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Install Holochain

Mac + Linux

Windows or Vagrant/Docker

System Requirements

Hardware:

• 4GB+ RAM (16GB+ recommended)
• 4+ CPU (6+ CPU recommended)
• 30GB+ available disk space
• Internet connection

Pre-Installed Software:

• xCode developer tools (Mac only)

Mac / Linux Environment Setup

We use Nix toolkit to manage the installation of our dev tools. Install the Nix package manager with this command:

curl https://nixos.org/nix/install | sh

You might need to run this command to get the environment setup:

. ~/.nix-profile/etc/profile.d/nix.sh

Check that it installed correctly:

nix-shell --version

You should see something like:

nix-shell (Nix) 2.3.1

If you’d like to know more about NixOS and why we use it, you can find information on Nix here.

System Requirements

Hardware:

• 4GB+ RAM (16GB+ recommended)
• 4+ CPU (6+ CPU recommended)
• 30GB+ available disk space
• Internet connection

Operating System & Software:

• Windows 8+
• Powershell 2.0+
• Vagrant
• VirtualBox
• Vagrant nixos plugin

Windows Environment Setup

Holochain development uses the same tools across Mac, Windows, and Linux. However the Nix toolkit, which we use to install and manage those tools, only works natively on Mac and Linux.

We expect this to change in the future. NixOS for Windows is in active development!

In the meantime, you will need to work with a virtual machine.

The process is similar to working with a local web server.
There are Holochain optimized options for both Docker and Vagrant.
It is relatively simple to create custom setups with the official NixOS boxes.

This guide explains using NixOS with Vagrant/VirtualBox.

Note:
All these commands assume Windows powershell 2.0+.
The basic process is the same for all systems.

Create a new folder:

mkdir holochain-vagrant

Move into the new folder:

cd holochain-vagrant

Copy the basic, Holochain-optimised Vagrant file:

wget https://gist.githubusercontent.com/thedavidmeister/8e92696538fe04cf6b44552e14d29195/raw/4dcb83b983e8dcd2f5db213b0cde5a533af556a6/Vagrantfile -outfile Vagrantfile

Add the vagrant nixos plugin if you don't already have it:

vagrant plugin install vagrant-nixos-plugin

Download and boot the box:

vagrant up

SSH into the box:

vagrant ssh

Move into the shared folder

cd /vagrant

Check that it installed correctly:

nix-shell --version

!!! success "You should see something like:"

nix-shell (Nix) 2.2.2

If you’d like to know more about Nix and why we use it, you can find information on Nix here.

If you’d like to know more the Windows / Vagrant setup you can find information here.

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Install Holochain Tools

Now that you have installed Nix, you can run a development shell that contains all the prerequisites, including the correct Rust version and the Holochain tools. This shell won’t interfere with your current Rust installation. Run this command:

nix-shell https://holochain.love

The first time you run this command it will take some time to download and build, but it will be much faster the next time.

When it’s complete, you will see a new prompt starting with:

[nix-shell:

Test that Holochain is working by running:

Run in nix-shell https://holochain.love

hc --version

You should see some thing like:

hc 0.0.41-alpha4

Run in nix-shell https://holochain.love

holochain --version

You should see:

holochain 0.0.41-alpha4

Update/Uninstall

With nix-shell, you don’t need to worry about updating or uninstalling; when you enter the nix-shell, everything is the latest release and is then cleaned up when you exit.

Editor

In most cases you can run your editor as normal. However, if you are using an integrated developer environment or IDE that needs to communicate with the Holochain dependencies then you should launch it from inside the nix-shell.

To do this just open your editor while you are in the nix-shell like:

Run in nix-shell https://holochain.love

vim my_file.rs

Next Steps

1. Read through the Holochain Core Concepts.
2. Start the Hello Holo Tutorial
3. Create a New App
4. Learn more about Holochain development in the Guidebook.
5. Learn more about Rust in Holochain API Reference Documentation, Crates.io, and the Rust book.
6. Learn more about Nix as a dev dependency and why we’re using it in the Holonix documentation.

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