Appendix A: Installation Guide Details

This appendix provides detailed installation instructions for all major Smalltalk implementations on all major platforms. Use this as a comprehensive reference when setting up your Smalltalk environment.

Pharo Installation

Windows

Method 1: PharoLauncher (Recommended)

Visit https://pharo.org/download
Download “PharoLauncher for Windows”
Extract the ZIP file
Run PharoLauncher.exe
In the launcher:
- Click “New” or the “+” button
- Select “Official distributions” → “Pharo 11.0 - 64bit (stable)”
- Name your image (e.g., “My Project”)
- Click “Create image”
Double-click the image to launch

Method 2: Direct Download

Visit https://pharo.org/download
Download “Pharo 11 - 64bit (stable)”
Extract the ZIP file
Run Pharo.exe

Troubleshooting:

Windows Defender warning: Click “More info” → “Run anyway”
Missing DLLs: Install Visual C++ Redistributable from Microsoft
Won’t start: Run as Administrator once

macOS

Method 1: PharoLauncher (Recommended)

Visit https://pharo.org/download
Download “PharoLauncher for macOS”
Open the DMG file
Drag PharoLauncher to Applications
Open PharoLauncher from Applications
First launch: Right-click → “Open” (to bypass Gatekeeper)
Create and launch images as described in Windows section

Method 2: Direct Download

Visit https://pharo.org/download
Download “Pharo 11 - 64bit (stable) for macOS”
Open the DMG file
Drag Pharo to Applications
Right-click Pharo → “Open”

Troubleshooting:

“Cannot open” error: Right-click → “Open” (don’t double-click)
Gatekeeper issues: System Preferences → Security → “Open Anyway”
Crashes on Apple Silicon: Use native ARM64 version or Rosetta

Linux

Method 1: PharoLauncher (Recommended)

Visit https://pharo.org/download
Download “PharoLauncher for Linux”
Extract: tar xzf PharoLauncher-linux.tar.gz
Run: cd pharo-launcher && ./pharo-launcher
Create images as described above

Method 2: ZeroConf Script

# Download and run
curl https://get.pharo.org/64/ | bash

# Or with wget
wget -O- https://get.pharo.org/64/ | bash

# Launch
./pharo-ui Pharo.image

Method 3: Package Manager (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Add PPA (if available)
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pharo/stable
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pharo-launcher

# Or build from source
git clone https://github.com/pharo-project/pharo-launcher.git
cd pharo-launcher
./build.sh

Troubleshooting:

Missing libraries: sudo apt-get install libssl-dev libssh2-1-dev
32-bit on 64-bit: sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
Display issues: Try different window managers
Segmentation fault: Update graphics drivers

Squeak Installation

Windows

Visit https://squeak.org/downloads/
Download “All-in-One” for Windows
Extract the ZIP file
Run Squeak.exe

Optional - Install separately:

Download VM and Image separately
Extract both
Drag image onto VM executable

macOS

Visit https://squeak.org/downloads/
Download “All-in-One” for macOS
Open DMG and drag to Applications
Right-click → “Open” first time
Run Squeak

Linux

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install squeak-vm squeak-image

# Or download from squeak.org
wget http://files.squeak.org/6.0/Squeak6.0-22104-64bit-All-in-One.zip
unzip Squeak6.0*.zip
cd Squeak6.0*
./squeak Squeak6.0*.image

Glamorous Toolkit Installation

Windows

Visit https://gtoolkit.com/download/
Download “GT for Windows”
Extract ZIP file
Run GlamorousToolkit.exe
Wait for initial load (first time takes a moment)

macOS

Visit https://gtoolkit.com/download/
Download “GT for macOS”
Open DMG file
Drag GlamorousToolkit to Applications
Right-click → “Open” first time
Launch GT

Apple Silicon:

Native ARM64 version available
Or use Intel version with Rosetta

Linux

# Download
wget https://dl.feenk.com/gt/GlamorousToolkit-x86_64-v*-linux.zip
unzip GlamorousToolkit*.zip
cd GlamorousToolkit*

# Run
./bin/GlamorousToolkit

Cuis Smalltalk Installation

All Platforms

Visit https://cuis.st/
Download latest release (e.g., Cuis6.0-5033.zip)
Extract the archive
You need a compatible VM:

Windows:

Download Cog VM from https://opensmalltalk.org/
Place in Cuis directory
Run: CogVM.exe Cuis6.0-5033.image

macOS:

# Download and place Cog VM
# Run:
./Squeak.app/Contents/MacOS/Squeak Cuis6.0-5033.image

Linux:

# Install VM
sudo apt-get install squeak-vm

# Run
squeak Cuis6.0-5033.image

GNU Smalltalk Installation

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnu-smalltalk

macOS

# Using Homebrew
brew install gnu-smalltalk

# Or MacPorts
sudo port install gst

Windows

Use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux):

wsl --install
# Then install as in Ubuntu/Debian

From Source

# Download
wget http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/smalltalk/smalltalk-3.2.5.tar.gz
tar xzf smalltalk-3.2.5.tar.gz
cd smalltalk-3.2.5

