This guide covers all methods for installing the Mana programming language on your system.

Quick Install

Windows

Open PowerShell and run:

irm https://www.mana-lang.org/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux

Open a terminal and run:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://www.mana-lang.org/install.sh | sh

After installation, restart your terminal and verify:

mana --version

What Gets Installed

The installer sets up the complete Mana toolchain:

The installer also:

• Adds ~/.mana/bin to your PATH
• Sets the MANA_HOME environment variable

Prerequisites

Mana compiles to C++17, so you need a C++ compiler to build the generated code.

Windows

Option 1: Visual Studio 2022 (Recommended)

1. Download Visual Studio 2022
2. Install the "Desktop development with C++" workload
3. The cl compiler will be available in the Developer Command Prompt

Option 2: MinGW-w64

1. Download MinGW-w64
2. Add the bin directory to your PATH
3. Use g++ to compile

Option 3: LLVM/Clang

1. Download LLVM
2. Add to PATH during installation
3. Use clang++ to compile

macOS

Install Xcode Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

This provides both clang++ and g++ (which is aliased to clang on macOS).

Linux

Debian/Ubuntu:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install g++ build-essential

Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install gcc-c++

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S gcc

Installation Options

Windows PowerShell Options

# Install to a custom directory
.\mana-init.ps1 -InstallDir "C:\tools\mana"
 
# Install without modifying PATH (manual setup)
.\mana-init.ps1 -NoModifyPath
 
# Non-interactive installation (skip prompts)
.\mana-init.ps1 -Yes
 
# Uninstall Mana
.\mana-init.ps1 -Uninstall

Unix Shell Options

# Install to a custom directory
./mana-init.sh --prefix /opt/mana
 
# Uninstall Mana
./mana-init.sh --uninstall
 
# Show all options
./mana-init.sh --help

Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually or the automated installer doesn't work for your system:

1. Download the Release

Download the appropriate archive from the releases page:

2. Extract the Archive

Windows:

Expand-Archive mana-X.X.X-windows-x64.zip -DestinationPath C:\mana

Unix:

tar -xzf mana-X.X.X-linux-x64.tar.gz
mv mana-X.X.X ~/.mana

3. Add to PATH

Windows (PowerShell):

# Add to user PATH permanently
$path = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PATH", "$path;C:\mana\bin", "User")
 
# Set MANA_HOME
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("MANA_HOME", "C:\mana", "User")

Unix (bash/zsh):

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export MANA_HOME="$HOME/.mana"
export PATH="$MANA_HOME/bin:$PATH"

Unix (fish):

# Add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
set -gx MANA_HOME "$HOME/.mana"
set -gx PATH "$MANA_HOME/bin" $PATH

4. Verify Installation

mana --version

Building from Source

If you want the latest development version or need to build for an unsupported platform:

Requirements

• CMake 3.14 or later
• C++17 compatible compiler
• Git (to clone the repository)

Build Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/klaus-i-am/mana-lang.git
cd mana-lang
 
# Create build directory
mkdir build && cd build
 
# Configure and build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build . --config Release
 
# The binaries are now in build/Release/ (Windows) or build/ (Unix)

Install from Local Build

After building, you can use the installer to install your local build:

Windows:

.\installer\mana-init.ps1

Unix:

./installer/mana-init.sh

The installer will detect and use the local build automatically.

Build Scripts

For convenience, build scripts are provided:

Windows:

scripts\build.bat release
scripts\build.bat test
scripts\build.bat clean

Unix:

./scripts/build.sh release
./scripts/build.sh test
./scripts/build.sh clean

Directory Structure

After installation, your Mana installation looks like this:

~/.mana/                    # MANA_HOME
├── bin/
│   ├── mana               # Main compiler executable
│   ├── mana-lsp           # Language Server Protocol server
│   └── mana-debug         # Debug adapter
├── include/
│   └── mana_runtime.h     # C++ runtime header (include when compiling)
├── examples/
│   ├── hello.mana
│   ├── structs.mana
│   └── ...
└── uninstall.sh           # Uninstaller script (or .ps1 on Windows)

Environment Variables

Uninstalling

Using the Uninstaller

Windows:

# Option 1: Run the uninstaller in MANA_HOME
~\.mana\uninstall.ps1
 
# Option 2: Use the installer with -Uninstall
.\mana-init.ps1 -Uninstall

Unix:

# Option 1: Run the uninstaller in MANA_HOME
~/.mana/uninstall.sh
 
# Option 2: Use the installer with --uninstall
./mana-init.sh --uninstall

Manual Uninstallation

1. Remove the installation directory:

   Copy

   rm -rf ~/.mana

2. Remove from PATH and MANA_HOME from your shell configuration file

3. On Windows, you may also need to remove environment variables:

   Copy

   [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("MANA_HOME", $null, "User")

IDE Integration

VS Code

Install the Mana extension for syntax highlighting, diagnostics, and IntelliSense:

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Mana"
4. Install the extension

Or from the command line:

code --install-extension mana-lang.mana

The extension automatically uses mana-lsp for language features.

Other Editors

Any editor supporting LSP can use mana-lsp. Configure your editor to use:

mana-lsp

as the language server command for .mana files.

Troubleshooting

"mana: command not found"

1. Restart your terminal - PATH changes require a new terminal session
2. Check if Mana is in your PATH:

   Copy

   echo $PATH | tr ':' '\n' | grep mana

3. Source your shell config manually:

   Copy

   source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

"Cannot find mana_runtime.h"

When compiling generated C++ code, include the Mana include directory:

g++ -std=c++17 -I ~/.mana/include your_program.cpp -o your_program

Or on Windows:

cl /std:c++17 /I %USERPROFILE%\.mana\include your_program.cpp

Windows: "Running scripts is disabled"

Enable PowerShell script execution:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Build Errors: Missing C++ Compiler

Make sure you have a C++ compiler installed (see Prerequisites).

Windows: "curl is not recognized"

Use PowerShell's Invoke-RestMethod instead:

irm https://www.mana-lang.org/install.ps1 | iex

Permission Denied on Unix

Make the installer executable:

chmod +x mana-init.sh
./mana-init.sh

Updating Mana

To update to a new version, simply run the installer again:

Windows:

irm https://www.mana-lang.org/install.ps1 | iex

Unix:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://www.mana-lang.org/install.sh | sh

The installer will overwrite the existing installation with the new version.

Getting Help

• Documentation: https://www.mana-lang.org/docs
• Report Issues: https://github.com/klaus-i-am/mana-lang/issues
• Discussions: https://github.com/klaus-i-am/mana-lang/discussions

Next Steps

Now that Mana is installed, let's write your first program in Hello World.