Linux distributions have extensive repositories most of them are free and open source letting you compile your own. But sometimes you will have to compile from source when you come across a confusing application or a new program version.
And here is a guide on how to compile and install software from source in Linux.
Step 1 – Install the required tools
Firstly, you need to install other packages such as curl and gettext
Run:
$ sudo apt install libz-dev libssl-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libexpat1-dev gettext cmake gcc curl
Output:
Step 2 – Download the Package Source Code
Firstly, navigate to the Downloads directory:
$ cd ~/Downloads
Output:
Then run the following command, we choose Git version 2.26.2:
$ curl --output git.tar.gz https://mirrors.edge.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/git-2.26.2.tar.gz
Output:
To extract, run the tar command:
$ tar -zxf git.tar.gz
Output:
Step 3 – Compile the Source Code
Let’s navigate to the extracted folder:
$ cd git-2.26.2
Output:
Then run the following command to configure:
$ ./configure
Output:
Step 4 – Build the Software
Run the following command:
$ make
Output:
The compilation will take some time, please wait.
Finally, install the Git software package:
$ sudo make install
Output:
Check the version:
$ git --version
Output:
Conclusion
Above is a tutorial on how to compile and install software from a source in Linux.
Thank you for reading.
