Download NEST
=============

.. pull-quote::

      For standard situations where you just want to use but not modify
      NEST, you don't have to download the source code.

      Distribution packages ease the installation on Debian/Ubuntu,
      Fedora, macOS and Conda.

      See our :doc:`installation instructions <installation/index>` to
      find the right option for you.

Here you'll find the lastest versions of the source code and virtual machine (VM) images for download.
If you use NEST for your project, don't forget to :doc:`cite NEST <citing-nest>`!


Download the source code
------------------------

* If you are compiling NEST from source, you can |link-pre|\ |version|\ |link-post|

.. |link-pre| raw:: html

    <a href="https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator/archive/v

.. |link-post| raw:: html

    .tar.gz">download the latest release here</a>.

* Then, follow the installation instructions for :doc:`Linux <installation/linux_install>` or :doc:`macOS <installation/mac_install>`. |link-pregit|\ |version|\ |link-postgit|

.. |link-pregit| raw:: html

    <a href="https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator/releases/tag/v

.. |link-postgit| raw:: html

    ">Get the release notes here</a>.

* You can also test out the `latest developer version <https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator>`_ from GitHub.


.. seealso::

   Previous versions and associated release notes can be found at
   https://github.com/nest/nest-simulator/releases/

.. _download_livemedia:

Download the NEST image for VMs
-------------------------------

The VM image of NEST is available in the OVA format, and is suitable, for example, for importing into VirtualBox.
If you run **Windows**, this is the option for you OR if you just want to run NEST without installing it on your computer.
After downloading the virtual machine, check out the :doc:`install instructions for Live Media <installation/livemedia>`.

* Download the |link-preova|\ |version|\ |link-postova|

.. |link-preova| raw:: html

    <a href="https://nest-simulator.org/downloads/gplreleases/lubuntu-18.04_nest-

.. |link-postova|  raw:: html

     .ova">latest release of the NEST VM image</a>

* Download the `NEST Live Media 2.20.0 <https://nest-simulator.org/downloads/gplreleases/lubuntu-18.04_nest-2.20.0.ova>`_

* After downloading the virtual machine, check out the :doc:`install instructions for Live Media <installation/livemedia>`.


Older versions of VM images
---------------------------

`NEST Live Media 2.18.0 <https://nest-simulator.org/downloads/gplreleases/lubuntu-18.04_nest-2.18.0.ova>`_

`Checksum 2.18.0 <https://nest-simulator.org/downloads/gplreleases/lubuntu-18.04_nest-2.18.0.ova.sha512sum>`_

`NEST Live Media 2.16.0 <https://nest-simulator.org/downloads/gplreleases/lubuntu-18.04_nest-2.16.0.ova>`_

`Checksum 2.16.0 <https://nest-simulator.org/downloads/gplreleases/lubuntu-18.04_nest-2.16.0.ova.sha512sum>`_

We continuously aim to improve NEST, implement features, and fix bugs with every new version;
thus, we encourage our users to use the **most recent version of NEST**.


----

NEST is available under the :doc:`GNU General Public License 2 or later <license>`. This means that you can

-  use NEST for your research,
-  modify and improve NEST according to your needs,
-  distribute NEST to others under the same license.