Getting Started/Build

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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.

Other Platforms

KDE can also be built on platforms other than Linux. For more details please see the relevant page:

Build Notes for Special Users

Distribution managers may be interested in installing KDE SC using a virtual machine.
Core developers may want to use a common KDE developer setup (this page is not complete).

Build Environment

The KDE Build System requires certain environment settings before it can build KDE software. There are also further shortcut settings you can configure to make your like easier. You can find the details of these on the Build Environment page.

Qt

In each installation scenario above, Qt is installed in the most appropriate way. For your reference, there are three ways to install it:

KDE-Qt (Recommended): Previously known as qt-copy -- This is the minimum version of Qt any of your users are expected to have. It is also the recommended one. Some bugs may be fixed in new Qt, so you may have to work-around bugs in lower versions, including this one. However, it's generally considered more stable, since we manually sync releases from Main Qt, as well as our own patches which also fix bugs not already fixed in Main Qt.

System Qt: Often the easiest way to go, because most people have it already, you may have to install the QCA plugin as root though. However, depending on how up-to-date your distribution is (most aren't) and if you are running KDE from master, then your Qt will probably be far too old.

Main Qt: Get it straight from Nokia, experience the latest cool features and bugfixes (and regressions!). Bear in mind though, that applications which reside in master can only depend on a certain "highest" Qt version. This is because distributions either lag behind, or it is at an awkward time in the KDE Release Schedule, which could end up granting us a loss in stability. Other applications, like KDevelop, Amarok, and applications in playground, etc. have their own rules.

Building The Source

KDE 4 (Development version, trunk): Instructions for installing the latest and greatest KDE development source code on:

Linux
- openSUSE Linux

Old Versions: Instructions for building older KDE versions.

Coexisting Versions: Directions to build multiple KDE versions on the same machine simultaneously.

FAQ: Help with errors and other questions you might have.

Troubleshooting the build

See Troubleshooting

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 review your logs and do searches for fixes. If you cannot find a solution, try Build/KDE4/Errors, the IRC channel, and the mailing lists. You can post your detailed issue from Build/Stories.