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Install Stack

Stack can be installed on most Linux distributions, macOS and Windows. It will require at least about 5 GB of disk space, of which about 3 GB is for a single version of GHC and about 2 GB is for Stack's local copy of the Hackage package index.

Stack is open to supporting more operating systems. To request support for an operating system, please submit an issue at Stack's GitHub repository.

Info

In addition to the methods described below, Stack can also be installed using the separate GHCup installer for Haskell-related tools. GHCup provides Stack for some combinations of machine architecture and operating system not provided elsewhere. Unlike Stack, other build tools do not automatically install GHC. GHCup can be used to install GHC for those other tools. By default, the script to install GHCup (which can be run more than once) also configures Stack so that if Stack needs a version of GHC, GHCup takes over obtaining and installing that version.

Releases on GitHub

Stack executables are also available on the releases page of Stack's GitHub repository.

https://get.haskellstack.org/stable URLs

URLs with the format https://get.haskellstack.org/stable/<PLATFORM>.<EXTENSION> point to the latest stable release. See the manual download links for examples.

For most Linux distributions, the easiest way to install Stack directly (rather than use GHCup) is to command:

curl -sSL https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

or:

wget -qO- https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

Note

The script at get.haskellstack.org will ask for root access using sudo. It needs such access in order to use your platform's package manager to install dependencies and to install to /usr/local/bin. If you prefer more control, follow the manual installation instructions for your platform below.

Manual download

Manual download for Linux distributions depends on your machine architecture, x86_64 or AArch64/ARM64.

  • Click to download an archive file with the latest release.

  • Extract the archive and place the stack executable somewhere on your PATH (see the Path section below).

  • Ensure you have the required system dependencies installed. These include GCC, GNU Make, xz, perl, libgmp, libffi, and zlib. We also recommend Git and GPG.

The installation of system dependencies will depend on the package manager for your Linux distribution. Notes are provided for Arch Linux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo and Ubuntu.

sudo pacman -S make gcc ncurses git gnupg xz zlib gmp libffi zlib
sudo yum install perl make automake gcc gmp-devel libffi zlib zlib-devel xz tar git gnupg
sudo apt-get install g++ gcc libc6-dev libffi-dev libgmp-dev make xz-utils zlib1g-dev git gnupg netbase
sudo dnf install perl make automake gcc gmp-devel libffi zlib zlib-devel xz tar git gnupg

Ensure you have the ncurses package with USE=tinfo. Without it, Stack will not be able to install GHC.

sudo apt-get install g++ gcc libc6-dev libffi-dev libgmp-dev make xz-utils zlib1g-dev git gnupg netbase
  • Click to download an archive file with the latest release.

  • Extract the archive and place the stack executable somewhere on your PATH (see the Path section below).

  • Ensure you have the required system dependencies installed. These include GCC, GNU Make, xz, perl, libgmp, libffi, and zlib. We also recommend Git and GPG.

The installation of system dependencies will depend on the package manager for your Linux distribution. Notes are provided for Arch Linux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Gentoo and Ubuntu.

sudo pacman -S make gcc ncurses git gnupg xz zlib gmp libffi zlib
sudo yum install perl make automake gcc gmp-devel libffi zlib zlib-devel xz tar git gnupg
sudo apt-get install g++ gcc libc6-dev libffi-dev libgmp-dev make xz-utils zlib1g-dev git gnupg netbase
sudo dnf install perl make automake gcc gmp-devel libffi zlib zlib-devel xz tar git gnupg

Ensure you have the ncurses package with USE=tinfo. Without it, Stack will not be able to install GHC.

sudo apt-get install g++ gcc libc6-dev libffi-dev libgmp-dev make xz-utils zlib1g-dev git gnupg netbase

Linux packages

Some Linux distributions have official or unofficial packages for Stack, including Arch Linux, Debian, Fedora, NixOS, openSUSE/SUSE Linux Enterprise, and Ubuntu. However, the Stack version available as a Linux package may lag behind Stack's current version and, in some cases, the lag may be significant.

Linux packages that lag behind Stack's current version

If Stack version available as a Linux package lags behind Stack's current version, using stack upgrade --binary-only is recommended after installing it.

