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LightGBM is a gradient boosting framework that uses tree based learning algorithms. It is designed to be distributed and efficient with the following advantages:
[Comparison experiments](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/blob/master/docs/Experiments.rst#comparison-experiment) on public datasets show that LightGBM can outperform existing boosting frameworks on both efficiency and accuracy, with significantly lower memory consumption. What's more, the [parallel experiments](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/blob/master/docs/Experiments.rst#parallel-experiment) show that LightGBM can achieve a linear speed-up by using multiple machines for training in specific settings.
01/08/2017 : Release [**R-package**](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/tree/master/R-package) beta version, welcome to have a try and provide feedback.
12/02/2016 : Release [**Python-package**](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/tree/master/python-package) beta version, welcome to have a try and provide feedback.
Install by following the [guide](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/blob/master/docs/Installation-Guide.rst) for the command line program, [Python-package](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/tree/master/python-package) or [R-package](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/tree/master/R-package). Then please see the [Quick Start](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/blob/master/docs/Quick-Start.md) guide.
* [**Parallel Learning**](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/blob/master/docs/Parallel-Learning-Guide.rst) and [**GPU Learning**](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/blob/master/docs/GPU-Tutorial.md) can speed up computation
* Ask a question [on Stack Overflow with the `lightgbm` tag ](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/ask?tags=lightgbm), we monitor this for new questions.
* Discuss on the [LightGBM Gitter](https://gitter.im/Microsoft/LightGBM).
LightGBM has been developed and used by many active community members. Your help is very valuable to make it better for everyone.
- Check out [call for contributions](https://github.com/Microsoft/LightGBM/issues?q=is%3Aissue+is%3Aopen+label%3Acall-for-contribution) to see what can be improved, or open an issue if you want something.
This project has adopted the [Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct](https://opensource.microsoft.com/codeofconduct/). For more information see the [Code of Conduct FAQ](https://opensource.microsoft.com/codeofconduct/faq/) or contact [opencode@microsoft.com](mailto:opencode@microsoft.com) with any additional questions or comments.
