How to Install Bazel on Arch Linux

Bazel is an open-source build and test tool created by Google. It allows developers to build and test software across a variety of platforms and languages. This tutorial will guide you through the installation process on Arch Linux.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure your Arch Linux system is up to date by running the following command:

sudo pacman -Syu

Step 1: Install Required Dependencies

Bazel has several dependencies that need to be installed before you can use it. Run the following command to install them:

sudo pacman -S java-runtime-headless python curl unzip

Step 2: Download and Extract Bazel

Next, we need to download and extract the Bazel package. Run the following command to download the latest version of Bazel:

curl -LO https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/releases/download/3.2.0/bazel-3.2.0-dist.zip

Next, extract the downloaded file to your desired location:

unzip -d bazel-3.2.0-dist bazel-3.2.0-dist.zip

Step 3: Set Up the Environment

Set up your environment by exporting the path to the bazel binary. In this case, we will export the path to the binary located inside the extracted folder:

export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/bazel-3.2.0-dist/output"

To make this change permanent, add the above line to your .bashrc file.

Step 4: Verify the Installation

Finally, verify that Bazel was installed correctly by running the following command:

bazel version

This should output the version number of Bazel you just installed.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed Bazel on your Arch Linux system. You can now use Bazel to build and test software across a variety of platforms and languages.