Install Elixir with asdf

Before you start working on elixir projects, you will need to have elixir installed. I recommend using asdf to install and manage elixir versions. If you don’t already have asdf setup on your machine, follow the asdf installation guide. Once asdf is installed and working, you will need to install elixir and erlang

Install Erlang

To install erlang run the following

# Adds erlang to asdf
asdf plugin-add erlang https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-erlang.git

# for OSX run (other systems, check here: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-erlang#before-asdf-install)
brew install autoconf
brew install wxmac

# Install a specific erlang version
asdf install erlang <version>

Installing erlang typically takes a while, so now would be a good time to grab a coffee.

Install Elixir

Then install elixir by running:

asdf plugin-add elixir https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-elixir.git
asdf install elixir <version>

Start working

Once you have installed your desired elixir and erlang versions pop into your working directory and run the following

asdf local elixir <version>
asdf local erlang <version>

This will set the versions to use in this project and will likely create a .tool-versions file. This is much like a .node-version or .ruby-version file. If there is a .tool-versions file already present in your project, you can simply run asdf install to set up all local project versions.