Pre-built Binary Install ======================== Linux and OS X -------------- Installation from a pre-built binary tarball should in the long run be the easiest and fastest way to install Sage. This is not necessarily the case right now. Note that Sage is itself a programming environment, so building it from source guarantees you maximum flexibility in the long run. Nonetheless, we provide pre-built binaries. Assumptions: You have a computer with at least 2 GB of free disk space and the operating system is Linux (32-bit or 64-bit) or OS X (10.5.x). Highly Recommended: It is highly recommended that you have LaTeX installed. Download the latest binary tarball from http://www.sagemath.org/download.html . For example, it might be called ``sage-x.y.z-x86_64-Linux.tgz``. Unpack it on your computer in a directory which you have permission to read and write: :: tar zxvf sage-x.y.z-x86_64-Linux.tgz You can move the resulting directory ``sage-x.y.z-x86_64-Linux`` anywhere and still run ``sage`` from it. You can also copy the file ``sage`` from that directory and put it anywhere, e.g., ``/usr/local/bin/``, but then you have to edit the ``SAGE_ROOT="....."`` line at the top of that file, replacing the dots with the path to the Sage directory ``sage-x.y.z-x86_64-Linux``. As long as ``/usr/local/bin`` is in your ``$PATH``, you can then type ``sage`` from the command line to run Sage. Another approach is to create a symbolic link from ``sage-x.y.z-x86_64-Linux`` to, say, ``/usr/local/share/sage``:: ln -s /.../path_to/.../sage-x.y.z-x86_64-Linux /usr/local/share/sage Then put ``/usr/local/share/sage`` in your ``$PATH``. If you do this, you can type ``sage`` from the command line to run Sage. Also, if you install a different version of Sage, you just have to delete the old link and create one from the new directory to ``/usr/local/share/sage``. Finally, you can also combine these two approaches, copying ``sage`` to ``/usr/local/bin/``, creating a link from ``sage-x.y.z-x86_64-Linux`` to ``/usr/local/share/sage``, and editing the file ``/usr/local/bin/sage``: change the line :: SAGE_ROOT="....." to :: SAGE_ROOT="/usr/local/share/sage" When you want to install a new version of Sage, just delete the old link and create a new one; you shouldn't have to replace or modify the file ``/usr/local/bin/sage``. The first time you run Sage, and any time you move the Sage directory or create a link as above, you may see a message saying :: The Sage install tree may have moved. Regenerating Python.pyo and .pyc files that hardcode the install PATH (please wait at most a few minutes)... Do not interrupt this. We currently distribute ``.dmg`` files for OS X 10.4.x and 10.5.x. But we would like to make Sage more of a native application. Work for that is ongoing, but help is always welcome. Microsoft Windows ----------------- The best way to install Sage on Windows is to install `VirtualBox for Windows `_ and then download and install the VirtualBox distribution of Sage. See `this URL `_ for further instructions on installing Sage on Windows. Be sure to read the file `README.txt `_.