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kdesrc-build

Categories:   Development

Screenshot of kdesrc-build
Screenshot of kdesrc-build

kdesrc-build is a tool to allow you to easily build KDE from its source repositories.

Syntax highlighting for kdesrc-buildrc files is available in Kate/KWrite via the menu Tools->Highlighting->Configuration.

Features:

  • Will automatically checkout and update the KDE source code from its source repository.
  • Integrates with the KDE source code infrastructure to automatically build modules in the required order, and using the appropriate branch.
  • Easily supports building specific branches, tags, or even revisions of a module (or all of KDE software).
  • Supports many build systems. It's even possible to build many non-KDE software projects in a pinch (for instance, CMake can be built from its own git sources if your distribution does not have CMake packages).
  • Supports speedy initial checkouts of modules (KDE Git projects only) by using the releases already available on the KDE project network.
  • Supports a "dry run" mode (the --pretend) option so that you can experiment with different settings non-destructively.
  • kdesrc-build can download modules (both initial checkout and updates) even while building modules that have already been updated.
  • kdesrc-build supports uninstalling modules (manually, or prior to installing an already-installed module) in order to keep the install directory clean. Note that this feature requires CMake support and is still experimental.
  • kdesrc-build logs everything for easy perusal later, that way you can determine why things went wrong if a build fails. kdesrc-build automatically creates symlinks for easy access to the last log (log/latest). color-coding of the output (which can be turned off).
  • Has support for building the Qt Project's Qt library, which is a prerequisite for KDE software.
  • kdesrc-build is very customizable. You can control most options down to a module-by-module basis if you so desire, including configure-flags, CMake flags, and your C++ flags during compilation. Instead of trying to remember what configure line you used, you can set it once and forget it.
  • Extensive documentation. Feel free to let me know if you need something explained (e-mail address at bottom), or contact the kde-devel mailing list.
  • A detailed sample configuration file is included, usually you can just copy it to ~/.config/kdesrc-buildrc and be done with it.
  • Much more!