.. _sdk-download-and-install:

====================
Download and install
====================

.. note:: You can also :ref:`build Emscripten from source
   <installing-from-source>` if you prefer that to downloading binaries using
   the emsdk.

.. tip:: If you'd like to install emscripten using the **unofficial** packages
   instead of the **officially supported** emsdk, see the bottom of the page.

.. _sdk-installation-instructions:

Installation instructions using the emsdk (recommended)
=======================================================

First, check the :ref:`Platform-specific notes
<platform-notes-installation_instructions-SDK>` below and install any
prerequisites.

The core Emscripten SDK (emsdk) driver is a Python script. You can get it for
the first time with:

  ::

    # Get the emsdk repo
    git clone https://github.com/emscripten-core/emsdk.git

    # Enter that directory
    cd emsdk

.. note:: You can also get the emsdk without git, by selecting "Clone or
   download => Download ZIP" on the `emsdk GitHub page
   <https://github.com/emscripten-core/emsdk>`_.

Run the following :ref:`emsdk <emsdk>` commands to get the latest tools from
GitHub and set them as :term:`active <Active Tool/SDK>`:

  ::

    # Fetch the latest version of the emsdk (not needed the first time you clone)
    git pull

    # Download and install the latest SDK tools.
    ./emsdk install latest

    # Make the "latest" SDK "active" for the current user. (writes .emscripten file)
    ./emsdk activate latest

    # Activate PATH and other environment variables in the current terminal
    source ./emsdk_env.sh

  .. tip:: If you want to avoid executing `source ./emsdk_env.sh` every time you open a new terminal, you can follow the instructions given by the `emsdk activate` command above to add this command to your startup scripts.

  .. note:: On Windows, run ``emsdk.bat`` instead of ``./emsdk``, and ``emsdk_env.bat`` instead of ``source ./emsdk_env.sh``.

  .. note:: On Windows, if you use the ``activate`` command, the step of ``emsdk_env.bat`` is optional. If you want to know more, see :ref:`activate SDK version <emsdk-set-active-tools>`.

  .. note:: ``git pull`` will fetch the current list of tags, but very recent ones may not yet be present there. You can run ``./emsdk update-tags`` to update the list of tags directly.

If you change the location of the SDK (e.g. take it to another computer on a
USB), re-run the ``./emsdk activate latest`` and ``source ./emsdk_env.sh``
commands.

Emsdk install targets
---------------------

In the description above, we asked the emsdk to install and activate ``latest``,
which is the latest tagged release. That is often what you want.

You can also install a specific version by specifying it, for example,

  ::

    ./emsdk install 1.38.45


.. note:: When installing old versions from before the build infrastructure
   rewrite (anything before ``1.38.33``), you need to write something like
   ``./emsdk install sdk-1.38.20-64bit`` (add ``sdk-`` and ``-64bit``) as that
   was the naming convention at the time.

There are also "tip-of-tree builds", which are the very latest code that passes
integration tests on `Chromium CI
<https://ci.chromium.org/p/emscripten-releases>`_. This is updated much more
frequently than tagged releases, but may be less stable (we `tag releases
manually
<https://github.com/emscripten-core/emscripten/blob/main/docs/process.md#minor-version-updates-1xy-to-1xy1>`_
using a more careful procedure). Tip-of-tree builds may be useful for continuous
integration that uses the emsdk (as Emscripten's GitHub CI does), and you may
want to use it in your own CI as well, so that if you find a regression on your
project you can report it and prevent it from reaching a tagged release.
Tip-of-tree builds may also be useful if you want to test a feature that just landed
but didn't reach a release yet. To use a tip-of-tree build, use the ``tot``
target, and note that you must specify the backend explicitly,

  ::

    # Get a tip-of-tree 
    ./emsdk install tot

(In the above examples, we installed the various targets; remember to also
``activate`` them as in the full example from earlier.)

.. _platform-notes-installation_instructions-SDK:

Platform-specific notes
-----------------------

Windows
+++++++

#. Install Python 3.8 or newer.

  .. note:: Instead of running emscripten on Windows directly, you can use the
     Windows Subsystem for Linux to run it in a Linux environment.

macOS
+++++

.. note:: Emscripten requires macOS 10.14 Mojave or above.

If you use the Emscripten SDK, it includes a bundled version of Python 3.
Otherwise, you will need to manually install and use Python 3.8 or newer.

