS X and [Homebrew](http://brew.sh), you can install Packer by
adding the `binary` tap:

```
$ brew tap homebrew/binary
$ brew install packer
```