<!--{
	"Title": "Getting Started",
	"Path":  "/doc/install"
}-->

<div class="hideFromDownload">

<h2 id="download">Download the Go distribution</h2>

<p>
<a href="https://golang.org/dl/" id="start" class="download">
<span class="big">Download Go</span>
<span class="desc">Click here to visit the downloads page</span>
</a>
</p>

<p>
<a href="https://golang.org/dl/" target="_blank">Official binary
distributions</a> are available for the FreeBSD (release 8-STABLE and above),
Linux, Mac OS X (10.7 and above), and Windows operating systems and
the 32-bit (<code>386</code>) and 64-bit (<code>amd64</code>) x86 processor
architectures.
</p>

<p>
If a binary distribution is not available for your combination of operating
system and architecture, try
<a href="/doc/install/source">installing from source</a> or
<a href="/doc/install/gccgo">installing gccgo instead of gc</a>.
</p>


<h2 id="requirements">System requirements</h2>

<p>
Go binary distributions are available for these supported operating systems and architectures.
Please ensure your system meets these requirements before proceeding.
If your OS or architecture is not on the list, you may be able to
<a href="/doc/install/source">install from source</a> or
<a href="/doc/install/gccgo">use gccgo instead</a>.
</p>

<table class="codetable" frame="border" summary="requirements">
<tr>
<th align="center">Operating system</th>
<th align="center">Architectures</th>
<th align="center">Notes</th>
</tr>
<tr><td colspan="3"><hr></td></tr>
<tr><td>FreeBSD 8-STABLE or later</td> <td>amd64</td> <td>Debian GNU/kFreeBSD not supported</td></tr>
<tr><td>Linux 2.6.23 or later with glibc</td> <td>amd64, 386, arm</td> <td>CentOS/RHEL 5.x not supported; install from source for ARM</td></tr>
<tr><td>Mac OS X 10.7 or later</td> <td>amd64</td> <td>use the clang or gcc<sup>&#8224;</sup> that comes with Xcode<sup>&#8225;</sup></td></tr>
<tr><td>Windows XP or later</td> <td>amd64, 386</td> <td>use MinGW gcc<sup>&#8224;</sup>. No need for cygwin or msys.</td></tr>
</table>

<p>
<sup>&#8224;</sup><code>gcc</code> is required only if you plan to use
<a href="/cmd/cgo">cgo</a>.<br/>
<sup>&#8225;</sup>You only need to install the command line tools for
<a href="http://developer.apple.com/Xcode/">Xcode</a>. If you have already
installed Xcode 4.3+, you can install it from the Components tab of the
Downloads preferences panel.
</p>

</div><!-- hideFromDownload -->


<h2 id="install">Install the Go tools</h2>

<p>
If you are upgrading from an older version of Go you must
first <a href="#uninstall">remove the existing version</a>.
</p>

<div id="tarballInstructions">

<h3 id="tarball">Linux, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD tarballs</h3>

<p>
<a href="https://golang.org/dl/">Download the archive</a>
and extract it into <code>/usr/local</code>, creating a Go tree in
<code>/usr/local/go</code>. For example:
</p>

<pre>
tar -C /usr/local -xzf <span class="downloadFilename">go$VERSION.$OS-$ARCH.tar.gz</span>
</pre>

<p class="hideFromDownload">
Choose the archive file appropriate for your installation.
For instance, if you are installing Go version 1.2.1 for 64-bit x86 on Linux,
the archive you want is called <code>go1.2.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz</code>.
</p>

<p>
(Typically these commands must be run as root or through <code>sudo</code>.)
</p>

<p>
Add <code>/usr/local/go/bin</code> to the <code>PATH</code> environment
variable. You can do this by adding this line to your <code>/etc/profile</code>
(for a system-wide installation) or <code>$HOME/.profile</code>:
</p>

<pre>
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin
</pre>

<h4 id="tarball_non_standard">Installing to a custom location</h4>

<p>
The Go binary distributions assume they will be installed in
<code>/usr/local/go</code> (or <code>c:\Go</code> under Windows),
but it is possible to install the Go tools to a different location.
In this case you must set the <code>GOROOT</code> environment variable
to point to the directory in which it was installed.
</p>

<p>
For example, if you installed Go to your home directory you should add the
following commands to <code>$HOME/.profile</code>:
</p>

<pre>
export GOROOT=$HOME/go
export PATH=$PATH:$GOROOT/bin
</pre>

<p>
<b>Note</b>: <code>GOROOT</code> must be set only when installing to a custom
location.
</p>

</div><!-- tarballInstructions -->

<div id="darwinPackageInstructions">

<h3 id="osx">Mac OS X package installer</h3>

<p>
<a href="https://golang.org/dl/">Download the package file</a>,
open it, and follow the prompts to install the Go tools.
The package installs the Go distribution to <code>/usr/local/go</code>.
</p>

