How to Install Fossil on Windows 11

Fossil is a distributed version control system and project management tool that is free and open source. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing Fossil on Windows 11.

Prerequisites

Before we begin the installation process, make sure your system meets the following requirements:

• Windows 11 operating system
• Access to an administrative account

Step 1: Download Fossil

The first step is to download the latest version of Fossil from the official website. Follow these steps:

1. Open your web browser and go to https://www.fossil-scm.org/home/.
2. Click on the "Download" button.
3. Select the appropriate version of Fossil based on your system architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).
4. Click on the "Download Now" button.

Step 2: Create a Directory

The next step is to create a directory to store the Fossil executable. Follow these steps:

1. Open the File Explorer on your Windows 11 system.
2. Navigate to the location on your computer where you want to create the directory for Fossil.
3. Right-click on any empty space and select "New" > "Folder".
4. Give the folder a name (e.g., "Fossil").

Step 3: Extract Fossil

Now that you have downloaded Fossil and created a directory to store it, you need to extract the executable from the downloaded archive. Follow these steps:

1. Locate the downloaded Fossil archive file (e.g., "fossil-win32-x64-2.16.zip").
2. Right-click on the file and select "Extract All".
3. Follow the prompts to extract the contents of the archive to the directory you created in Step 2.

Step 4: Add Fossil to the System Path

In order to use Fossil from the command line, you need to add its location to the system PATH environment variable. Follow these steps:

1. Press the Windows key + S on your keyboard to open the search bar.
2. Type "environment variables" and select "Edit the system environment variables".
3. Click on the "Environment Variables" button.
4. Scroll down in the "System Variables" section and select "Path".
5. Click on the "Edit" button.
6. Click on the "New" button and enter the path to the "Fossil" directory you created in Step 2 (e.g., "C:\fossil").
7. Click "OK" to close all open windows.

Step 5: Test Fossil Installation

To verify that Fossil has been installed correctly, open a command prompt and type the following command:

fossil version

If Fossil has been installed correctly, you should see the version number displayed in the console.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Fossil on your Windows 11 system. You are now ready to start using Fossil for version control and project management.

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