Install Gnuplot: Guides for Every Platform
gnuplot 6.0.5 runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and every platform has a fast standard route: the official installer on Windows, Homebrew on macOS, and your distribution’s package manager on Linux. Pick your platform below — each guide ends with the same one-minute verification so you know the install worked.
Quick Platform Picker
Windows
Download the official 6.0.5 installer from SourceForge, run it, and tick “Add application directory to your PATH” during setup. Start with the Windows installation guide; Windows 11 users get platform-specific notes (SmartScreen, ARM PCs) in the Windows 11 guide, and command-line fans can skip the wizard entirely with the winget guide.
macOS
There is no official Mac installer package — the standard route is one Homebrew command, brew install gnuplot, with MacPorts as the alternative. The macOS guide covers both, plus what to do when the formula lags the newest release.
Linux
Your distribution already packages gnuplot: apt on Ubuntu and Debian, dnf on Fedora, pacman on Arch, zypper on openSUSE. See the Ubuntu & Debian guide or the cross-distribution Linux guide, which also includes a short source build for the exact 6.0.5 release.
All Installation Guides
Install Gnuplot on Windows
The full walkthrough for the official 6.0.5 installer, including the PATH checkbox that makes the gnuplot command work everywhere.
Install Gnuplot on Windows 11
Windows 11 specifics: the SmartScreen prompt, the native build for ARM-based PCs, and a winget alternative.
Install Gnuplot with winget
One command from Windows Terminal using the gnuplot.gnuplot package — no browser download needed.
Install Gnuplot on macOS
One Homebrew command, a MacPorts alternative, and why there is no official Mac installer to download.
Install Gnuplot on Ubuntu & Debian
The apt route, which version you actually get, and how to build 6.0.5 when you need the newest release.
Install Gnuplot on Linux
Fedora, Arch, and openSUSE package commands plus a short source build that works on any distribution.
Gnuplot Portable (No Install)
Extract the .7z package to a folder or USB drive and run gnuplot with no installation and no admin rights.
Gnuplot in VS Code
Syntax highlighting from the Marketplace, a run task for one-click plotting, and terminal checks.
Verify Your Installation
The one-minute checklist: version output, which binary runs, a test plot, and PATH symptom fixes.
Verify Your Installation
Whichever route you took, finish with the verification checklist: gnuplot --version should print gnuplot 6.0 patchlevel 5 in a fresh terminal, and one test plot confirms the graphical terminal works. All packages referenced by these guides are listed on the download page. In a hurry or on a locked-down machine? The online gnuplot terminal runs in your browser with nothing to install.
Back up your plot scripts and data
Your .gp scripts and data files are small but hard to recreate. Keeping a synced backup means a reinstall never costs you your work. pCloud offers cloud storage with a one-time lifetime option and syncs a scripts folder across machines automatically. Affiliate link — see our Affiliate Disclosure.