Alpha Theme
From Zero with Zero
Hugo

Install Hugo

Written by oxypteros

What is Hugo

I’m going to assume you write. You probably use programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs to create and format your text, maybe even adding images. When you’re done, you hit Print, and your content appears on a page. Hugo works the same way, but instead of printing, it builds. Instead of a physical page, you get a fully functional website with your content.

Hugo is a fast, secure, free website builder. Since Alpha is built for Hugo we’ll start this guide by installing it.

For detailed installation instructions, or alternative methods refer to the official Hugo installation guides. This guide does not replace or extend the official documentation.

Choose your OS

Install on Windows

The most straightforward, hassle-free method is using winget.

Method 1: Install via Winget

  1. Open PowerShell 7 (not Windows PowerShell) and run:
winget install Hugo.Hugo.Extended

Note: You can press Copy in the code block and then paste the command in PowerShell 7 with Right-click or Ctrl+v

Once the installation is complete close your current PowerShell 7 window, open a new one and run:

hugo version

If installed correctly, you should see output similar to:

hugo v0.147.7-189453612e4bedc4f27495a7b1145321c8d89807+extended...

Method 2: Manual Installation (Alternative)

If winget returns an error, follow these steps to install Hugo manually:

  1. Visit the Hugo Github Releases page.
  2. Scroll down to Assets and click Show all assets.
  3. Find and download the file named: hugo_extended_0.14x.x_windows-amd64.zip
  4. Create a folder where you want to store Hugo. For this guide, we’ll create a folder named hugo-app at C:\ (C:\hugo-app\)
  5. Extract the downloaded .zip file.
  6. Copy the extracted hugo executable into the folder you created, in our case C:\hugo-app.
  7. Right click on the hugo file, select Properties.
  8. If you see the following at the end of the properties window: “This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer”, check Unblock, and click OK.

To use hugo from any PowerShell session, add it to the Path environment variable:

  1. Open Start menu, search for env, and select Edit the system environment variables.
  2. In the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables….
  3. Under User variables for [your username], select Path from the list, then click Edit.
    Note: Make sure you edit the User variables section, not the System variables.
  4. Click New, then enter: C:\hugo-app or the path you chose for the Hugo executable.
  5. Click OK to close all windows.
  6. Open the Powershell 7 and enter the command:
hugo version

If installed correctly, you should see output similar to:

hugo v0.147.7-189453612e4bedc4f27495a7b1145321c8d89807+extended...

Install on Linux

I recommend using the prebuilt binaries from the Hugo releases page rather than using your distribution’s official package manager.

Manual Installation

  1. Visit the Hugo Github Releases page.
  2. Scroll down to Assets and click Show all assets.
  3. Find and download the file named: hugo_extended_0.14x.x_Linux-64bit.tar.gz
  4. Extract and install Hugo by pasting the following in a terminal:
(
  set -e 
  mkdir -p $HOME/.local/bin 
  tar -xf $HOME/Downloads/hugo*.gz -C $HOME/.local/bin 
  chmod +x $HOME/.local/bin/hugo 
)

These commands will create the folder ~/.local/bin if it does not exist.
Extract the hugo binary and move it to ~/.local/bin/.
Make the hugo binary executable.

Verify the installation:

hugo version

Troubleshoot

  • Make sure that the Hugo archive is downloaded and located inside the Downloads folder:
ls $HOME/Downloads/hugo*.tar.gz
  • Ensure that the hugo executable is in the correct folder:
ls $HOME/.local/bin/hugo
  • Verify that ~/.local/bin is included in your PATH:
echo $PATH

If /home/[USER_NAME]/.local/bin: is missing from the output, log out and log back in, then check again with echo $PATH.

If it’s still missing, edit your shell startup file (~/.profile, ~/.bashrc, or ~/.zshrc) with your favorite text editor and add:

# Add $HOME/.local/bin to PATH if it exists and isn't already listed
if [ -d "$HOME/.local/bin" ]; then
  case ":$PATH:" in
    *":$HOME/.local/bin:"*)
      ;;
    *)
      export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
      ;;
  esac
fi

Save the file and reload it with:

source ~/.bashrc  # or `source ~/.zshrc` if using Zsh

Now, run echo $PATH again to confirm the change.

Install on Chromebook

Before installing Hugo on a Chromebook, you must enable the Linux development environment (Settings > About ChromeOS > Developers).

After setting up the Linux environment:

  1. Visit the Hugo Github Releases page.
  2. Scroll down to Assets and click Show all assets.
  3. Find and download the file named: hugo_extended_0.14x.x_linux-arm64.deb
  4. Open the Files app, navigate to the Downloads folder, double-click the downloaded file, and click Install.
  5. Once the installation finishes, click OK, then open the Terminal.
  6. In the Terminal verify the installation with:
hugo version

Troubleshoot

If the installation returns an error, open the Terminal and run:

lscpu
  1. Check the Vendor ID field in the output. It should match the architecture of the downloaded file.
  2. If it doesn’t match, download the correct file from the Hugo releases page and repeat the installation process.