Downloading PhantomJS

Before we go through the features of PhantomJS, first we need to get our copy of the PhantomJS binaries. Typically, PhantomJS provides downloadable releases of binaries that are precompiled and packaged. You can choose from Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows precompiled packages. To download a copy, go to http://www.phantomjs.org/download.html.

Download your binaries based on your preference of operating system. After downloading, extract the binaries to any folder you desire. That's it! Your PhantomJS binary is ready to be used.

Tip

Add PhantomJS to PATH

Add the /bin folder of PhantomJS into your $PATH OS to make it easier when calling PhantomJS main binary. This allows us to call the binary anywhere without specifying the full path.

We will be using the Mac OS X version of PhantomJS throughout this book for running code examples. Don't worry if you are working on a different platform; the instructions are the same on all platforms.

Tip

Quick PhantomJS install on Mac OS X

As an alternative to downloading the precompiled binary, we can install PhantomJS using brew:

brew update && brew install phantomjs

For more information about brew, visit http://brew.sh/.