> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/fastapi/fastapi/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Installation

> Install FastAPI and its dependencies to start building high-performance APIs

# Installation

Get started with FastAPI by installing it in your Python environment.

## Requirements

<Info>
  FastAPI requires **Python 3.10 or higher**. Make sure you have a compatible Python version installed.
</Info>

You can check your Python version with:

```bash theme={null}
python --version
```

## Installation options

FastAPI offers two installation options depending on your needs:

### Standard installation (recommended)

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a virtual environment">
    It's recommended to create a virtual environment for your project:

    ```bash theme={null}
    python -m venv venv
    ```

    Activate the virtual environment:

    <CodeGroup>
      ```bash macOS/Linux theme={null}
      source venv/bin/activate
      ```

      ```bash Windows theme={null}
      venv\Scripts\activate
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install FastAPI with standard dependencies">
    Install FastAPI with all standard dependencies included:

    ```bash theme={null}
    pip install "fastapi[standard]"
    ```

    <Note>
      Make sure to use quotes around `"fastapi[standard]"` to ensure it works correctly in all terminals.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify installation">
    Verify that FastAPI is installed correctly:

    ```bash theme={null}
    python -c "import fastapi; print(fastapi.__version__)"
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Minimal installation

If you want more control over dependencies, you can install just the core FastAPI package:

```bash theme={null}
pip install fastapi
```

With the minimal installation, you'll need to install additional dependencies manually based on your needs:

```bash theme={null}
# For the development server
pip install "uvicorn[standard]"

# For form data and file uploads
pip install python-multipart

# For email validation
pip install email-validator
```

## What's included in the standard installation?

When you install `fastapi[standard]`, you get:

**Used by Pydantic:**

* `email-validator` - Email validation support
* `pydantic-settings` - Settings management
* `pydantic-extra-types` - Extra data types

**Used by Starlette:**

* `httpx` - HTTP client for testing with `TestClient`
* `jinja2` - Template rendering support
* `python-multipart` - Form parsing and file uploads

**Used by FastAPI:**

* `uvicorn[standard]` - ASGI server for running your application
* `fastapi-cli[standard]` - Command-line interface with the `fastapi` command

<Warning>
  The `fastapi[standard]` installation includes `fastapi-cloud-cli` for deploying to FastAPI Cloud. If you don't want this, use `pip install "fastapi[standard-no-fastapi-cloud-cli]"` instead.
</Warning>

## Understanding the dependencies

### Core dependencies

FastAPI has only a few core dependencies that are always installed:

* **Starlette** (≥0.46.0) - Web framework foundation
* **Pydantic** (≥2.7.0) - Data validation using Python type hints
* **typing-extensions** (≥4.8.0) - Backported type hints
* **typing-inspection** (≥0.4.2) - Runtime type inspection
* **annotated-doc** (≥0.0.2) - Documentation annotations

### Optional dependencies

You can install additional packages for specific features:

```bash theme={null}
# For JSON performance improvements
pip install orjson
# or
pip install ujson

# For additional Pydantic types
pip install pydantic-extra-types
```

## Next steps

Now that you have FastAPI installed, you're ready to build your first API:

<Card title="Quick start guide" icon="bolt" href="/quickstart">
  Create your first FastAPI application in minutes
</Card>