<p>This procedure has been verified to work on Windows, Cygwin, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD. It's likely to work on other platforms. If you have trouble with this install process, please write to <ahref="http://allmydata.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tahoe-dev">the tahoe-dev mailing list</a>, where friendly hackers will help you out.</p>
<p>Check if you already have an adequate version of Python installed by running <cite>python -V</cite>. Python v2.5 is best. Python v2.4 (v2.4.2 or greater) or Python v2.6 should also work, although Tahoe isn't as well-tested on them as it is on Python v2.5. Python v3 does not work. If you don't have one of these versions of Python installed, then follow the instructions on <ahref="http://python.org/download/">the Python download page</a> to download and install Python v2.5.
<p>Run <cite>python setup.py build</cite> to install the <cite>tahoe</cite> executable into a subdirectory of the current directory named <cite>bin</cite>.</p>
<p>Now you have the Tahoe source code installed and are ready to use it to form a decentralized filesystem. The <cite>tahoe</cite> executable in the <cite>bin</cite> directory can configure and launch your Tahoe node. See <ahref="running.html">running.html</a> for instructions on how to do that.</p>
<p>For more details, including platform-specific hints for Debian, Windows, and Mac systems, please see the <ahref="http://allmydata.org/trac/tahoe/wiki/InstallDetails">InstallDetails</a> wiki page.</p>