---
title: "Getting started"
description: "Install ver, initialize it, and take your first snapshot."
---

> Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://ver-vcs.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Getting started

This page takes you from nothing to a working ver setup with one local context and one snapshot.

## Install

### crates.io

```sh
cargo install ver-vcs
```

### From source

```sh
git clone https://github.com/AstraBert/ver.git
cd ver
cargo install --path crates/ver
```

## Initialize ver globally

```sh
ver ctx init --global
```

This creates `~/.ver/`, the home of `contexts.toml`, the file where all your contexts are registered.

## Create a context

A context pairs a **filesystem backend** (where blobs and history live) with a **KV backend** (where snapshots and names live). Scaffold one:

```sh
ver ctx scaffold myproject --fs local --kv embedded
```

This adds an empty `myproject` entry to `~/.ver/contexts.toml`. Fill in the paths:

```toml title="~/.ver/contexts.toml"
current = "myproject"

[fs.myproject]
base_directory = "/absolute/path/to/myproject"

[kv.myproject]
redb_path = "/absolute/path/to/myproject/.ver/kv.redb"
```

> **Absolute paths only**
>
> `base_directory` and `redb_path` must be absolute. ver validates the file every time it reads it and refuses to run against relative paths.

Switch to the context and initialize the project:

```sh
ver ctx switch myproject
ver ctx init
```

`ver ctx init` creates the `.ver/blobsdb/` and `.ver/snapshots_history/` directories under the context's base directory, and the redb database file.

## Take your first snapshot

```sh
cd /absolute/path/to/myproject
echo "hello" > hello.txt
ver snap full --name my-first-snapshot
```

ver chunks every tracked file, stores the chunks in the blob store, and records the snapshot under the name you gave it.

## See it work

```sh
ver log                              # snapshot history
echo "world" >> hello.txt
ver snap full --name second          # another snapshot
ver goto my-first-snapshot           # restore the first state
cat hello.txt                        # -> "hello"
```

## Next steps

- Add a `.verignore` file (same syntax as `.gitignore`) to exclude files from snapshots.
- Set up a second context backed by object storage and [sync](/guides/syncing/) your snapshots to it.
- Read the [concepts](/concepts/) page to understand what ver just stored.

Source: https://ver-vcs.net/getting-started/index.mdx