# Installation

Binary program packages for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X platforms can be downloaded from http://www.ovito.org/. Installation of OVITO is very simple and consists only of extracting a file archive.

OVITO makes use of hardware-accelerated OpenGL rendering to display particles and other graphical elements. Older computers or outdated OpenGL graphics drivers may not be compatible with OVITO. For best compatibility, it is highly recommended to install the most recent version of your hardware vendor's graphics driver.

## Linux

Extract the downloaded `.tar.gz` archive using the command: `tar xzf ovito-2.0.0-x86_64.tar.gz`. Replace the filename with the one that you actually downloaded from the website. This will create a new subdirectory containing the extracted program package. Change into that subdirectory and run OVITO by invoking the command `bin/ovito`.

Note that OVITO is designed to be run on the local computer and not on a remote machine.

## Windows

Extract the `.zip` archive to an empty directory of your choice. Then start the program by double-clicking `ovito.exe`.

## Mac OS X

Extract the `.zip` archive to a directory of your choice. Then start OVITO by double-clicking the extracted application. To run multiple instances of OVITO simultaneously, you can invoke the command `open -n ./Ovito.app/` from the Terminal.