Welcome to the Embark documentation! The following guides will help you guiding your way through your journey of building decentralized applications. If you encounter any problems when using Embark, or find anything unclear described here, please have a look at the [troubleshooting guide](troubleshooting.html), raise an issue on [GitHub](https://github.com/embarklabs/embark/issues) or ask in the [Gitter Chatroom](https://gitter.im/embark-framework/Lobby) respectively.
If you're planning to upgrade your Embark 3.2.x application to 4.x, head over to our [Migration Guide](/docs/migrating_from_3.x.html).
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## What is Embark?
Embark is a fast, easy to use, and powerful developer environment to build and deploy decentralized applications, also known as "DApps". It integrates with [Ethereum](https://ethereum.org/) blockchains, decentralized storages like [IPFS](https://ipfs.io) and [Swarm](https://swarm-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/introduction.html), and decentralized communication platforms like [Whisper](https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Whisper).
Embark's goal is to make building decentralized applications as easy as possible, by providing all the tools needed and staying extensible at the same time.
Some of Embark's features, but not all of them, are:
* **Automatic Smart Contract deployment** - Embark takes care of deploying your Smart Contracts as well as redeploying them as you make changes to your code. [Learn more](/docs/contracts_configuration.html)
* **Client development** - Build your application with the framework of your choice right within Embark.
* **Testing** - Test your applications and Smart Contracts through Web3 in JavaScript. [Learn More](/docs/contracts_testing.html)
* **Decentralized app distribution** - Embark integrates with decentralized storages like IPFS and helps you distributing your app in the network. [Learn more](/docs/storage_configuration.html)
* **Peer-to-peer messaging** - Send and receive messages via communication protocols like Whisper. [Learn more](/docs/messages_configuration.html)
* **Cockpit** - An companion application to make developing and debugging decentralized applications a breeze. [Learn more](/docs/cockpit_introduction.html)
There's so much more, but let's take it one step at a time. Make sure to check out our other guides in case you're looking for a particular feature.
If you haven't yet, this is a good time to [install Embark](installation.html) on your machine. Read on for more information!
