== Tutorial - Getting started: Installation ==
''(This page is part of the [[Tutorial]] series. Next part is TutorialInit)''

Installing Mercurial is straightforward.

 * For Linux, MacOS X, and other Unix variants, follow the UnixInstall directions.
 * On Windows, follow the WindowsInstall instructions.

Once you're done, come back here.

The Mercurial program is named {{{hg}}}.  Every Mercurial command starts with {{{hg}}}, followed by the command name, followed by any relevant options and arguments.

Now that Mercurial is installed, we should be able to simply type {{{hg}}} at the prompt, and the program should display some helpful command summaries:

{{{
$ hg
Mercurial Distributed SCM

basic commands:

 add        add the specified files on the next commit
 annotate   show changeset information per file line
 clone      make a copy of an existing repository
 commit     commit the specified files or all outstanding changes
 (...)

use "hg help" for the full list of commands or "hg -v" for details
}}}
To determine what version of Mercurial we are running, let's type:

{{{
$ hg version
Mercurial Distributed SCM (version 1.7.3)
(see http://mercurial.selenic.com for more information)

Copyright (C) 2005-2010 Matt Mackall and others
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
}}}
Mercurial will need a username to use for recording commits. It's best to configure Mercurial to use your email address by creating a file `.hgrc`<<FootNote(http://www.selenic.com/mercurial/hgrc.5.html#files)>> in your home directory (or on Windows in `%USERPROFILE%\Mercurial.ini`, MercurialIni) containing lines like the following:

{{{
[ui]
username = John Doe <john@example.com>
}}}
If all has gone well, let's continue on to TutorialInit.

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CategoryTutorial