title: Installing Boost to custom directory
body: <p>I have tried following <a href="https://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_66_0/more/getting_started/unix-variants.html" rel="noreferrer">the tutorial</a> Boost gives on their documentation for installing boost and have looked at a few other questions here to try to determine why I can't install Boost at a custom location. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding, but the <code>--prefix</code> option is supposed to specify where the Boost headers and libs will go, then <code>bootstrapper.sh</code> creates a <code>.jam</code> file that is used when <code>b2</code> or <code>bjam</code> is run.</p>
  
  <p>When I issue the following command</p>
  
  <pre><code> ./bootstrap.sh --prefix="$HOME/dev/emulator/src/boost" --includedir=headers --libdir=dist --with-libraries=date_time
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>I see that the correct lines are added to the generated <code>project-config.jam</code> file</p>
  
  <pre><code>option.set prefix : /home/liam/dev/emulator/src/boost ;
  option.set exec-prefix : /home/liam/dev/emulator/src/boost ;
  option.set libdir : dist ;
  option.set includedir : headers ;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, when I run <code>./b2</code> as instructed by the documentation, it installs the Boost libraries to the source folder; i.e.</p>
  
  <pre><code>The following directory should be added to compiler include paths:
  
      /home/liam/Downloads/brave/boost_1_66_0
  
  The following directory should be added to linker library paths:
  
      /home/liam/Downloads/brave/boost_1_66_0/stage/lib
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>And running <code>./b2 install</code> gives me no file output to the intended directory either.</p>