Version: 5.3.1

Getting Started with Racket

To get started with Racket, download it from the webpage and install it. If you are a beginner or would like to use a graphical environment to run programs, run the DrRacket executable. Otherwise, the racket executable will run a command-line Read-Eval-Print-Loop (REPL).

On Windows, you can start DrRacket from the Racket entry in the Start menu, in Windows Vista or newer you can just type DrRacket. You can also run it from its folder, which you can find in Program FilesRacketDrRacket.

On Mac OS, double click on the DrRacket icon. It may be in your Applications folder, or in the .dmg that you downloaded.

On Linux or Unix, the drracket binary can be run directly from the command-line if it is in your path. This should be the case if you chose a Unix-style distribution when installing. Otherwise, navigate to the directory where the Racket distribution is installed. The drracket binary will be in the bin subdirectory.

If you are new to programming or if you have the patience to work through a textbook:

If you’re already a programmer and you’re in more of a hurry:

Of course, you should feel free to mix and match the above two tracks, since there is information in each that is not in the other.