> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ask.edvard.dev/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ask.edvard.dev/getting-started/install.md).

# Install & Get Started

How to install Ask.

## Setup a Development Environment for Ask.

We recommend that you always create a Python virtual environment for your Ask projects. This way you can always use the correct version of Ask for every project. If you use it globally and then upgrade Ask, previous features might break. You can learn more about Ask's versioning system [here](/development-tools/versioning-system.md), and more about virtual environments [here](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python-virtual-environment/).

* Create a new folder.
* Create a new Python virtual environment:
  * `$ python3 -m venv venv`
* Activate it:
  * `$ source venv/bin/activate`
* Install Ask.
  * `$ pip install ask-lang`
* Create a .ask file to hold your app.
* Run it with:
  * `$ ask [your app].ask`

{% hint style="info" %}
We recommend that you use **pipx** to install Ask if you want to use it globally, but you can also use pip to intall it without a virtual environment.
{% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.ask.edvard.dev/getting-started/install.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.