= Getting Started

*OpenZeppelin is a library for secure smart contract development.* It provides implementations of standards like ERC20 and ERC721 which you can deploy as-is or extend to suit your needs, as well as Solidity components to build custom contracts and more complex decentralized systems.

[[install]]
== Install

OpenZeppelin should be installed directly into your existing node.js project with `npm install @openzeppelin/contracts`. We will use https://truffleframework.com/truffle[Truffle], an Ethereum development environment, to get started.

Please install Truffle and initialize your project:

[source,sh]
----
$ mkdir myproject
$ cd myproject
$ npm init -y
$ npm install truffle
$ npx truffle init
----

To install the OpenZeppelin library, run the following in your Solidity project root directory:

[source,sh]
----
$ npm install @openzeppelin/contracts
----

NOTE: OpenZeppelin features a stable API, which means your contracts won't break unexpectedly when upgrading to a newer minor version. You can read ṫhe details in our xref:api-stability.adoc[API Stability] document.

[[usage]]
== Usage

Once installed, you can start using the contracts in the library by importing them:

[source,solidity]
----
pragma solidity ^0.5.0;

import "@openzeppelin/contracts/ownership/Ownable.sol";

contract MyContract is Ownable {
  ...
}
----

Truffle and other Ethereum development toolkits will automatically detect the installed library, and compile the imported contracts.

IMPORTANT: You should always use the installed code as-is, and neither copy-paste it from online sources, nor modify it yourself.

[[next-steps]]
== Next Steps

Check out the the guides in the sidebar to learn about different concepts, and how to use the contracts that OpenZeppelin provides.

* xref:access-control.adoc[Learn about Access Control]
* xref:crowdsales.adoc[Learn about Crowdsales]
* xref:tokens.adoc[Learn about Tokens]
* xref:utilities.adoc[Learn about our Utilities]

OpenZeppelin's xref:api:token/ERC20.adoc[full API] is also thoroughly documented, and serves as a great reference when developing your smart contract application.

Additionally, you can also ask for help or follow OpenZeppelin's development in the https://forum.openzeppelin.com[community forum].

Finally, you may want to take a look at the guides on our blog, which cover several common use cases and good practices: https://blog.openzeppelin.com/guides. The following articles provide great background reading, though please note, some of the referenced tools have changed as the tooling in the ecosystem continues to rapidly evolve.

* https://blog.openzeppelin.com/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-smart-contracts-in-ethereum-848f08001f05[The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Smart Contracts in Ethereum] will help you get an overview of the various tools available for smart contract development, and help you set up your environment
* https://blog.openzeppelin.com/a-gentle-introduction-to-ethereum-programming-part-1-783cc7796094[A Gentle Introduction to Ethereum Programming, Part 1] provides very useful information on an introductory level, including many basic concepts from the Ethereum platform
* For a more in-depth dive, you may read the guide https://blog.openzeppelin.com/designing-the-architecture-for-your-ethereum-application-9cec086f8317[Designing the architecture for your Ethereum application], which discusses how to better structure your application and its relationship to the real world