The Arch extra package repository provides an official x86_64 package. You can install it with the command:

sudo pacman -S stack

The Arch User Repository (AUR) also provides:

There are Debian packages for Buster and up. However, the distribution's Stack version lags behind.

Fedora includes Stack, but its Stack version may lag behind.

Users who follow the nixos-unstable channel or the Nixpkgs master branch can install the latest Stack release into their profile with the command:

nix-env -f "<nixpkgs>" -iA stack

Alternatively, the package can be built from source as follows.

  1. Clone the git repo, with the command:

    git clone https://github.com/commercialhaskell/stack.git
    
  2. Create a shell.nix file with the command:

    cabal2nix --shell ./. --no-check --no-haddock > shell.nix
    

    Note that the tests fail on NixOS, so disable them with --no-check. Also, Haddock currently doesn't work for Stack, so --no-haddock disables it.

  3. Install Stack to your user profile with the command:

    nix-env -i -f shell.nix
    

For more information on using Stack together with Nix, please see the NixOS manual section on Stack.

There is also an unofficial package for openSUSE or SUSE Linux Enterprise. Its Stack version may lag behind. To install it:

sudo zypper in stack
sudo zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/haskell/openSUSE_Leap_42.1/devel:languages:haskell.repo
sudo zypper in stack
sudo zypper ar http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/devel:/languages:/haskell/SLE_12/devel:languages:haskell.repo
sudo zypper in stack

There are Ubuntu packages for Ubuntu 20.04 and up.

It is possible to set up auto-completion of Stack commands. For further information, see the shell auto-completion documentation.

Most users of Stack on macOS will also have up to date tools for software development (see Xcode Command Line Tools below).

From late 2020, Apple began a transition from Mac computers with Intel processors (Intel-based Mac) to Mac computers with Apple silicon.

Intel-based Mac computers have processors with x86_64 architectures. For most Intel-based Mac computers, the easiest way to install Stack directly (rather than use GHCup) is to command:

curl -sSL https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

or:

wget -qO- https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

Note

The script at get.haskellstack.org will ask for root access using sudo. It needs such access in order to use your platform's package manager to install dependencies and to install to /usr/local/bin. If you prefer more control, follow the manual installation instructions below.

Info

We generally test on the current version of macOS and do our best to keep it compatible with the three most recent major versions. Stack may also work on older versions.

Manual download

  • Click to download an archive file with the latest release for x86_64 architectures.

  • Extract the archive and place stack somewhere on your PATH (see the Path section below).

  • Now you can run Stack from the command line in a terminal.

Mac computers with Apple silicon have an M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra or M2 chip. These chips use an architecture known as ARM64 or AArch64.

For Mac computers with Apple silicon, the easiest way to install Stack directly (rather than use GHCup) is to command:

curl -sSL https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

or:

wget -qO- https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

Note

The script at get.haskellstack.org will ask for root access using sudo. It needs such access in order to use your platform's package manager to install dependencies and to install to /usr/local/bin. If you prefer more control, follow the manual installation instructions below.

The installation of Stack or some packages (e.g. network) requiring C source compilation might fail with configure: error: C compiler cannot build executables. In that case you should pass -arch arm64 as part of the CFLAGS environment variable. This setting will be picked up by the C compiler of your choice.

# Assuming BASH below

# passing CFLAGS in-line with the command giving rise to the error
CFLAGS="-arch arm64 ${CFLAGS:-}" some_command_to_install_stack
CFLAGS="-arch arm64 ${CFLAGS:-}" stack [build|install]

# -- OR --

# ~/.bash_profile
# NOTE: only do this if you do not have to cross-compile, or remember to unset
# CFLAGS when needed
export CFLAGS="-arch arm64 ${CFLAGS:-}"

The setting instructs the C compiler to compile objects for ARM64. These can then be linked with libraries built for ARM64. Without the instruction, the C compiler, invoked by Cabal running in x86-64, would compile x86-64 objects and attempt to link them with existing ARM64 libraries, resulting in the error above.

Manual download

  • Click to download an archive file with the latest release for AArch64 architectures.

  • Extract the archive and place stack somewhere on your PATH (see the Path section below).

  • Now you can run Stack from the command line in a terminal.

