Getting Started

Use this page to set up your local environment correctly before writing contracts.

dpm (Digital Asset Package Manager) is the command-line tool used to build, test, and run Daml projects.

1) Prerequisites

• macOS, Linux, or Windows
• JDK 17 or newer (with JAVA_HOME configured)
• VS Code 1.87+ if you plan to use Daml Studio

Check Java:

java -version

2) Install DPM

Mac/Linux:

curl https://get.digitalasset.com/install/install.sh | sh

Windows:

• Download and run the installer from Digital Asset docs.

Optional install location:

• Set DPM_HOME before install if you do not want the default path.

3) Add DPM to PATH (macOS/Linux)

export PATH="$HOME/.dpm/bin:$PATH"

Add that line to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc) to persist it.

4) Verify installation

dpm version --active
dpm new --list

5) SDK version management

Install the SDK declared in a project's daml.yaml:

dpm install package

Install a specific version:

dpm install 3.4.11

Inspect installed/available versions:

dpm version
dpm version --all
dpm version --all -o json

6) Core commands you will use

Next step

Go to Creating your first Daml smart contract.