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last_modified 2026-05-21
title Installation
description A Guide to installing Deno on different operating systems. Includes instructions for Windows, macOS, and Linux using various package managers, manual installation methods, and Docker containers.
oldUrl
/runtime/manual/fundamentals/installation
/runtime/manual/getting_started/installation
/runtime/fundamentals/installation

Deno works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Deno is a single binary executable. It has no external dependencies. On macOS, both M1 (arm64) and Intel (x64) executables are provided. On Windows, both ARM64 and x64 are supported. On Linux, only x64 is supported.

Download and install

deno_install provides convenience scripts to download and install the binary.

Using Shell:

curl -fsSL https://deno.land/install.sh | sh

Using npm:

npm install -g deno

The startup time of the Deno command gets affected if it's installed via npm. We recommend the shell install script for better performance.

Using Homebrew:

brew install deno

Using MacPorts:

sudo port install deno

Using Nix:

nix-shell -p deno

Using asdf:

asdf plugin add deno https://github.com/asdf-community/asdf-deno.git

# Download and install the latest version of Deno
asdf install deno latest

# To set as the default version of Deno globally
asdf set -u deno latest

# To set as the default version of Deno locally (current project only)
asdf set deno latest

Using vfox:

vfox add deno

# Download and install the latest version of Deno
vfox install deno@latest

# To set the version of Deno globally
vfox use --global deno

NOTE: Deno requires Windows 10 version 1709, or Windows Server 2016 version 1709 and up, due to requiring IsWow64Process2.

Using PowerShell (Windows):

irm https://deno.land/install.ps1 | iex

Using npm:

npm install -g deno

The startup time of the Deno command gets affected if it's installed via npm. We recommend the PowerShell install script for better performance.

Using Scoop:

scoop install deno

Using Chocolatey:

choco install deno

Using Winget:

winget install DenoLand.Deno

Using vfox:

vfox add deno

# Download and install the latest version of Deno
vfox install deno@latest

# To set the version of Deno globally
vfox use --global deno

Using Shell:

curl -fsSL https://deno.land/install.sh | sh

Using npm:

npm install -g deno

The startup time of the Deno command gets affected if it's installed via npm. We recommend the shell install script for better performance.

Using Nix:

nix-shell -p deno

Using asdf:

asdf plugin add deno https://github.com/asdf-community/asdf-deno.git

# Download and install the latest version of Deno
asdf install deno latest

# To set as the default version of Deno globally
asdf set -u deno latest

# To set as the default version of Deno locally (current project only)
asdf set deno latest

Using vfox:

vfox add deno

# Download and install the latest version of Deno
vfox install deno@latest

# To set the version of Deno globally
vfox use --global deno

You can also build and install from source using Cargo:

cargo install deno --locked

Manual download

Deno binaries can also be installed manually, by downloading a zip file at github.com/denoland/deno/releases. These packages contain just a single executable file. You will have to set the executable bit on macOS and Linux.

Docker

For more information and instructions on the official Docker images: https://github.com/denoland/deno_docker

Installation location

Binary location

When installed via the shell or PowerShell script, the deno binary is placed in the following default location:

Platform Default path
macOS / Linux $HOME/.deno/bin/deno
Windows %USERPROFILE%\.deno\bin\deno.exe

Override the install directory by setting the DENO_INSTALL environment variable before running the install script.

When installed via a package manager (Homebrew, Scoop, etc.), the binary location is managed by that package manager.

Cache location

Downloaded dependencies and compiled artefacts are stored in Deno's cache directory. It defaults to a platform-specific path:

Platform Default path
Linux $HOME/.cache/deno
macOS $HOME/Library/Caches/deno
Windows %LOCALAPPDATA%\deno

Override it by setting the DENO_DIR environment variable (see Environment variables). Run deno info to print the directory currently in use.

Testing your installation

To test your installation, run deno --version. If this prints the Deno version to the console the installation was successful.

Use deno help to see help text documenting Deno's flags and usage. Get a detailed guide on the CLI here.

If you see "command not found"

If deno --version reports command not found, the install directory isn't on your PATH yet. To fix this:

  • Open a new terminal window or restart your shell so the updated PATH is picked up. This is the most common cause — the install script updates your shell rc file, but existing shell sessions don't see the change until they reload.
  • Confirm the install directory is on your PATH. The shell install script defaults to ~/.deno/bin on macOS and Linux; for npm-based installs, run npm config get prefix to find the directory containing the global bin.
  • If you customised the install location, the shell install script's install root can be overridden with the DENO_INSTALL environment variable, in which case the binary lives at $DENO_INSTALL/bin/deno.

Updating

To update a previously installed version of Deno, you can run:

deno upgrade

Or using Winget (Windows):

winget upgrade DenoLand.Deno

This will fetch the latest release from github.com/denoland/deno/releases, unzip it, and replace your current executable with it.

You can also use this utility to install a specific version of Deno:

deno upgrade --version 1.0.1

Building from source

Information about how to build from source can be found in the Building from source guide.