Revision HistoryRevision 1.5203 Jasnuary 2020esrGo makes a place as a plausible learning language, displacing Java.Revision 1.5106 October 2017esrLink to "Things Every Hacker Once Knew." Mention USB-stick distros. Many updated translation links.Revision 1.5019 July 2015esrAdded link to "Let's Go Larval".Revision 1.4921 November 2014esrAdded link to "How To Learn Hacking".Revision 1.4819 June 2014esrfreshmeat/freecode is dead, alas.Revision 1.4720 May 2014esrFix up various stale links. Join a hackerspace!Revision 1.4625 Sep 2013esrAdd micropatronage explanation and gittip link. Why you should not ask me for advice on how to get started.Revision 1.4512 May 2013esrOpen Solaris isn't, and Unity screwed the pooch.Revision 1.4420 May 2012esrUpdated the critique of Java.Revision 1.4307 Feb 2011esrPython passed Perl in popularity in 2010.Revision 1.4222 Oct 2010esrAdded "Historical note".Revision 1.403 Nov 2008esrLink fixes.Revision 1.3914 Aug 2008esrLink fixes.Revision 1.388 Jan 2008esrDeprecate Java as a language to learn early.Revision 1.374 Oct 2007esrRecommend Ubuntu as a Unix distro for newbies.


editor of the Jargon File and author of a few other well-known documents of similar nature, I often get email requests from enthusiastic network newbies asking (in effect) "how can I learn to be a wizardly hacker?". Back in 1996 I noticed that there didn't seem to be any other FAQs or web documents that addressed this vital question, so I started this one. A lot of hackers now consider it definitive, and I suppose that means it is. Still, I don't claim to be the exclusive authority on this topic; if you don't like what you read here, write your own.

If you are reading a snapshot of this document offline, the current version lives at http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html.

Note: there is a list of Frequently Asked Questions at the end of this document. Please read these—twice—before mailing me any questions about this document.

Numerous translations of this document are available: Arabic Belorussian Bulgarian Chinese, Czech. Danish Dutch Estonian French German, Greek Hungarian, Italian Hebrew, Japanese Lithuanian Norwegian, Persian Polish Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian Spanish, Turkish, and Swedish. Note that since this document changes occasionally, they may be out of date to varying degrees.

The five-dots-in-nine-squares diagram that decorates this document is called a glider. It is a simple pattern with some surprising properties in a mathematical simulation called Life that has fascinated hackers for many years. I think it makes a good visual emblem for what hackers are like — abstract, at first a bit mysterious-see



ming, but a gateway to a whole world with an intricate logic of its own. Read more about the glider emblem here.

If you find this document valuable, please support me on Patreon or SubscribeStar. And consider also supporting other hackers who have produced code that you use and value via Loadsharers. Lots of small but continuing donations add up quickly, and can free the people who have given you gifts of their labor to create more value.

What Is a Hacker?

The Jargon File contains a bunch of definitions of the term ‘hacker’, most having to do with technical adeptness and a delight in solving problems and overcoming limits. If you want to know how to become a hacker, though, only two are

Table of Contents

Why This Document?What Is a Hacker?The Hacker Attitude1. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.2. No problem should ever have to be solved twice.3. Boredom and drudgery are evil.4. Freedom is good.5. Attitude is no substitute for competence.Basic Hacking Skills1. Learn how to program.2. Get one of the open-source Unixes and learn to use and run it.3. Learn how to use the World Wide Web and write HTML.4. If you don't have functional English, learn it.Status in the Hacker Culture1. Write open-source software2. Help test and debug open-source software3. Publish useful information4. Help keep the infrastructure working5. Serve the hacker culture itselfThe Hacker/Nerd ConnectionPoints For StyleHistorical Note: Hacking, Open Source, and Free SoftwareOther ResourcesFrequently Asked Questions