How To Install Erlang on Debian 12

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Erlang on Debian 12. For those of you who didn’t know, Erlang, a programming language designed for building highly concurrent and fault-tolerant systems, has gained remarkable prominence in the realm of modern software development. Its unparalleled capabilities in handling distributed and real-time applications make it a favored choice among developers. However, harnessing the true potential of Erlang hinges on a meticulous installation process.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of Erlang on a Debian 12 (Bookworm).

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Debian 12 (Bookworm).
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for Erlang.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Erlang on Debian 12 Bookworm

Step 1. Before we install any software, it’s important to make sure your system is up to date by running the following apt commands in the terminal:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apt-transport-https curl gnupg

This command will refresh the repository, allowing you to install the latest versions of software packages.

Step 2. Installing Erlang on Debian 12.

• Method 1: Using the package manager (apt)

Now install the Erlang package by running the following command:

sudo apt install erlang

Verify that Erlang is installed by running the following command:

erl

This should open the Erlang shell, indicating that Erlang has been successfully installed.

• Method 2: Building from source.

First, install the necessary build tools and dependencies by running the following command:

sudo apt install build-essential autoconf m4 libncurses5-dev libwxgtk3.0-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libglu1-mesa-dev libpng-dev libssh-dev unixodbc-dev xsltproc fop

Next, download the Erlang source code from the official website. You can find the latest version on the official page.

Extract the downloaded archive by running the following command:

tar -xf otp_src_VERSION.tar.gz

Replace “VERSION” with the version number of the Erlang source code you downloaded.

Change to the extracted directory by running the following command:

cd otp_src_VERSION

Replace “VERSION” with the version number of the Erlang source code you downloaded.

Configure the build by running the following command:

./configure

Build and install Erlang by running the following commands:

make
sudo make install

Finally, verify that Erlang is installed by running the following command:

erl

This should open the Erlang shell, indicating that Erlang has been successfully installed.

Step 3. Troubleshooting Tips.

As with any installation process, challenges may arise. Here are some troubleshooting tips to help you overcome potential obstacles:

1. Package Not Found Errors: If you encounter errors stating that packages cannot be found, ensure your package lists are up to date using sudo apt update.
2. Permission Denied Errors: Should you encounter permission issues, remember to prefix your commands with sudo to grant the necessary privileges.

3. Repository Key Issues: If importing the repository key fails, ensure you have copied the command correctly and verify your internet connection.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Erlang. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the latest version of Erlang on Debian 12 Bookworm. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Erlang website.