ligo/gitlab-pages/docs/setup/installation.md

---
id: installation
title: Installation
---

There are currently two ways to get started with Ligo, both of those will allow you to use the Ligo CLI with your contracts. You can choose to use either the Docker image, or to compile & build the Ligo CLI yourself.

## Dockerized installation (recommended)

> 🐳 You can find instructions on how to install Docker [here](https://docs.docker.com/install/).

<<<<<<< HEAD
Easiest way to use LIGO is through the Docker image available at [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/ligolang/ligo). Sources for the image can be found on [Gitlab](https://gitlab.com/ligolang/ligo/blob/dev/docker/Dockerfile).
You can either run the docker image yourself, or you can setup a global ligo executable as shown below.
=======
It's easiest to use LIGO through one of its Docker images. You have two options,
the first is to use our installation script to set up a globally available LIGO
executable (see below). This manages the Docker bits for you. The second
is to directly use the Docker image available at [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/ligolang/ligo).
This lets you run multiple versions and keep your installation(s) self contained, but requires more familiarity with Docker.
Sources for the image can be found on [Gitlab](https://gitlab.com/ligolang/ligo/blob/master/docker/Dockerfile).
If this is your first time using Docker, you probably want to set up a global ligo executable as shown below.
>>>>>>> Edit installation instructions to emphasize that Docker newbs should use the install script

### Setting up a globally available `ligo` executable

> You can install additional ligo versions by replacing `next` with the required version number

```zsh
# next (pre-release)
curl https://gitlab.com/ligolang/ligo/raw/dev/scripts/installer.sh | bash -s "next"
```
<!--
```
# e.g. 1.0.0 (stable)
curl https://gitlab.com/ligolang/ligo/raw/master/scripts/installer.sh | bash -s "1.0.0"
```
-->

**Verify your ligo installation by running:**
```zsh
ligo --help
```


## Manual installation (advanced)

For now, please refer to the steps described in the [Dockerfile](https://gitlab.com/ligolang/ligo/blob/master/docker/Dockerfile).