<p>
The package should put the <code>/usr/local/go/bin</code> directory in your
<code>PATH</code> environment variable. You may need to restart any open
Terminal sessions for the change to take effect.
</p>

</div><!-- darwinPackageInstructions -->

<div id="windowsInstructions">

<h3 id="windows">Windows</h3>

<p class="hideFromDownload">
The Go project provides two installation options for Windows users
(besides <a href="/doc/install/source">installing from source</a>):
a zip archive that requires you to set some environment variables and an
MSI installer that configures your installation automatically.
</p>

<div id="windowsInstallerInstructions">

<h4 id="windows_msi">MSI installer</h4>

<p>
Open the <a href="https://golang.org/dl/">MSI file</a>
and follow the prompts to install the Go tools.
By default, the installer puts the Go distribution in <code>c:\Go</code>.
</p>

<p>
The installer should put the <code>c:\Go\bin</code> directory in your
<code>PATH</code> environment variable. You may need to restart any open
command prompts for the change to take effect.
</p>

</div><!-- windowsInstallerInstructions -->

<div id="windowsZipInstructions">

<h4 id="windows_zip">Zip archive</h4>

<p>
<a href="https://golang.org/dl/">Download the zip file</a> and extract it into the directory of your choice (we suggest <code>c:\Go</code>).
</p>

<p>
If you chose a directory other than <code>c:\Go</code>,
you must set the <code>GOROOT</code> environment variable to your chosen path.
</p>

<p>
Add the <code>bin</code> subdirectory of your Go root (for example, <code>c:\Go\bin</code>) to your <code>PATH</code> environment variable.
</p>

</div><!-- windowsZipInstructions -->

<h4 id="windows_env">Setting environment variables under Windows</h4>

<p>
Under Windows, you may set environment variables through the "Environment
Variables" button on the "Advanced" tab of the "System" control panel. Some
versions of Windows provide this control panel through the "Advanced System
Settings" option inside the "System" control panel.
</p>

</div><!-- windowsInstructions -->


<h2 id="testing">Test your installation</h2>

<p>
Check that Go is installed correctly by setting up a workspace
and building a simple program, as follows.
</p>

<p>
Create a directory to contain your <a href="code.html#Workspaces">workspace</a>,
<code>$HOME/work</code> for example, and set the <code>GOPATH</code> environment
variable to point to that location.
</p>

<pre>
$ <b>export GOPATH=$HOME/work</b>
</pre>

<p>
You should put the above command in your shell startup script
(<code>$HOME/.profile</code> for example) or, if you use Windows,
follow the <a href="#windows_env">instructions above</a> to set the
<code>GOPATH</code> environment variable on your system.
</p>

<p>
Next, make the directories <code>src/github.com/user/hello</code> inside your
workspace (if you use GitHub, substitute your user name for <code>user</code>),
and inside the <code>hello</code> directory create a file named <code>hello.go</code>
with the following contents:
</p>

<pre>
package main

import "fmt"

func main() {
    fmt.Printf("hello, world\n")
}
</pre>

<p>
Then compile it with the <code>go</code> tool:
</p>

<pre>
$ <b>go install github.com/user/hello</b>
</pre>

<p>
The above command will put an executable command named <code>hello</code> 
(or <code>hello.exe</code>) inside the <code>bin</code> directory of your workspace.
Execute the command to see the greeting:
</p>

<pre>
$ <b>$GOPATH/bin/hello</b>
hello, world
</pre>

<p>
If you see the "hello, world" message then your Go installation is working.
</p>

<p>
Before rushing off to write Go code please read the
<a href="/doc/code.html">How to Write Go Code</a> document,
which describes some essential concepts about using the Go tools.
</p>


<h2 id="uninstall">Uninstalling Go</h2>

<p>
To remove an existing Go installation from your system delete the
<code>go</code> directory. This is usually <code>/usr/local/go</code>
under Linux, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD or <code>c:\Go</code>
under Windows.
</p>

<p>
You should also remove the Go <code>bin</code> directory from your
<code>PATH</code> environment variable.
Under Linux and FreeBSD you should edit <code>/etc/profile</code> or
<code>$HOME/.profile</code>.
If you installed Go with the <a href="#osx">Mac OS X package</a> then you
should remove the <code>/etc/paths.d/go</code> file.
Windows users should read the section about <a href="#windows_env">setting
environment variables under Windows</a>.
</p>


<h2 id="help">Getting help</h2>

<p>
For real-time help, ask the helpful gophers in <code>#go-nuts</code> on the
<a href="http://freenode.net/">Freenode</a> IRC server.
</p>

<p>
The official mailing list for discussion of the Go language is
<a href="//groups.google.com/group/golang-nuts">Go Nuts</a>.
</p>

<p>
Report bugs using the
<a href="//golang.org/issue">Go issue tracker</a>.
</p>