kdesrc-build

tool for building KDE software from source repositories

TLDR

Initialize kdesrc-build

$ kdesrc-build --initial-setup

Build a KDE component and its dependencies

$ kdesrc-build [component_name]

Build without updating or dependencies

$ kdesrc-build --no-src --no-include-dependencies [component_name]

Refresh build directories before compiling

$ kdesrc-build --refresh-build [component_name]

Resume from a specific dependency

$ kdesrc-build --resume-from [dependency_component] [component_name]

Run a built component

$ kdesrc-build --run --exec [executable_name] [component_name]

Preview what would be done without building anything

$ kdesrc-build --pretend [component_name]

Rebuild only the components that failed last time

$ kdesrc-build --rebuild-failures

Build all configured components

$ kdesrc-build

SYNOPSIS

kdesrc-build [options] [components]

kdesrc-build is a tool for building KDE software from source repositories. It automates downloading, configuring, and compiling KDE components with proper dependency handling.The tool manages a local checkout of KDE source code and can build individual components or entire desktop environments. Configuration is read from kdesrc-buildrc in the current directory, ~/.config/kdesrc-buildrc, or the legacy ~/.kdesrc-buildrc.

PARAMETERS

--initial-setup

Install distribution build dependencies, generate a configuration file and set up the shell environment

--no-src

Don't update source code

--no-include-dependencies

Don't build dependencies

--refresh-build

Clean build directories before building

--resume-from COMPONENT

Resume the build starting with the specified component

--resume-after COMPONENT

Resume the build with the component after the specified one

--rebuild-failures

Build only the components that failed during the previous run

-p, --pretend, --dry-run

Show what would be done without updating or building anything

--metadata-only

Only download the KDE project metadata needed for dependency resolution

--run [--exec NAME] PROGRAM

Source the install prefix environment and run a built program (alias --start-program)

--stop-on-failure, --no-stop-on-failure

Stop, or continue, after a component fails to build

CAVEATS

Requires significant disk space and time. Build dependencies must be installed. kdesrc-build is no longer actively developed: KDE now recommends kde-builder, which accepts largely the same options but uses a YAML configuration (kde-builder.yaml); existing kdesrc-buildrc files can be converted.

HISTORY

kdesrc-build, written in Perl and originally named kdesvn-build from the Subversion era, was for many years the standard tool for KDE developers to build KDE software from source. In 2024 KDE switched its recommended workflow to kde-builder, a Python rewrite, and kdesrc-build was superseded.

RESOURCES

Source code