introduction: SilverStripe is a web application. This means that you will need to have a webserver and database. We will take you through the setup of the server environment as well the application itself.
lets you install and upgrade SilverStripe and its modules. Although installing Composer is one extra step, it will give you much more flexibility than just downloading the file from silverstripe.org.
Other ways to get SilverStripe:
* If you just want to get the code as quickly as possible, you can [download SilverStripe from our website](http://silverstripe.org/download).
* If you already have an installed version of SilverStripe, and you haven't used Composer to get it, please see our [upgrading](upgrading) guide. Note that [Composer](composer) provides its own tools for upgrading.
## Setting up a server
### Linux/Unix
To run SilverStripe on Linux/Unix, set up one of the following web servers:
The most straightforward way to get SilverStripe running on Windows is with the [Microsoft Web Platform installer](windows-pi). You can skip the "getting the code" step.
For more flexibility, you can set up either of the following web servers, and use Composer to get the code: