Installing and running Grinder is quite easy. It is a fully portable application written in C++14 using the Qt framework and was tested on Windows, Linux and MacOSX. Since it comes as a Qt Creator project, it is best to start exactly there:
1.**Get Qt and Qt Creator**
Download the Qt framework from the [here](https://www.qt.io/developers/); Grinder requires at least version 5.10.0. Make sure that you install Qt Creator as well.
Download the Qt framework from the [here](https://www.qt.io/developers/); Grinder requires at least version 5.10.0. Make sure that you install Qt Creator as well.
2.**Get all necessary libraries**
Grinder requires several external libraries:
*[OpenCV 3](https://opencv.org/)(v3.4.0 or higher)
*[HDF5](https://www.hdfgroup.org)(v1.8.0 or higher)
*[ZeroMQ](http://zeromq.org/)(v4.2.0 or higher)
All these libraries can be compiled using [CMake](https://cmake.org). Please do understand that we cannot offer any help regarding compiling these libraries on your system.
Grinder requires several external libraries:
*[OpenCV 3](https://opencv.org/)(v3.4.0 or higher)
*[HDF5](https://www.hdfgroup.org)(v1.8.0 or higher)
*[ZeroMQ](http://zeromq.org/)(v4.2.0 or higher)
All these libraries can be compiled using [CMake](https://cmake.org). Please do understand that we cannot offer any help regarding compiling these libraries on your system.
3.**Open the Grinder.pro file in Qt Creator**
_Grinder.pro_ is the main project file of Grinder.
_Grinder.pro_ is the main project file of Grinder.
4.**Edit Libraries.pro to match your system**
To find and link to the external libraries mentioned above, the Grinder project uses the file _Libraries/Libraries.pro_. You will have to edit the various paths (_INCLUDEPATH_, _DEPENDPATH_ and _LIBS_) to match those on your system.
To find and link to the external libraries mentioned above, the Grinder project uses the file _Libraries/Libraries.pro_. You will have to edit the various paths (_INCLUDEPATH_, _DEPENDPATH_ and _LIBS_) to match those on your system.
5.**Compile Grinder**
Once you have everything in place and edited the _Libraries.pro_ file, you can compile the actual Grinder project. There should be no issues when compiling Grinder. If you get any linker errors, make sure that you edited the _Libraries.pro_ file correctly.
Once you have everything in place and edited the _Libraries.pro_ file, you can compile the actual Grinder project. There should be no issues when compiling Grinder. If you get any linker errors, make sure that you edited the _Libraries.pro_ file correctly.
6.**Run Grinder**
That’s it! If everything went well, you are now ready to use Grinder. If you are new to Grinder, you should start your journey [here](GettingStarted.md).
That’s it! If everything went well, you are now ready to use Grinder. If you are new to Grinder, you should start your journey [here](GettingStarted.md).
