This is an old version, view current version.

Overview

Stan logo

This is the official reference manual for Stan’s programming language for coding probability models, inference algorithms for fitting models and making predictions, and posterior analysis tools for evaluating the results. This manual applies to all Stan interfaces.

There are two additional interface-neutral manuals, the [Stan Functions Reference]((https://mc-stan.org/docs/functions-reference/index.html) listing all the built-in functions and their signatures, and the [Stan User’s Guide]((https://mc-stan.org/docs/stan-users-guide/index.html) providing examples and programming techniques. There is also a separate installation and getting started guide for each interface.

Web resources

Stan is an open-source software project, resources for which are hosted on various web sites:

  • Stan web site: links to the official Stan releases, source code, installation instructions, and full documentation, including the latest version of this manual, the user’s guide and the getting started guide for each interface, tutorials, case studies, and reference materials for developers.

  • Stan forum: message board for questions, discussion, and announcements related to Stan for both users and developers.

  • Stan GitHub organization: version controlled code and document repositories, issue trackers for bug reports and feature requests, code review, and wikis; includes all of Stan’s source code, documentation, and web pages.