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Elara is currently in active development and may be unstable. Make sure to join the Discord server for the latest updates and troubleshooting help.

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Prerequisites

Before installing Elara, ensure you have the following:

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Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

Elara compiles to JVM bytecode, so you’ll need a Java runtime to execute compiled programs.
  • Java 8 or higher is required
  • You can verify your Java installation by running:
java -version
If Java is not installed, download it from:

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Build tools

To build Elara from source, you’ll need:
  • GHC (Glasgow Haskell Compiler) - Version 9.4 or higher recommended
  • Cabal - Haskell’s build tool (version 3.0 or higher)
  • Git - For cloning the repository
Install GHC and Cabal using GHCup (recommended): 
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://get-ghcup.haskell.org | sh

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Building from source

Elara is currently distributed as source code. Follow these steps to build the compiler:
1

Clone the repository

Clone the Elara repository from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/ElaraLang/elara.git
cd elara
2

Build the compiler

Use Cabal to build the Elara compiler:
cabal build
This will download dependencies and compile the Elara compiler. The first build may take several minutes.
3

Build the Java standard library

Elara requires a Java standard library to be compiled before running programs:
cd jvm-stdlib
javac Elara/Error.java Elara/Func.java Elara/Func2.java Elara/IO.java Elara/Int.java Elara/Prelude.java Elara/Unit.java Elara/Func0.java
cd ..
You’ll need to rebuild the standard library whenever you pull updates that modify these files.
4

Run the compiler

You can now run the Elara compiler using Cabal:
cabal run elara -- --help
This should display the compiler’s help information.

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Verify installation

To verify your installation is working correctly: 
# Display the compiler help
cabal run elara -- --help
You should see output showing the available commands:
  • build - Compile an Elara program
  • run - Compile and run an Elara program

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Optional: Install globally

For convenience, you can install the Elara executable globally: 
cabal install
This will install the elara binary to ~/.cabal/bin/. Make sure this directory is in your PATH: 
export PATH="$HOME/.cabal/bin:$PATH"
Add this line to your shell configuration file (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.) to make it permanent. Once installed globally, you can run: 
elara --help

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Troubleshooting

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Build fails with dependency errors

If the build fails due to missing dependencies, try updating your package index: 
cabal update
cabal build

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Java standard library errors

If you encounter errors about missing Java classes at runtime:
  1. Ensure you’ve compiled the Java standard library (Step 3 above)
  2. Check that you’re running programs from the root directory of the Elara repository
  3. Verify the jvm-stdlib directory contains .class files

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GHC version issues

Elara requires GHC 9.4 or higher. If you have an older version: 
ghcup install ghc 9.8.1
ghcup set ghc 9.8.1

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Next steps

Now that you have Elara installed, you’re ready to write your first program!

Quickstart guide

Learn how to create and run your first Elara program

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