---
title: Installation
description: Install Tazel and the Tala tools it starts.
---

<!-- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Progmasoft <support@progmasoft.com> -->
<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later WITH AdditionRef-Progmasoft-Patent-Grant-1.1 -->

Tazel is a Kotlin program for the JVM, so a machine needs a Java runtime 25 or newer. It compiles nothing itself:
`check`, `build`, `run` and `test` start Talac, `fmt` starts talafmt and `lint` starts talalint.

## Build Tazel

Tazel is built from its source with the Gradle wrapper, which needs a JDK 25. `installDist` writes the launchers,
`tazel` and `tazel.bat`, to `build/install/tazel/bin`. Put that folder on `PATH`.

```bash [Linux and macOS]
git clone https://github.com/Progmasoft/tazel.git
cd tazel
./gradlew installDist
```

```powershell [Windows]
git clone https://github.com/Progmasoft/tazel.git
cd tazel
.\gradlew.bat installDist
```

`tazel version` prints the version that is installed.

## The Tala tools

Tazel finds each tool through `TAZEL_TALAC`, `TAZEL_TALAFMT` or `TAZEL_TALALINT`, then in its own installation, then
on `PATH`. Each tool has its own releases:

| Tool     | Used by                         | Source                                                        |
| -------- | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Talac    | `check`, `build`, `run`, `test` | [Progmasoft/tala](https://github.com/Progmasoft/tala)         |
| talafmt  | `fmt`                           | [Progmasoft/talafmt](https://github.com/Progmasoft/talafmt)   |
| talalint | `lint`                          | [Progmasoft/talalint](https://github.com/Progmasoft/talalint) |

Next: [a first project](/docs/getting-started/first-project).