# Getting Started

## Overview

Faker is a popular library that generates fake (but reasonable) data that can be used for things such as:

- Unit Testing
- Performance Testing
- Building Demos
- Working without a completed backend

Faker was originally written in [Perl](https://metacpan.org/dist/Data-Faker) and this is the JavaScript port. Language bindings also exist for [Ruby](https://github.com/faker-ruby/faker), [Java](https://github.com/DiUS/java-faker), and [Python](https://github.com/joke2k/faker).

This documentation only covers the JavaScript implementation of Faker.

## Environments

You can run Faker in the Browser, within Node, or the many other languages supported by Faker. ([Perl](https://metacpan.org/dist/Data-Faker), [Ruby](https://github.com/faker-ruby/faker), [Java](https://github.com/DiUS/java-faker), and [Python](https://github.com/joke2k/faker))

## Installation

Install it as a Dev Dependency using your favorite package manager.

```shell
npm install @faker-js/faker --save-dev
```

or

```shell
yarn add @faker-js/faker --dev
```

or

```shell
pnpm add @faker-js/faker --save-dev
```

## Community

If you have questions or need help, reach out to the community via [Discord](https://chat.fakerjs.dev) and [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/faker-js/faker/discussions).