---
title: Install Sass
---

%h2 There are a couple of ways to start using Sass:
%ol.list-columns
  %li.gui-application
    %h3 Applications
    %p= image_tag "illustrations/mouse.svg", class: "header-image", height: "160", alt: "Mouse"
    %p
      There are a good many applications that will get you up and running
      with Sass in a few minutes for Mac, Windows, and Linux. You can download
      most of the applications for free but a few of them are paid apps
      <small>(and totally worth it)</small>.

    %ul.list-feature
      %li
        = link_to "CodeKit", "http://incident57.com/codekit/"
        %span.info (Paid)
        %span.mac-icon
      %li
        = link_to "Compass.app", "http://compass.handlino.com/"
        %span.info (Paid, Open Source)
        %span.mac-icon
        %span.windows-icon
        %span.linux-icon
      %li
        = link_to "Hammer", "http://hammerformac.com/"
        %span.info (Paid)
        %span.mac-icon
      %li
        = link_to "Koala", "http://koala-app.com/"
        %span.info (Open Source)
        %span.mac-icon
        %span.windows-icon
        %span.linux-icon
      %li
        = link_to "LiveReload", "http://livereload.com/"
        %span.info (Paid, Open Source)
        %span.mac-icon
        %span.windows-icon
      %li
        = link_to "Prepros", "https://prepros.io/"
        %span.info (Paid)
        %span.mac-icon
        %span.windows-icon
        %span.linux-icon
      %li
        = link_to "Scout", "http://mhs.github.io/scout-app/"
        %span.info (Open Source)
        %span.mac-icon
        %span.windows-icon

  %li.command-line-unix
    %h3 Command Line
    %p= image_tag "illustrations/keyboard.svg", class: "header-image", height: "160", alt: "Keyboard"
    %dl#install-ruby-linux
      %dt Linux
      %dd
        If you're using a distribution of Linux, you'll need to install Ruby
        first. You can install Ruby through the apt package manager, rbenv, or rvm.
        %pre
          :preserve
            sudo su -c "gem install sass"

    %dl#install-ruby-windows
      %dt Windows
      %dd
        Before you start using Sass you will need to install Ruby. The fastest
        way to get Ruby on your Windows computer is to use
        <a href="http://rubyinstaller.org">Ruby Installer</a>. It's a
        single-click installer that will get everything set up for you super
        fast.

      %dd
        The installer will also install a Ruby command line
        powershell application that will let you use the Ruby libraries.

      %dl#install-ruby-mac
        %dt Mac
        %dd
          If you prefer the command line over an application then getting Sass
          set up is a fairly quick process. Sass has a Ruby dependency but if
          you're using a Mac, congratulations, Ruby comes pre-installed.

      %dl
        %dt Install Sass
        %dd
          %p
            Here's the quickest way we've found to start using Sass by using
            the command line:

          %ol
            %li
              %p
                <strong>Open your Terminal or Command Prompt.</strong> On the
                Mac the Terminal.app comes installed by default. It's located
                in your "Utilities" folder. On Windows, run `cmd`.

            %li
              %p
                <strong>Install Sass.</strong> Ruby uses Gems to manage its
                various packages of code like Sass. In your open terminal
                window type:
              %pre
                :preserve
                  gem install sass
              %p
                This will install Sass and any dependencies for you. It's pretty
                magical. If you get an error message then it's likely you will need to use the <code>sudo</code> command to install the Sass gem. It would look like:
              %pre
                :preserve
                  sudo gem install sass

            %li
              %p
                <strong>Double-check.</strong> You should now have Sass
                installed, but it never hurts to double-check. In your
                terminal application you can type:
              %pre
                :preserve
                  sass -v
              - if data.respond_to?(:version)
                %p It should return <code>Sass #{data.version.number} (#{data.version.name})</code>. Congratulations! You've successfully installed Sass.
              - else
                %p It should return <code>Sass ???</code>. Congratulations! You've successfully installed Sass.

            %li
              %p
                <strong>Go and play.</strong> If you're brand new to Sass
                we've set up some resources to help you learn pretty darn
                quick.

              %p= link_to "Learn More About Sass", "/guide", :class => "button primary"