Install Erlang on Ubuntu

APT on Debian/Ubuntu

The APT package manager carries a recent OTP build that is good enough for this course. Update the package lists and install the erlang package.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install erlang

Verify the install

After the install finishes, check the version. You should see the OTP release number, and the Elixir version if Elixir is also installed.

erl -version

Erlang (SMP,ASYNC_THREADS,HIPE) (BEAM) emulator version 15.2

Elixir 1.18.2 (compiled with Erlang/OTP 27)

If the command is not found, close the terminal, open a new one, and try again.

Erlang and Elixir

Erlang is the runtime, and Elixir is the language that compiles to BEAM. They share the same virtual machine, the same libraries, and the same error handling philosophy. Elixir adds pattern matching, pipeline operators, and a Ruby-like syntax on top of the same foundation.

This course covers Erlang; the Elixir course at /dev/elixir/ covers the language.

Article author: Arthur Isaev