Install Erlang on Windows 11

Chocolatey on Windows

Chocolatey is the package manager for Windows. Use it to install the latest Erlang/OTP build.

choco update erlang

choco 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, restart PowerShell and try again.

Winget on Windows 11

Winget is the modern package manager on Windows 11. Use it as an alternative to Chocolatey.

winget install --id erlsoft.Erlang

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