These instructions explain how to install **all** the :ref:`required tools
<toolchain-what-you-need>`. You can :ref:`test whether some of these are already
installed <toolchain-test-which-dependencies-are-installed>` on the platform and
skip those steps.

#. Install the *Xcode Command Line Tools*. These are a precondition for *git*.

  -  Install Xcode from the `macOS App Store <http://superuser.com/questions/455214/where-is-svn-on-os-x-mountain-lion>`_.
  -  In **Xcode | Preferences | Downloads**, install *Command Line Tools*.

#. Install *git*:

  - `Make sure the OS allows installing git <https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT202491>`_.
  - Install Xcode and the Xcode Command Line Tools (should already have been done). This will provide *git* to the system PATH (see `this stackoverflow post <http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9329243/xcode-4-4-command-line-tools>`_).
  - Download and install git directly from http://git-scm.com/.

#. Install *cmake* if you do not have it yet:

  -  Download and install latest CMake from `Kitware CMake downloads <http://www.cmake.org/download/>`_.

Linux
+++++

.. note:: *Emsdk* does not install any tools to the system, or otherwise
   interact with Linux package managers. All file changes are done inside the
   **emsdk/** directory.

- *Python* is not provided by *emsdk*. The user is expected to install this
  beforehand with the *system package manager*:

  ::

    # Install Python
    sudo apt-get install python3

    # Install CMake (optional, only needed for tests and building Binaryen or LLVM)
    sudo apt-get install cmake

- *Git* is not installed automatically. Git is only needed if you want to use tools from a development branch.

  ::

    # Install git
    sudo apt-get install git


Verifying the installation
==========================

The easiest way to verify the installation is to compile some code using
Emscripten.

You can jump ahead to the :ref:`Tutorial`, but if you have any problems building
you should run through the basic tests and troubleshooting instructions in
:ref:`verifying-the-emscripten-environment`.


.. _updating-the-emscripten-sdk:

Updating the SDK
================

.. tip:: You only need to install the SDK once! After that you can update to the
   latest SDK at any time using :ref:`Emscripten SDK (emsdk) <emsdk>`.

Type the following in a command prompt ::

  # Fetch the latest registry of available tools.
  ./emsdk update

  # Download and install the latest SDK tools.
  ./emsdk install latest

  # Set up the compiler configuration to point to the "latest" SDK.
  ./emsdk activate latest

  # Activate PATH and other environment variables in the current terminal
  source ./emsdk_env.sh

The package manager can do many other maintenance tasks ranging from fetching
specific old versions of the SDK through to using the :ref:`versions of the
tools on GitHub <emsdk-dev-sdk>` (or even your own fork). Check out all the
possibilities in the :ref:`emsdk_howto`.

.. _downloads-uninstall-the-sdk:

Uninstalling the Emscripten SDK
===============================

If you want to remove the whole SDK, just delete the directory containing the
SDK.

It is also possible to :ref:`remove specific tools in the SDK using emsdk
<emsdk-remove-tool-sdk>`.

Using the Docker image
======================

The entire Emscripten SDK is also available in the form of a `docker image
<https://hub.docker.com/r/emscripten/emsdk>`_.  For example::

  docker run --rm -v $(pwd):/src -u $(id -u):$(id -g) \
    emscripten/emsdk emcc helloworld.cpp -o helloworld.js

See the Docker Hub page for more details and examples.

Installation using unofficial packages
======================================

.. note:: The `emsdk` is the only officially supported way to use
    Emscripten that is supported by the Emscripten project, and the only one
    that we constantly test
    (`emsdk CI <https://github.com/emscripten-core/emsdk/blob/main/.circleci/config.yml>`_,
    `Emscripten GitHub CI <https://github.com/emscripten-core/emscripten/blob/main/.circleci/config.yml>`_,
    `Chromium CI <https://ci.chromium.org/p/emscripten-releases>`_).

While we don't officially support other ways of getting Emscripten, we definitely
appreciate the efforts by third parties to
`package Emscripten <https://github.com/emscripten-core/emscripten/blob/main/docs/packaging.md>`_
for users' convenience, and we'd like to help out, please get in touch if
you are such a packager!

The following is a partial list of such unofficial emscripten packages:

**Windows**
 - package info: `emscripten` in `chocolatey <https://chocolatey.org/packages/emscripten>`_
 - maintainer: @aminya

**Homebrew**
 - package info: https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/emscripten
 - maintainer: @chenrui333

**Arch Linux**
 - package info: https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/emscripten
 - maintainer: Sven-Hendrik Haase <svenstaro@archlinux.org>
