Installing Haskell
The recommended way to install Haskell on every platform is GHCup, the official installer. It installs and manages:
- GHC — the compiler and the
ghciinterpreter - cabal — the build tool and package manager
- Stack — an alternative build tool (optional)
- HLS — the Haskell Language Server, for editor support
Windows
Open PowerShell (not as administrator) and run the command shown on www.haskell.org/ghcup. It downloads GHCup, installs an MSYS2 environment for C libraries, and asks which tools to install — accept the recommended versions.
macOS and Linux
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://get-ghcup.haskell.org | sh
On Linux, install your distribution's build essentials first (for example
sudo apt install build-essential curl libffi-dev libgmp-dev libncurses-dev on Debian/Ubuntu).
Check it works
Open a new terminal so the updated PATH is picked up:
$ ghc --version
The Glorious Glasgow Haskell Compilation System, version 9.14.1
$ cabal --version
cabal-install version 3.16.1.0
compiled using version 3.16.1.0 of the Cabal library (in-tree)
Your version numbers may differ — GHCup installs its current "recommended" versions, which usually lag slightly behind the newest release. Anything from GHC 9.4 onwards works for this course.
Managing versions
ghcup list # show installed and available versions
ghcup install ghc 9.14.1
ghcup set ghc 9.14.1 # make it the default
ghcup tui # interactive text menu
Try it without installing
The play.haskell.org playground compiles and runs small programs in your browser — handy for trying the examples in this course.