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1.. _ch-installation:
2
3Installation
4============
5
6A complete installation of the MiniZinc system comprises the MiniZinc *compiler tool chain*, one or more *solvers*, and (optionally) the *MiniZinc IDE*.
7
8The easiest way to get a full, working MiniZinc system is to use the **bundled binary packages**, available from http://www.minizinc.org/software.html.
9
10The bundled binary packages contain the compiler and IDE, as well as the following solvers: Gecode, Chuffed, COIN-OR CBC, and a interfaces to the Gurobi and CPLEX solvers (the Gurobi and CPLEX libraries are not included).
11
12Alternatively, it is possible to compile all components from source code, as described in :ref:`ch-installation_detailed`.
13
14Microsoft Windows
15-----------------
16
17To install the bundled binary packages, simply download the installer, double-click to execute it, and follow the prompts. **Note:** 32 bit Windows installations are no longer supported in the bundled binary packages.
18
19After installation is complete, you can find the MiniZinc IDE installed as a Windows application. The file extensions ``.mzn``, ``.dzn`` and ``.fzn`` are linked to the IDE, so double-clicking any MiniZinc file should open it in the IDE.
20
21If you want to use MiniZinc from a command prompt, you need to add the installation directory to the PATH environment variable. In a Windows command prompt you could use the following command:
22
23.. parsed-literal::
24
25 C:\\>setx PATH "%PATH%;C:\\Program Files\\MiniZinc |release| (bundled)\\"
26
27Linux
28-----
29
30The MiniZinc bundled binary distribution for Linux is provided using three different distribution methods: *Snap*, *AppImage*, and an *archive* containing all necessary files. The capabilities of each package is the same, but it depends on your linux distribution which method is the easiest to use.
31**Note:** linux bundles are compiled to be compatible with many linux distributions using a *x86_64* architecture, but some dependencies on low level libraries cannot be avoided. Make use of the MiniZinc issue trackers if you encounter any problems.
32
33Snap
34~~~~
35
36The MiniZinc Snap is the easiest way to install the MiniZinc bundle if Snap (https://snapcraft.io/) is available on you system. The installation will provide the ``minizinc`` command within terminal environments and will add an application entry for the MiniZincIDE. The IDE can be started from the command line using ``minizinc.ide``. The following command will commence the installation the MiniZinc snap:
37
38.. code-block:: bash
39
40 $ snap install minizinc --classic
41
42**Note:** the MiniZinc snap requires the *classic* permission model to access solvers that are installed somewhere else on your system.
43
44An advantage of using the MiniZinc snap is that it will be automatically updated whenever a new version of the snap is available. Using snap channels it is also possible to automatically follow the developmental versions of MiniZinc. More information about the MiniZinc snap can be found in the Snap Store.
45
46.. only:: builder_html
47
48 .. image:: https://snapcraft.io/static/images/badges/en/snap-store-black.svg
49 :target: https://snapcraft.io/minizinc
50 :alt: MiniZinc in the snap store
51 :align: center
52
53AppImage
54~~~~~~~~
55
56The MiniZinc AppImage provides a way of installing the MiniZinc bundles without any added requirements. AppImages (https://appimage.org/) provide self-contained versions of applications with all their required dependencies. To use the MiniZinc AppImage you simply download the AppImage, make it executable, and run:
57
58.. parsed-literal::
59
60 $ chmod +x MiniZincIDE-|release|-x86_64.AppImage
61 $ ./MiniZincIDE-|release|-x86_64.AppImage
62
63AppImages have no standard integration with the desktop environment. A script has been added to the MiniZinc AppImage to integrate the application into both the terminal and the desktop environment. The one requirement for this script is that the AppImage *CANNOT be moved* after the install script has been run. A suggestion would be to store the AppImages in ``~/Applications/`` or ``/opt/Applications/``. The following commands move the AppImage to the second location and install ``minizinc`` and ``MiniZincIDE`` to ``/usr/local/bin`` and will add a desktop entry and its corresponding icon to ``$HOME/.local/share/{applications,icons}``:
64
65.. parsed-literal::
66
67 $ mv ./MiniZincIDE-|release|-x86_64.AppImage /opt/Applications/
68 $ /opt/Applications/MiniZincIDE-|release|-x86_64.AppImage install
69
70**Note:** to change the installation locations can be changed using the environmental variables ``$BIN_LOCATION`` and ``$DESKTOP_LOCATION``. The default behaviour can be achieved using the following command:
71
72.. parsed-literal::
73
74 $ BIN_LOCATION=/usr/local/bin DESKTOP_LOCATION=$HOME/.local/share ./MiniZincIDE-|release|-x86_64.AppImage install
75
76Archive
77~~~~~~~
78
79The MiniZinc archive bundle is straightforward, but doesn't offer any automatic integrations with the desktop environment. After downloading, uncompress the archive, for example in your home directory or any other location where you want to install it:
80
81.. parsed-literal::
82
83 $ tar xf MiniZincIDE-|release|-bundle-linux-x86_64.tgz
84
85This will unpack MiniZinc into a directory that is called the same as the archive file (without the ``.tgz``). You can start the MiniZinc IDE using the ``MiniZincIDE.sh`` shell script, which sets up a number of paths and environment variables.
86
87In order to use the command line tools, after unpacking, make the following changes to some environment variables (assuming a bash-like shell):
88
89.. parsed-literal::
90
91 $ export PATH=MiniZincIDE-|release|-bundle-linux-x86_64/bin:$PATH
92 $ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=MiniZincIDE-|release|-bundle-linux-x86_64/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
93 $ export QT_PLUGIN_PATH=MiniZincIDE-|release|-bundle-linux-x86_64/plugins:$QT_PLUGIN_PATH
94
95Apple macOS
96-----------
97
98The macOS bundled binary distribution works with any version of OS X starting from 10.9. After downloading the disk image (``.dmg``) file, double click it if it doesn't open automatically. You will see an icon for the MiniZinc IDE that you can drag into your Applications folder (or anywhere else you want to install MiniZinc).
99
100In order to use the MiniZinc tools from a terminal, you need to add the path to the MiniZinc installation to the PATH environment variable. If you installed the MiniZinc IDE in the standard Applications folder, the following command will add the correct path:
101
102.. code-block:: bash
103
104 $ export PATH=/Applications/MiniZincIDE.app/Contents/Resources:$PATH
105
106Adding Third-party Solvers
107--------------------------
108
109Third party solvers for MiniZinc typically consist of two parts: a solver *executable*, and a solver-specific MiniZinc *library*. MiniZinc must be aware of the location of both the executable and the library in order to compile and run a model with that solver. Each solver therefore needs to provide a *configuration file* in a location where the MiniZinc toolchain can find it.
110
111The easiest way to add a solver to the MiniZinc system is via the MiniZinc IDE. This is explained in :numref:`sec-ide-add-solvers`. You can also add configuration files manually, as explained in :numref:`sec-cmdline-conffiles`.