Installing

• npm, yarn, or pnpm
• git is recommended, but not required
• Recent version of node, which comes included in yarn or npm
• Mac and Linux users may need Watchman (not the npm version!)

First, we need to have a package manager installed. A package manager installs new dependencies from the command line, whether they are used as commands or in the app itself. Follow these installation instructions for npm, yarn, or pnpm. While these tools have somewhat different features, both are compatible with Ember app development.

We'll know installation is successful when npm --version, yarn --version, or pnpm --version returns the version number.

It is recommended to install the most recent LTS (long-term support) version of node. Restart the console after installing your package manager.

npm install -g ember-cli

This will make the ember command available throughout your project folders. The installation is successful if ember -v returns a version number. When it is run inside of an Ember app directory, it will show the version of the app, otherwise it will show the globally installed version of the CLI.

For Mac and Linux users, we recommend installing Watchman. Do not use the npm package by the same name.

When an Ember developer is running a server locally, the server should automatically and quickly rebuild when files change. However, for some versions of Mac or Linux, this auto-restarting does not work perfectly, due to problems in the operating system's built-in file watching tools. Watchman helps correct for that buggy and inefficient file watching behavior.

Mac users can install Watchman via Homebrew:

brew install watchman

Linux users should follow the steps on the Watchman website to build from the source.

If Watchman is not installed, a notice is displayed when using CLI commands, such as "Could not start watchman". It's safe to ignore this message. However, file-watching won't be as smooth as it is with Watchman.

Windows versions as far back as Vista are fully supported, although there are steps you can take to improve your experience. You can find more information about this in our section on Windows support.

Users of all operating systems can get community support for installation problems. A list of chat rooms, forums, and more are available here.