[[b2.installation]]
= Installation

To install B2 from an official release, as available on
https://github.com/bfgroup/b2/releases[GitHub],
follow these steps:

1.  Unpack the release. On the command line, go to the root of the
unpacked tree.
2.  Run either `.\bootstrap.bat` (on Windows), or `./bootstrap.sh` (on
other operating systems).
3.  Run
+
[source,shell]
----
$ ./b2 install --prefix=PREFIX
----
+
where PREFIX is a directory where you want B2 to be installed.
4.  Optionally, add `PREFIX/bin` to your PATH environment variable.

[source,shell]
----
$ PREFIX/bin/b2
----

A simple executable should be built.

NOTE: A C+\+11 capable compiler is needed to build the `b2` engine. But using
the `b2` engine and build system does not require C++11.
