Installation

A Computer Algebra System such as Maxima is never complete or proven to give correct answers in all problems. We are constantly adding new functionalities and fixing bugs. That means you should always try to use the latest version. Unlike some other software where the latest version is considered unstable until it is sufficiently tested, the latest Maxima version is usually as stable as previous versions, but more complete and correct.

Table of contents

• Windows
• Macintosh
• Linux
• Alternative installation methods
• Nightly builds
• Installing from source

Windows

1. Access the sub-directory for the latest version⁽¹⁾ in the Maxima-Windows section of our website, and download the file with name ending on win64.exe. It is an installer for a 64-bit version of Windows running on an Intel-386 or compatible processor, which is what most modern computers use⁽²⁾. Older computers may be running a 32-bit version of Windows; since we stopped providing that type of files some versions ago, in that case you would have to install Maxima using one of the methods explained in the section Alternative installation methods. If you are unsure whether you are using 64-bit Windows, look at: Which Windows operating system am I running?.
   Note (1): The last Windows installer of Maxima that runs on Windows 7 is 5.45.1.
   Note (2): Windows can also run on ARM processors, but one can run unmodified x86/x64 Windows apps on Arm devices, the Maxima installer we provide should work there too.
2. Run that file you downloaded to start the installation process. It might take some time, because the installation program will also install other additional programs separate from Maxima.
3. Once the installation process ends, look in the directory where you installed Maxima, which will be something similar to: C:\maxima-5.49.0. In that directory you should find a sub-directory named bin, which has the programs that were installed. Before you run any of those programs, make sure your antivirus will not touch the programs there. If you're not sure, make a backup of that directory somewhere. It happens very often that after the first time you run Maxima the antivirus deletes the program considering a virus. The back-up will help you recover the missing files without having to install Maxima again.
4. You have the three interfaces to Maxima that you will find in the bin directory or the start menu: Command-line Maxima, Xmaxima and Wxmaxima. And check that you get the %i1 prompt and can execute some basic commands.
5. To make sure Maxima can also launch the two graphic programs it uses, run the following two commands which should create plots:

   plot2d (x, [x,0,1]);
   plotdf ([y,-x]);
   

Macintosh

Currently, the easiest way to install Maxima and Xmaxima is using one of the two open-source community systems for software installation:

Mac Ports

Issue the following commands:

sudo port selfupdate
sudo port upgrade outdated
sudo port install maxima +sbcl +xmaxima

There are other variants you might add: +abcl, +ccl, +clisp, +ecl, +gcl, for other Lisp versions, and +printable_doc to get a copy of the reference manual in PDF format. You can also install wxMaxima (sudo port install wxMaxima) using the same method.

Homebrew

Issue the following commands:

brew update
brew install maxima
brew install tcl-tk

Pay attention to the information given after each of those commands, because in some cases there is a post-installation procedure required. You can also install wxMaxima (brew install wxmaxima) using the same method.

Linux

1. Check the version of the C library in your system using the following command:

   ldd --version
   

   The first line of the output should be something such as ldd (Ubuntu GLIBC 2.35-0ubuntu3.13) 2.35, which says that the version of the C library is 2.35.
2. Enter the directory Maxima-Linux in our website, and download a file with the string glibcX.XX, where the version X.XX is the same or older than the version of the C library in your system (if you don't find an appropriate file, you would have to use the methods explained in the sections Alternative installation methods or Installing from source). The rest of the name of the file tells you the version of Maxima that will be installed and the Lisp flavors that will be available.
3. Issue the following commands:

   cd /usr/local
   sudo tar xvzf /path/where/you/downloaded/maxima-version.tar.gz
   

   where maxima-version.tar.gz is the file you downloaded.
4. After the installation, you can issue the following command:

   maxima --list-avail
   

   which should show the version of Maxima that you just installed and the Lisp variants available.
   To create plots, you need to have Gnuplot installed in your system. To make sure that it is installed and running properly, run the command gnuplot, which should start Gnuplot, showing a prompt where you can enter commands. Enter the following command:

   plot cos(x)
   

   A new window should be opened with the plot of the cosine function. You can then enter exit in the Gnuplot prompt, to exit Gnuplot, and you are ready to use Maxima in a terminal, with the command maxima.
   There is another version of maxima, rmaxima, that allows you to navigate the list of maxima commands you have used previously in the current session or previous ones, using the arrow keys or some control sequences. It can also complete known commands by pressing the tab key. That program depends on an external program called rlwrap; if it is not installed in you system rmaxima will end with an error. In Linux distributions rlwrap is usually included in a package with the same name.
5. The files you installed include the graphical interface Xmaxima, which requires Tcl/Tk to be installed in your system; to check that it is installed and working, issue the command wish, which should open an empty window and place a prompt in your terminal. At the prompt, enter exit to exit the program. You can then use Xmaxima as interface for Maxima, by either issuing the command xmaxima in a terminal, or clicking on the icon that should appear in your applications menu.

The wxMaxima interface is not installed with the packages downloaded from our Website. It is program independent from Maxima, which can be downloaded from its own Website.

Alternative installation methods

Windows

Maxima (maybe not the most recent version) can also be installed using a package managers such as winget or Chocolatey.

Macintosh

We have a section in our website with old versions od Maxima for Mac: Maxima-MacOS.

Linux

Most Linux distributions include a Maxima package that can be installed with the package manager; however, the version of the distribution you are using might come with a version of Maxima that is very old. Distributions based on .deb packages will automatically install maxima on clicking this link. Be aware that the complete Maxima code might come split into several packages; some functionalities might not work if some of those packages have not been installed.

RPM based systems

The section Maxima-Linux-RPM in our website provides RPM packages created by the Maxima developers. You can chose one of the files named: name-version.x86_64.rpm, where the first part is the name of each package and the second part are the numbers that identify the version. The minimum set of packages that must be installed are maxima and maxima-exec-sbcl. Since they both depend on each other, they should be installed with a single rpm command:

rpm -ivh maxima-x.y.z-n.x86_64.rpm maxima-exec-sbcl-x.y.z-n.x86_64.rpm

sbcl and gnuplot should be installed in your system.

You may also want to install maxima-xmaxima, which provides the Xmaxima front-end and one of the graphic engines used by some of Maxima's plotting commands.

The maxima-lang packages provide translations of the manual into various languages, although none of those translations are complete and updated.

Distribution-independent packages

Maxima is also part of the distribution-independent snap package of wxMaxima. Informations about installing snaps can be found here.

Nightly builds

For Windows a nightly build can be downloaded from Wolfgang Dautermann's Website that also provides detailed results of compilation and testbench runs on many different lisps.

Even if there is no guarantee that a nightly build, which has not been officially released, will work, the Maxima team tries to keep its codebase as stable as possible which means that if something is broken in the nightly build this information normally is important for the developers.

Installing from Source

If the methods explained above do not work for you, or if you want to build a different version of Maxima or use a different Lisp flavor, get the source code from the Maxima-source subsection. Unpack the file and follow the instructions given in file INSTALL, which can also be read on-line.

Development version

The most recent development version of the source code can be downloaded from the GIT repository. That page shows the git command that should be used to obtain a complete copy of the repository. After getting the code, follow the instructions in INSTALL.git.