Installation

macOS Installation

GUI Installer (Recommended)

The easiest way to install Droe on macOS is using our graphical installer:

Download the latest DMG from GitHub Releases
Mount the DMG file by double-clicking it
Drag the Droe Installer to your Applications folder
Run the installer and follow the prompts

The installer will:

Install Droe tools to ~/.droelang/
Add Droe to your PATH
Configure your shell (bash, zsh, fish)

Command Line Installation

Alternatively, install via the command line:

curl -sSL https://droe.dev/install | sh

This script will download and install the latest version of Droe.

Manual Installation

For more control over the installation process:

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following installed:

Node.js (v16 or later) - for running WebAssembly modules

wat2wasm - for compiling WebAssembly text format

# Install via wabt (WebAssembly Binary Toolkit)
brew install wabt

Install Droe

Download the latest release
Extract to your preferred location
Add to PATH by adding this to your shell profile:
```
export PATH="$HOME/.droelang:$PATH"
```
Reload your shell or run source ~/.bashrc (or ~/.zshrc)

Verify Installation

Test your installation:

# Check Droe version
droe --version

# Create a test file
echo 'display "Hello, Droe!"' > test.droe

# Run the test
droe run test.droe

You should see:

Hello, Droe!

Development Environment Setup

IDE Support

While Droe works with any text editor, here are some recommendations:

Visual Studio Code

Syntax highlighting: Install the Droe extension (coming soon)
File associations: Add .droe files to your settings

Vim/Neovim

Syntax highlighting: Available in our GitHub repository

Emacs

Major mode: Available in our GitHub repository

Shell Completion

Enable tab completion for the droe command:

::: code-group

# Add to ~/.bashrc
eval "$(droe completion bash)"

# Add to ~/.zshrc
eval "$(droe completion zsh)"

# Add to ~/.config/fish/config.fish
droe completion fish | source

:::

Project Structure

Droe projects follow a simple structure:

my-project/
├── droeconfig.json     # Project configuration
├── src/              # Source files (.droe)
│   ├── main.droe
│   └── utils.droe
└── build/            # Compiled output
    ├── main.wat      # WebAssembly text
    ├── main.wasm     # WebAssembly binary
    └── ...

Initialize a new project:

mkdir my-project
cd my-project
droe init

This creates the basic structure and droeconfig.json:

{
  "name": "my-project",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "srcDir": "src",
  "buildDir": "build",
  "main": "main.droe"
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

`droe: command not found`

Solution: Ensure ~/.droelang is in your PATH
Check: Run echo $PATH and verify the directory is listed
Fix: Add export PATH="$HOME/.droelang:$PATH" to your shell profile

`wat2wasm: command not found`

Solution: Install the WebAssembly Binary Toolkit
macOS: brew install wabt
Linux: Check your package manager for wabt or webassembly-binary-toolkit

`node: command not found`

Solution: Install Node.js from nodejs.org
Version: Droe requires Node.js v16 or later

Permission denied errors

Solution: The installer might need to modify shell configuration files
Fix: Run chmod +x ~/.droelang/droe to ensure the executable has correct permissions

Getting Help

Still having issues? Here's how to get help:

Check logs: Installation logs are saved to ~/.droelang/install.log
GitHub Issues: Search existing issues or create a new one
Discussions: Ask questions in our GitHub Discussions
Debug info: Run droe doctor for system diagnostic information

Next Steps

Now that Droe is installed, let's create your first project:

👉 Quick Start Guide - Build your first Droe program

Or explore other topics:

Project Structure - Understanding Droe projects
Basic Syntax - Learn the language fundamentals
CLI Reference - Complete command-line reference