LLVM

The documentation for each version of GHC identifies the versions of LLVM that are supported. That is summarised in the table below for recent versions of GHC:

GHC version LLVM versions
9.8.2 11 to 15
9.6.4 11 to 15
9.4.8 10 to 14
9.2.8 9 to 12
9.0.2 9, 10 or 12
8.10.7 9 to 12

Using Homebrew

Homebrew is a popular package manager for macOS. If you have its brew tool installed, you can just command:

brew install haskell-stack
  • The Homebrew formula and bottles are unofficial and lag slightly behind new Stack releases, but tend to be updated within a day or two.

  • Normally, Homebrew will install from a pre-built binary (aka "pour from a bottle"), but if it starts trying to build everything from source (which will take hours), see their FAQ on the topic.

Xcode Command Line Tools

macOS does not come with all the tools required for software development but a collection of useful tools, known as the Xcode Command Line Tools, is readily available. A version of that collection is provided with each version of Xcode (Appleā€™s integrated development environment) and can also be obtained from Apple separately from Xcode. The collection also includes the macOS SDK (software development kit). The macOS SDK provides header files for macOS APIs.

If you use a command that refers to a common Xcode Command Line Tool and the Xcode Command Line Tools are not installed, macOS may prompt you to install the tools.

macOS also comes with a command line tool, xcode-select, that can be used to obtain the Xcode Command Line Tools. Command xcode-select --print-path to print the path to the currently selected (active) developer directory. If the directory does not exist, or is empty, then the Xcode Command Line Tools are not installed.

If the Xcode Command Line Tools are not installed, command xcode-select --install to open a user interface dialog to request automatic installation of the tools.

An upgrade of macOS may sometimes require the existing Xcode Command Line Tools to be uninstalled and an updated version of the tools to be installed. The existing tools can be uninstalled by deleting the directory reported by xcode-select --print-path.

If, after the installation of Stack, running stack setup fails with configure: error: cannot run C compiled programs. that indicates that the Xcode Command Line Tools are not installed.

If building fails with messages that *.h files are not found, that may also indicate that Xcode Command Line Tools are not up to date.

Xcode 10 provided an SDK for macOS 10.14 (Mojave) and changed the location of the macOS system headers. As a workaround, an extra package was provided by Apple which installed the headers to the base system under /usr/include.

Auto-completion of Stack commands

It is possible to set up auto-completion of Stack commands. For further information, see the shell auto-completion documentation.

On 64-bit Windows, the easiest way to install Stack directly (rather than use GHCup) is to download and use the Windows installer.

Long user PATH environment variable

The Windows installer for Stack 2.9.1, 2.9.3 and 2.11.1 (only) will replace the user PATH environment variable (rather than append to it) if a 1024 character limit is exceeded. If the content of your existing user PATH is long, preserve it before running the installer.

Anti-virus software

Systems with antivirus software may need to add Stack to the list of 'trusted' applications.

You may see a "Windows Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognized app from starting" warning when you try to run the installer. If so, click on More info, and then click on the Run anyway button that appears.

We recommend installing to the default location with the installer, as that will make stack install and stack upgrade work correctly out of the box.

Manual download

  • Click to download an archive file with the latest release.

  • Unpack the archive and place stack.exe somewhere on your PATH (see the Path section below).

  • Now you can run Stack from the command line in a terminal.

Path

You can install Stack by copying the executable file anywhere on your PATH. A good place to install is the same directory where Stack itself will install executables, which depends on the operating system:

Stack installs executables to:

$HOME/.local/bin

If you don't have that directory in your PATH, you may need to update your PATH. That can be done by editing the ~/.bashrc file.

Stack installs executables to:

%APPDATA%\local\bin

For example: C:\Users\<user-name>\AppData\Roaming\local\bin.

If you don't have that directory in your PATH, you may need to update your PATH. That can be done by searching for 'Edit Environment variables for your account' under Start.

Note

If you used GHCup to install Stack, GHCup puts executable files in the bin directory in the GHCup root directory.

China-based users

If you're attempting to install Stack from within China:

  • As of 24 February 2020, the download link has limited connectivity from within mainland China. If this is the case, please proceed by manually downloading (ideally via a VPN) and installing Stack per the instructions found on this page pertinent to your operating system.

