# Setup and Installation of GitBook

Getting GitBook installed and ready-to-go should only take a few minutes.

### GitBook.com

[GitBook.com](https://www.gitbook.com) is an easy to use solution to write, publish and host books. It's best and easier solution for publishing your content and collaborate on it.

It integrates well with the [GitBook Editor](https://www.gitbook.com/editor).

### Local Installation

##### Requirements

Installing GitBook is easy and straight-forward, but there are a few requirements you’ll need to make sure your system has before you start.

* NodeJS (v4.0.0 and above are adviced)
* Windows, Linux, Unix, or Mac OS X

##### Install with NPM

The best way to install GitBook is via **NPM**. At the terminal prompt, simply run the following command to install GitBook:

```
$ npm install gitbook-cli -g
```

`gitbook-cli` is an utility to install and use multiple versions of GitBook on the same system. It will automatically install the required version to build a book.

##### Using pre-releases

`gitbook-cli` makes it easy to install and test other versions of GitBook with your book:

```
$ gitbook install beta
```