@title Arcanist User Guide: Windows
@group userguide

Explains how to install Arcanist on Windows.

= Overview =

Arcanist runs on Windows, either in `cmd.exe` or the Git Bash environments.
However, it will take a little effort to get working. This document explains
what you need to do in order to get it running.

NOTE: Windows support is incomplete, file bugs when you run into issues.

= Required Components =

You need to install:

  - Arcanist itself, see @{article:Arcanist User Guide}.
  or @{article:Arcanist Quick Start}.
  - PHP (see "Detailed PHP Install Instructions" below).
  - Git, SVN, or Mercurial.

Then, configure:

  - Your PATH environmental variable should include `arcanist/bin`, the `php`
    directory, and the directory where your VCS command lives. When you type
    `php`, `arc`, or (for example) `git` from the command line, they should all
    do something.
  - Your EDITOR environmental variable should point at some valid CLI editor,
    like the Git Bash `vim`. You can set this in `arc` if you prefer.
    See below for details.

You can set environmental variables somewhere in the `Advanced` tab of the
`System` control panel.

Now you should be able to run `arc` normally (either from `cmd.exe` or
Git Bash) and it should work more-or-less properly.

= Configuring an Editor =

NOTE: You **can not** use Notepad as your editor, because it does not have a
blocking mode. You can use GitPad instead.

Some arc workflows prompt you to edit large blocks of text using a text editor.
You can configure various programs for this purpose, depending on which text
editor you prefer. Some editors that will work are:

  - [[ https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ | Notepad++ ]], a good all-around editor.
  - **vim**, which comes with Git Bash.
  - [[ https://www.sublimetext.com/ | Sublime Text ]].

Other editors may also work, but they must have a blocking edit mode.

To configure an editor, either set the `EDITOR` environmental variable to point
at it, or run:

  $ arc set-config editor "\"C:\path\to\some\editor.exe\""

NOTE: Note the use of quotes. Paths with spaces in them must be quoted, and
these quotes must be escaped when passed to `arc set-config`, as in the examples
below.

Specifically, you can use this command for **Notepad++** (adjusting the path for
your machine):

  name=Notepad++
  $ arc set-config editor "\"C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe\" -multiInst -nosession"

And this command for Vim (you may need to adjust the path):

  name=vim
  $ arc set-config editor "\"C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\share\vim\vim91\vim.exe\""

And this for Sublime Text (you may need to adjust the path):

  name=Sublime Text
  $ arc set-config editor "\"C:\Program Files\Sublime Text 4\sublime_text.exe\" -w -n"

= Detailed PHP Install Instructions =

While multiple versions of PHP should work, you can follow these specific
instructions if you're having trouble.

  - Download the latest stable PHP binary release from:
    <https://windows.php.net/download/>.
  - Copy `php.ini-development` to `php.ini` in that same directory.
  - Open `php.ini` and locate the line `;extension=php_curl.dll`. Remove the
    `;` to activate this extension. Locate the line `; extension_dir = "ext"`
    and change it to `extension_dir = "C:\PHP\ext"`, where `C:\PHP` is
    the directory where you installed PHP.
  - Verify that things work by running `php -i` from your commandline and
    looking for `curl` in the output.

= Next Steps =

Continue by:

  - returning to @{article:Arcanist User Guide}.