As a haskell package, git-annex can be installed using cabal.

Start by installing the [Haskell Platform][]. In Debian, this is as
simple as:

    sudo apt-get install haskell-platform

 [Haskell Platform]: http://hackage.haskell.org/platform/

## minimal build

This builds git-annex without some features that require C libraries, that
can be harder to get installed. This is plenty to get started using it,
although it does not include the assistant or webapp.

	cabal update
	PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH
	cabal install git-annex --bindir=$HOME/bin -f"-assistant -webapp -webdav -pairing -xmpp -dns"

## full build

To build with all features enabled, including the assistant and webapp,
you will need to install several C libraries and their headers,
including libgnutls, libgsasl, libxml2, and zlib. Then run:

	cabal update
	PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH
	cabal install c2hs --bindir=$HOME/bin
	cabal install git-annex --bindir=$HOME/bin

## building from git checkout

But maybe you want something newer (or older). Then [[download]] the version
you want, and use cabal as follows inside its source tree:

	cabal update
	PATH=$HOME/bin:$PATH
	cabal install c2hs --bindir=$HOME/bin
	cabal install --only-dependencies
	cabal configure
	cabal build
	cabal install --bindir=$HOME/bin