= Installing Cobra =

Installation is from one of (the latest) downloadable packages from the [http://cobra-language.com/downloads/ downloads] page.
This is a multistage process
  * download the install package
  * unpack it to a temporary directory
  * run the installer
  * ( test the installation)

On all platforms the installer will install a pristine copy of the compiler on your system and setup associated libraries
as required for the platform.[[BR]]
As it executes it will ask you for info it needs (where you would like the compiler installed to) and emit a sequence of status lines informing you of what it is doing and any problems it finds as it does so.

The installer prints "Success!" at the end, if successful, Otherwise you will see an error message.

If you have any problems please see [wiki:Troubleshooting]

It is safe to run the installer more than once.


To test the installation, try invoking Cobra from '''outside''' the workspace.
The command "cobra -about" will give you version, platform and directory information.


== On Windows ==

Requires .Net (.Net 4.5 or greater)

The distribution package is a zip file ( e.g Cobra-0.9.1.zip)

  * Download it and unpack to a convenient temporary directory (not the final target directory the compiler will bw installed to) 
     - This will create a directory named for the Cobra version ( e.g Cobra-0.9.1) containing the distribution files
  * Launch a command prompt as an administrator and navigate to the directory you unzipped the package to
  * Change directory to the Source directory within the unzipped directory tree and run the installation command.
 
{{{
cd <Cobra-version>\Source
bin\install-from-workspace
}}}

e.g for Cobra version 0.9.1 
{{{
cd Cobra-0.9.1\Source
bin\install-from-workspace
}}}

An alternative for those who wish to avoid the command line is a self-extracting exe found at [http://cobra.on-track-solutions.com/wp-admin/files/Cobra.exe Torial's site] which can be installed using the following instructions:
  * Double click it to run the self-extractor, and select c:\ as the destination.  A Cobra directory should be created.  
  * Copy the c:\Cobra\bin\cobra.bat to your C:\Windows\System32 folder so that you can run the Cobra compiler from any location on your computer.
This was made by torial from a request in the thread: [http://cobra-language.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17378 Can I get an exe to install Cobra?]

== On Mac or !Linux/Unix ==
Requires Novell Mono ( any version from 2.6) 

The distribution is a gzipped tar file ( e.g cobra-0.9.0.tar.gz)

  * Download it and unpack to a convenient temporary directory 
     - This will create a directory named for the Cobra version (e.g Cobra-0.9.0) containing the distribution files

  * Launch a command prompt as an administrator and navigate to the directory you unzipped the package to.

  * Change directory to the Source directory within the unzipped directory tree and run the installation command.
 
{{{
cd <Cobra-version>/Source
sudo bin/install-from-workspace
}}}

e.g for Cobra version 0.9.0 
{{{
cd Cobra-0.9.0/Source
sudo bin/install-from-workspace
}}}

== See Also ==

 * DetectingDotNet
 * [WikiStart Return to Wiki Start]