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# Installing Solarus

## Download

You need first to install Solarus on your computer to be able to develop a game with it. Go to the Solarus download page.

On the left side is the installation package for the players. They will need it to be able to play your game. As a quest developer, you don't need it because it is already included in the developer package.

On the right side, you'll find the developer installation package. This is what you need. Select your OS and follow the instructions in the popup that will show up.

Component | Description
--- | ---
Solarus | The game engine itself.
Solarus Run | A Command-Line Interface to launch a quest.
Solarus Editor | The development environnement you'll use to create and edit the game's resources like maps, sprites or texts.
Solarus Launcher | An app to launch quests (intended for players).
Sample Quest | A very short Solarus quest, intended to be an example.

### Windows

Currently, there is no installer. The package is just a Zip file containing all that you need. Unzip it to reveal its content. Note that you can move the `solarus/` folder where you want.

What you need to launch to start developing your Solarus quest is `solarus-editor.exe`. See how to do it in the next chapter.

Note

This is what is called a portable app: you can launch it from wherever you want. The downsides are that the app isn't perfectly integrated into the OS: you won't find it in the Start Menu, for instance. We're working on that.

### Linux

Solarus is available in the Snap Store. Look for `"solarus"` and you will get the Solarus developer package (Solarus Editor, Solarus Launcher, solarus-run).

You can also install it with a terminal. First, ensure you have snapd installed. If not, install it with your package manager It should be something like (for Ubuntu, as instance):

    sudo apt install snapd

Then, install Solarus.

    sudo snap install solarus

### macOS

There is no installer on macOS. The `.zip` package contains two `.app` bundles: Solarus Editor and Solarus Launcher, along with the Sample Quest. You need to drag and drop these `.app` bundles to the Applications folder.

Note

Currently, the macOS package does not contains a `.app` for solarus-run because this is a command-line program, that does not have a GUI. To be able to execute it in the terminal, you need to type:

    /Applications/Solarus Launcher.app/Content/Resources/solarus-run path/to/your/quest

April 1, 2025