To install Boost.Build from an official release or a nightly build, as available on the official web site, follow these steps:

1. Unpack the release. On the command line, go to the root of the unpacked tree.
2. Run either .\bootstrap.bat (on Windows), or ./bootstrap.sh
3. Run ./b2 install --prefix=PREFIX where PREFIX
4. Optionally, add PREFIX/bin to your PATH environment variable.

If you are not using a Boost.Build package, but rather the version bundled with the Boost C++ Libraries, the above commands should be run in the tools/build/v2 directory.

Now that Boost.Build is installed, you can try some of the examples. Copy PREFIX/share/boost-build/examples/hello to a different directory, then change to that directory and run:

PREFIX/bin/b2
PREFIX

A simple executable should be built.