Puppet

# What is Puppet?

Put simply, Puppet is a system for automating system administration tasks. To learn more, read our [[Big Picture]] overview of Puppet,

or take a deeper look at what Puppet can do with the [Puppet Introduction](http://docs.puppetlabs.com/guides/introduction.html). There's also an [[About Puppet]] page which gives the highlights of Puppet's functionality.

# Will Puppet work for me?       

Puppet is designed to work on most varieties of UNIX-like operating systems (including Linux and OS X). We maintain a [[Stable Platforms]] where the community reports successes on a wide spectrum of systems. If you're looking to support a particular package, you can check our list of systems [[Managed By Puppet]].

# How do I get Puppet up-and-running?

See the [[Downloading Puppet]] page for how to download Puppet. One good way to get started is to set up a very simple installation of

Puppet, and the first tutorial we recommend is just that: the [[Simplest Puppet Install Pattern]] walks you through a bare-bones installation of Puppet and is followed by the [[Advanced Puppet Pattern]]. We also keep an [[Patterns|index of patterns]] submitted by our developers and the Puppet community.

# Where do I go for help?

The core reference documentation for Puppet is the [curated Documentation](http://docs.puppetlabs.com).

Beyond this, there is a wealth of additional information including references, articles and tutorials on the Puppet wiki, all of which should be indexed on the [[Documentation Start]] page.

You can also lodge bug reports and support requests at our [ticketing system](http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/show/puppet).  Please see the [[Bug Submission Guide|Bug Submission Guide]] for information about submitting bugs.

If you don't find answers there, the Puppet community is another great resource. You can find information about the [[IRC Channel]] and [[Getting\_Help#mailing-lists|mailing lists]] on the [[Getting_Help|Getting Help]] page.

## See Also: Web Documentation

The Wiki is a great place to collaborate and work on new ideas, or share tips and tricks.   Our [Curated Documentation](http://docs.puppetlabs.com) is a great first place to start, a strong complement to the Wiki. Be sure to explore both!   Changes to the curated docs can be suggested by filing a bug on the [Puppet Docs project](http://projects.puppetlabs.com/projects/puppet-docs) or by using the "Feedback" tab on any page of the documentation.   Over time established parts of the Wiki will move over there, and we'll leave the Wiki for examples, clever ideas, examples, and tips.