  • After installation, your config.yaml file will need to be configured before Stack can download large files consistently from within China (without reliance on a VPN). Please add the following to the bottom of the config.yaml file:

###ADD THIS IF YOU LIVE IN CHINA
setup-info-locations:
- "http://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/stackage/stack-setup.yaml"
urls:
  latest-snapshot: http://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/stackage/snapshots.json

package-indices:
- download-prefix: http://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/hackage/

Using an HTTP proxy

To use Stack behind a HTTP proxy with IP address IP and port PORT, first set up an environment variable http_proxy and then run the Stack command. For example:

export http_proxy=IP:PORT
stack install

On most operating systems, it is not mandatory for programs to follow the "system-wide" HTTP proxy. Some programs, such as browsers, do honor this "system-wide" HTTP proxy setting, while other programs, including Bash, do not. That means configuring "http proxy setting" in your System Preferences (macOS) would not result in Stack traffic going through the proxy.

$Env:http_proxy=IP:PORT
stack install

It is not mandatory for programs to follow the "system-wide" HTTP proxy. Some programs, such as browsers, do honor this "system-wide" HTTP proxy setting, while other programs do not. That means configuring "http proxy setting" in your Control Panel would not result in Stack traffic going through the proxy.

Upgrade Stack

There are different approaches to upgrading Stack, which vary as between Unix-like operating systems (including macOS) and Windows.

Note

If you used GHCup to install Stack, you should also use GHCup to upgrade Stack. GHCup uses an executable named stack to manage versions of Stack, through a file stack.shim. Stack will likely overwrite the executable on upgrade.

There are essentially four different approaches:

  1. The stack upgrade command, which downloads a Stack executable, or builds it from source, and installs it to Stack's 'local-bin' directory (see stack path --local-bin). If different and permitted, it also installs a copy in the directory of the current Stack executable. (If copying is not permitted, copy stack from Stack's 'local-bin' directory to the system location afterward.) You can use stack upgrade to get the latest official release, and stack upgrade --git to install from GitHub and live on the bleeding edge. Make sure the location of the Stack executable is on the PATH. See the Path section above.

  2. If you're using a package manager and are happy with sticking with the officially released binaries from the distribution (which may the lag behind the latest version of Stack significantly), simply follow your normal package manager strategies for upgrading. For example:

    apt-get update
    apt-get upgrade
    
  3. The get.haskellstack.org script supports the -f argument to over-write the current Stack executable. For example, command:

    curl -sSL https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh -s - -f
    

    or:

    wget -qO- https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh -s - -f
    
  4. Manually follow the steps above to download the newest executable from the GitHub releases page and replace the old executable.

There are essentially two different approaches:

  1. The stack upgrade command, which downloads a Stack executable, or builds it from source, and installs it to Stack's 'local-bin' directory (see stack path --local-bin). If different and permitted, it also installs a copy in the directory of the current Stack executable. (If copying is not permitted, copy stack from Stack's 'local-bin' directory to the system location afterward.) You can use stack upgrade to get the latest official release, and stack upgrade --git to install from GitHub and live on the bleeding edge. Make sure the location of the Stack executable is on the PATH. See the Path section above.

  2. Manually follow the steps above to download the newest executable from the GitHub releases page and replace the old executable.

Install earlier versions

To install a specific version of Stack, navigate to the desired version on the GitHub release page, and click the appropriate link under its "Assets" drop-down menu.

Alternatively, use the URL https://github.com/commercialhaskell/stack/releases/download/vVERSION/stack-VERSION-PLATFORM.EXTENSION. For example, the tarball for Stack version 2.1.0.1, osx-x86_64 is at https://github.com/commercialhaskell/stack/releases/download/v2.1.0.1/stack-2.1.0.1-osx-x86_64.tar.gz.

Here's a snippet for appveyor.yml files, borrowed from dhall's appveyor.yml. Change the values of PATH and VERSION as needed.

install:
  - set PATH=C:\Program Files\Git\mingw64\bin;%PATH%
  - curl --silent --show-error --output stack.zip --location "https://github.com/commercialhaskell/stack/releases/download/v%STACK_VERSION%/stack-%STACK_VERSION%-windows-x86_64.zip"
  - 7z x stack.zip stack.exe
  - stack setup > nul
  - git submodule update --init --recursive