Getting Started/Build

From KDE TechBase
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Getting Started/Build

Here you will find instructions for compiling and installing KDE from source and suggestions for when compilation doesn't go so smoothly.

Introduction

It is strongly recommended that you install your development builds into a separate non-system location

This provides for a number of advantages:

  • Your system installed version of KDE is untouched, meaning your normal desktop and applications remain stable and usable even if your development build breaks
  • You can build and run multiple development versions of KDE at the same time, i.e. a stable branch for bug fixes and an unstable branch for new features

That said, the instructions provided are completely generic and will work for building a system install if you configure your environment to do so.

Extra Information

The build process described in these pages is kept as simple and generic as possible, but it is generally assumed you are building KDE4 on Linux. Extra information about building KDE under specific platforms or conditions can be found at the following links:

Scripted Builds

The easiest way to build the KDE SC from scratch is to use one of the build scripts that are available. This approach is highly recommended for those new to building KDE SC. The builds remain compatible with the manual methods of building KDE SC so you can change later if you want.

Getting Ready

Manually building KDE Software requires that you first set up the build environment and install the required development tools and libraries.

Building From Source

Troubleshooting The Build

Compile and Linking errors are frequent sources of discouragement. Make careful note of the first occurrence of an error in your build process. It could be as simple as a bad environment variable, an unexpected version of a library or missing prerequisite. Please read the instructions carefully.

Please review your logs and do searches for fixes. If you cannot find a solution, try the Troubleshooting page. If you still cannot resolve the problem then please for help on IRC or a Mailing List. You can post your detailed issue from Build/Stories.