---
layout: documentation
title: Installing Bazel on Windows
---
# Installing Bazel on Windows
### Prerequisites
* 64 bit Windows 7 or newer, or 64 bit Windows Server 2008 R2 or newer
* [MSYS2 shell](https://msys2.github.io/)
* [Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48145)
These are common DLLs that Bazel needs. You may already have them installed.
### Getting Bazel
[Download Bazel for Windows from GitHub](https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/releases).
Look for `bazel--windows-x86_64.exe`, e.g. `bazel-0.15.2-windows-x86_64.exe`.
**Tip:** Rename the binary to `bazel.exe` and move it to a directory on your
`%PATH%`, so you can run Bazel by typing `bazel` in any directory.
### Other ways to get Bazel
* [Install Bazel using the Chocolatey package manager](#install-using-chocolatey)
* [Compile Bazel from source](install-compile-source.html)
#### Install using Chocolatey
1. Install the [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org) package manager
2. Install the Bazel package:
choco install bazel
This command will install the latest available version of Bazel and
its dependencies, such as the MSYS2 shell. This will not install Visual C++
though.
See [Chocolatey installation and package maintenance
guide](https://bazel.build/windows-chocolatey-maintenance.html) for more
information about the Chocolatey package.