# Build
./configure
make
sudo make install

VisualWorks Installation

All Platforms

Visit https://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/
Click “Download VisualWorks”
Register (free for non-commercial use)
Download for your platform
Run installer
Launch VisualWorks

Note: Commercial product, free non-commercial license

Dolphin Smalltalk Installation (Windows Only)

Visit https://github.com/dolphinsmalltalk/Dolphin
Download latest release
Extract ZIP file
Run Dolphin.exe
Open workspace and start coding

Smalltalk/X Installation

Windows

Visit https://www.exept.de/
Download Windows installer
Run installer
Launch Smalltalk/X

Linux

# Download from exept.de
# Or use package if available

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Pharo:

RAM: 2 GB minimum, 4 GB recommended
Disk: 500 MB free space
OS: Windows 7+, macOS 10.12+, Linux kernel 3.x+
Display: 1024x768 minimum

Squeak:

RAM: 512 MB minimum, 2 GB recommended
Disk: 200 MB free space
Very low requirements - runs on older hardware

Glamorous Toolkit:

RAM: 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended
Disk: 1 GB free space
Modern system recommended

Recommended Setup

RAM: 8 GB or more
Disk: SSD for better performance
Display: 1920x1080 or higher
Mouse: 3-button mouse helpful (middle-click)
Keyboard: Full keyboard (numeric keypad useful)

Virtual Machine Notes

OpenSmalltalk VM (Cog)

Most modern Smalltalks (Pharo, Squeak, Cuis) use Cog VM:

JIT compilation
Fast performance
Multiple platforms
Actively developed

Get it: https://opensmalltalk.org/

SqueakJS

Run Squeak in a browser:

Visit https://squeak.js.org/
Click “Run Squeak”
No installation needed!

Multiple Smalltalk Installations

You can install multiple Smalltalks simultaneously:

~/Smalltalks/
  ├── pharo/
  │   ├── image1.image
  │   ├── image2.image
  │   └── PharoLauncher/
  ├── squeak/
  │   └── Squeak6.0/
  ├── gt/
  │   └── GlamorousToolkit/
  └── cuis/
      └── Cuis6.0/

They don’t interfere with each other!

Environment Variables

Pharo

# Set image directory
export PHARO_IMAGE_DIR="$HOME/pharo-images"

# VM options
export PHARO_VM_OPTS="-memory 2g"

Squeak

export SQUEAK_IMAGE="$HOME/squeak/MyProject.image"

Command-Line Usage

Pharo

# Launch with specific image
./pharo-ui MyProject.image

# Headless execution
./pharo MyProject.image eval "1 + 1"

# Run script
./pharo MyProject.image st script.st

# Save and quit
./pharo MyProject.image save myNewName

Squeak

# Launch
squeak MyProject.image

# Headless
squeak -headless MyProject.image script.st

GNU Smalltalk

# REPL
gst

# Run script
gst script.st

# Execute code
gst -e "1 to: 10 do: [:i | i printNl]"

Updating Smalltalk

Pharo

Within image:

"Check for updates"
UpdateChecker checkForUpdates.

"Download and install updates"
UpdateDownloader new downloadLatestUpdates.

Or use PharoLauncher to download new versions

Squeak

Within image:

"Update from server"
MCMcmUpdater updateFromServer.

Glamorous Toolkit

Download new releases from https://gtoolkit.com/download/

Backup and Migration

Backup Your Images

# Copy image files
cp MyProject.image MyProject-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).image
cp MyProject.changes MyProject-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).changes

# Or use tar
tar czf MyProject-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz MyProject.image MyProject.changes

Migrate Between Machines

Copy image files (.image and .changes)
Ensure compatible VM version
Copy any external resources (files, databases)
Test on new machine

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Image Won’t Open

Check VM compatibility: Match image version to VM version
Corrupt image: Restore from backup
Missing changes file: Image may open but changes lost

Slow Performance

Increase memory: Edit VM parameters
Close unused windows: Reduce visual overhead
Garbage collect: Smalltalk garbageCollect
Check background processes: May be running expensive code

Graphics Issues

Linux: Try different window manager
macOS Retina: May need to adjust scaling
Windows: Update graphics drivers

Network Issues

Firewall: Allow Smalltalk through firewall
Proxy: Configure proxy settings if needed
SSL certificates: May need to update certificates

Getting Help

If installation fails:

Check system requirements
Read error messages carefully
Search Discord/mailing lists for similar issues
Ask on Discord with:
- Your OS and version
- Smalltalk version
- Error message
- What you’ve tried

Discord: https://discord.gg/QewZMZa

Quick Start Commands

After installation, try these:

"Hello World"
Transcript show: 'Hello, Smalltalk!'; cr.

"Inspect an object"
42 inspect.

"Browse a class"
Collection browse.

"Run tests"
TestRunner open.

"Open a workspace"
Workspace open.

You’re ready to code!

Previous: Chapter 40 - Your Smalltalk Journey

Next: Appendix B - Keyboard Shortcuts Reference