Installing SQLite locally

Learn how to install SQLite locally to solve Exercism's exercises on your own machine

Target Version

Testing for this track uses the alpine:3.18 Docker image which, as of May 2025, uses sqlite3 version 3.41.2. We strive to ensure that the tools provided by this track will work on the latest Ubuntu LTS release. While users may have newer versions installed, they should be aware that some features may not work with our test runner. Features can be compared on SQLite version history.

Windows

To install SQLite on Windows, follow these steps:

  1. Download the precompiled windows binaries from the official download page.
  2. Extract the downloaded ZIP file to a directory of your choice. For example, C:\Program Files\sqlite3.
  3. Add the directory containing sqlite3.exe to the system's PATH environment variable. The process is a little different for each Windows version, but the information should be easy to search. For example instructions for Windows 11 and Windows 10.

macOS

On macOS, SQLite is pre-installed. However, if you need a newer version, you can use Homebrew:

brew install sqlite

Ubuntu / Debian

For Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, you can install SQLite using apt:

sudo apt install sqlite3

CentOS / Fedora / RHEL

On CentOS, Fedora, and Red Hat-based systems, you can install SQLite using yum or dnf:

sudo yum install sqlite3
# OR
sudo dnf install sqlite3

Arch Linux

On Arch Linux, you can install SQLite using pacman:

sudo pacman -S sqlite

Other installation routes and older versions

Refer to the SQLite download page for more information and alternative installation methods. The Build Product Names and Info section has the naming template for different SQLite versions, so you should be able to search for your desired version with your favorite search engine.