.. _doc_getting_source:

Getting the source
==================

Downloading the Godot source code
---------------------------------

Before :ref:`getting into the SCons build system <doc_introduction_to_the_buildsystem>`
and compiling Godot, you need to actually download the Godot source code.

The source code is available on `GitHub <https://github.com/godotengine/godot>`__
and while you can manually download it via the website, in general you want to
do it via the ``git`` version control system.

If you don't know much about ``git`` yet, there are a great number of
`tutorials <https://git-scm.com/book>`__ available on various websites.

In general, you need to install ``git`` and/or one of the various GUI clients.

Afterwards, to get the latest development version of the Godot source code
(the unstable ``master`` branch), you can use ``git clone``.

If you are using the ``git`` command line client, this is done by entering
the following in a terminal:

::

    git clone https://github.com/godotengine/godot.git

For any stable release, visit the `release page <https://github.com/godotengine/godot/releases>`__
and click on the link for the release you want.
You can then download and extract the source from the download link on the page.

There are also generally branches besides ``master`` for each major version.

After downloading the Godot source code,
you can :ref:`continue to compiling Godot <doc_introduction_to_the_buildsystem>`.