Getting Started/Build

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This page is yet to be reviewed for changes required by the migration to Git. Information and commands on this page may no longer be valid and should be used with care. Please see the KDE Git hub page for more details.

Getting Started/Build

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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:

• Building KDE3 or KDE2
• Project Neon on Kubuntu
• Debian
• FreeBSD
• Microsoft Windows
• Apple Mac OS X
• On a Virtual Machine.
• openSUSE Linux

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.

• The kdesrc-bld script by Michael Pyne
• The build-tool script by Michael Jansen

Getting Ready

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

• Set up yourBuild Environment
• Install the Build Requirements
• Install or build Qt
• Install or build kdesupport

Building From Source

• Download and Build KDE SC from Git
• Build a stable 4.x release
• Set up scripts to ease KDE development

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.