[[!toc levels=3]]

## Requirements

### Source Host

This is the machine you use to configure the target hosts.

 * /bin/sh: A posix like shell (for instance bash, dash, zsh)
 * Python (>= 3.2 required)
 * SSH client
 * Asciidoc (for building the manpages)

### Target Hosts

 * /bin/sh: A posix like shell (for instance bash, dash, zsh)
 * SSH server

## Python Installation

Ensure you have Python 3.2 installed on the machine you use to **deploy to the targets**
(the ***source host***).

### Archlinux

Archlinux includes a recent python in the extra repository. 
You can install it using

    pacman -S python

### CentOS

See the "From source" section

#### Debian

For Debian **wheezy** or newer:

    aptitude install python3

On **squeeze** you can add following line in **/etc/apt/sources.list**

  deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian wheezy main

And add pinning entry in **/etc/apt/preferences.d/wheezy**:

  Package: *
  Pin: release n=wheezy
  Pin-Priority: 1

Please be aware that both **openssh-server** and **openssh-client** might be
removed on **python3.2** installation. You surely want to reinstall them:

  apt-get install -t wheezy openssh-server openssh-client

For older Debian versions, installing python 3.2 from source is required.

### Fedora

Fedora 15 and newer includes a recent python.
You can install it using

    yum install python3

### FreeBSD

For the port:

    cd /usr/ports/lang/python32/ && make install clean

For the package:

    pkg_add -r python32

You can also use any newer version, but at least python 3.2 is required.

### Gentoo

Gentoo only provides python 3.2 in testing packages (http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?part=3&chap=3).
If you want to ensure nothing breaks you must set back the python version to what was default before.

    emerge -av =python-3.2.2 --autounmask-write
    emerge -av =python-3.2.2
    eselect python list
    eselect python list set python3.2

### Max OS X

You can choose between Homebrew and Macports, either way works:

[Homebrew](http://mxcl.github.com/homebrew/) variant:

    brew install python3

[Macports](http://www.macports.org/install.php) variant:

    port install python32
    ln -s /opt/local/bin/python3.2 /opt/local/bin/python3

### From Source

For those operating systems not yet support Python 3.2:

    pyversion=3.2.3
    wget http://www.python.org/ftp/python/$pyversion/Python-${pyversion}.tar.bz2
    tar xvfj Python-${pyversion}.tar.bz2
    cd Python-${pyversion}
    ./configure
    make
    sudo make install

This installs python 3.2 to /usr/local/bin. Ensure this directory is in
your PATH environment variable.


## Install cdist

You can clone cdist from git, which gives you the advantage of having
a version control in place for development of your own stuff as well.
To install cdist, execute the following commands:

    git clone git://git.schottelius.org/cdist
    cd cdist
    export PATH=$PATH:$(pwd -P)/bin

    # If you want the manpages
    ./build man
    export MANPATH=$MANPATH:$(pwd -P)/doc/man


### Available versions

There are at least the following branches available:

 * Development: master
 * 2.0: Current stable branch
 * 2.1: Currently experimental - the next stable branch

Old versions:

 * 1.7: Bugfixes, cleanups, new type and explorer rename
 * 1.6: New types, cleaned up \_\_package* types, internal cleanup
 * 1.5: Focus on object orientation instead of global stage orientation
 * 1.4: Support for redefiniton of objects (if equal)
 * 1.3: Support for local and remote code execution (current stable)
 * 1.2: Dependencies supported
 * 1.1: \_\_file to \_\_file, \_\_directory, \_\_link migration
 * 1.0: First official release

Other branches may be available for features or bugfixes, but they
may vanish at any point. To select a specific branch use

    # Generic code
    git checkout -b <name> origin/<name>
    
    # Stay on a specific version
    version=2.0
    git checkout -b $version origin/$version

### Mirrors

 * git://github.com/telmich/cdist.git ([github](https://github.com/telmich/cdist))
 * git://git.code.sf.net/p/cdist/code ([sourceforge](https://sourceforge.net/p/cdist/code))

[[!tag cdist unix]]