KDE Frameworks/Getting Started
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Introduction
There are many different ways to become involved in the KDE Community, ranging from simply using our software all the way through to being a core Frameworks developer.
This section of KDE TechBase is designed to help get you started in participating in the technical side of the KDE community. It will explain to you how KDE Software is structured and built, and how you can participate by building KDE Software for yourself.
If you just want to get started building the code then you can skip to the build instructions, but it is recommended you first understand the background material presented here.
Using KDE Software
If you just want to use stable KDE Software for your everyday computing needs, then you do not need to build KDE Software for yourself. You should instead use the software installer provided by your Linux distribution to install KDE Software.
The best place to learn how to do this is through your distribution's normal support channels, although you may find some useful information on the following pages:
- Linux and BSD Distributions shipping KDE
- Install KDE Software on Windows
- Install KDE Software on Mac OS X
Getting Help
If you are looking for help in using KDE Plasma or KDE Applications then please visit the KDE UserBase.
If you have any questions or problems with building or developing KDE Software please feel free to ask for help. The IRC channel #kde-devel is recommended as the best source of general help. For application-specific help please try the application's own mailing list or IRC channel.
Be patient while waiting for a response, and try to work through the problem yourself: we aren't going to do it all for you. Working your way through and understanding why something doesn't work is a good way to learn how to do things the right way.
Development Policies
KDE Software is a very large, diverse and complex code base and the KDE Community community has developed many policies and processes to make the KDE Software development process a lot easier. These are documented elsewhere in TechBase and you should try to familiarise yourself with them over time. You should also learn any specific contribution guidelines for the application that you might be working on.
Don't feel you have to read through every single KDE policy before you even send your first patch. Start with the manifesto and the code of conduct; these are the basis for interacting with the KDE Community in general. When it comes to contributing code, the most important thing to get right is how to send your contribution (see the section about contributing). Maintainers and other contributors will be more familiar with the technical policies, and will help you make your contribution adhere to them while you are still starting out.
- The KDE Community Manifesto that all KDE Projects follow
- The KDE Community Code of Conduct that all KDE Community members must adhere to
- Development Policies and Procedures to follow
- The KDE Software Engineering Framework
- The development lifecycle for a new application
- The KDE Release Schedule
Build And Run
The following sections explain the steps you need to successfully build and run KDE Software from source:
- How the KDE Software source code is structured
- How to Build and Install KDE Software
- Development Tools useful in developing KDE Software
Contributing
Once you have a copy of KDE Software built you can then start contributing code back to the KDE Community. The pages below will help you find out how you can help make KDE Software even better.