Recipe 3.6. Installing from Sources on a Debian System

3.6.1 Problem

You want to compile a program on your system, rather than installing the Debian binaries. Perhaps you want to edit the source code, or you want to run a package from Testing or Unstable on Stable, and recompiling it will ensure that the correct dependencies will be built.

3.6.2 Solution

Use apt-get source, with an assist from dpkg.

First, download the dependent headers and libraries into the directory in which you want to build the package:

# cd /usr/src

# apt-get build-dep tuxkart

To download and build the package:

# apt-get -b source tuxkart

and install the package:

# dpkg -i tuxkart.deb

3.6.3 Discussion

A common reason for building .debs from sources is to use packages from Testing or Unstable on Stable. Recompiling them adjusts the dependencies for Stable.

An alternative to building .debs from sources is to use backports. These are nice compiled Debian binaries, all ready to use. See http://www.backports.org.

If you want to install a program that is not in the Debian repositories, you can build a .deb using CheckInstall, a utility that creates RPM, .deb, and Slackware packages (see Recipe Recipe 4.5).

3.6.4 See Also

• apt-get(8), dpkg-source(1)

• Local documentation (/usr/share/doc/Debian/apt-howto)

• Recipe 4.5