<chapter id="install">
<title>Installing &kde;</title>

<para>You can install &kde; on a variety of different platforms, ranging from
smartphones and tablets to computers running &Microsoft; &Windows;, &MacOS;,
&UNIX;, &BSD; or &Linux;.  Binary packages are available for many different
platforms and distributions, or advanced users may build the source code.</para>

<sect1 id="install-packages">
<title>Installing Packages</title>

<para>Hundreds of developers worldwide have done a lot of work to make it easy
to install &kde; on a variety of different devices and platforms.</para>

<sect2 id="install-linux">
<title>&Linux;</title>

<para>Nearly every &Linux; distribution provides binary packages for individual
&kappname; applications and the &plasma-workspaces; as a whole.</para>

<para>To install an individual application, look for its name in your
distribution's package collection.  To install one of the &plasma-workspaces;,
like &plasma-desktop;, look for a metapackage or package
group, typically <literal>kde-desktop</literal>.</para>

<note>
<para>Some core applications may be installed together with other core
applications in a combined package named after the &kde; package they are
provided in. For instance, &dolphin; might be found in the
<literal>kde-baseapps</literal> package.</para>
</note>

<para>If you have trouble locating &kde; packages for your distribution, please
contact their support resources.  Many distributions also have a team dedicated
to packaging &kde; that can provide assistance specific to &kde;</para>

<!--FIXME: provide steps for common distributions?-->

</sect2>

<sect2 id="install-windows">
<title>&Microsoft; &Windows;</title>

<para>The &kde; on Windows Initiative provides binary packages of &kappname;
applications for &Microsoft; &Windows;.  They also provide a special installer
application that permits you to install individual applications or groups and
all necessary dependencies easily.</para>

<para>For more information on the initiative and to download the installer,
visit <ulink url="http://windows.kde.org/">the KDE on Windows Initiative</ulink>.
</para>

<!--FIXME: describe how to use the installer?-->

</sect2>

<sect2 id="install-mac">
<title>&MacOS;</title>

<para>Individual &kappname; applications can be installed through several
different <quote>ports</quote> systems available for &MacOS;.  Several different
&kde; applications also provide their own binary builds for &MacOS;.</para>

<para>For more information, visit
<ulink url="http://mac.kde.org/">&kde; on &MacOS;X</ulink>.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="install-bsd">
<title>&BSD;</title>

<para>Most &BSD; distributions allows you to install &kappname; applications
and the &plasma-workspaces; as a whole through their <quote>ports</quote>
system.</para>

<para>For more information on installing ports, see your &BSD; distribution's
documentation.</para>

<!--FIXME: provide steps/links for common BSDs?-->

</sect2>

<sect2 id="install-mobile">
<title>Mobile Devices</title>

<para>&plasma-active; is an exciting initiative to bring a new &kde;
experience to mobile devices like smartphones or tablets.  Binary releases are
provided for several different devices.</para>

<para>For more information, visit
<ulink url="http://plasma-active.org/">&plasma-active;</ulink>.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="install-live">
<title>Live Media</title>

<para>Several &Linux; and &BSD; distributions offer live media.  This permits you
to try out the &plasma-workspaces; without installing anything to your system.
All you have to do insert a CD or connect a USB drive and boot from it.  If you
like what you see, most offer an option to install it to your hard drive.</para>

<para>There is <ulink url="http://www.kde.org/download/distributions.php">a list
of distributions that offer &kde; on live media</ulink> on the &kde; website.</para>

</sect2>

<sect2 id="install-source">
<title>Building from Source Code</title>

<para>For detailed information on how to compile and install &kde;
applications see
<ulink url="http://techbase.kde.org/Getting_Started#Building_and_Running_KDE_Software_From_Source">
Building and Running &kde; Software From Source on &kde; TechBase</ulink>.</para>

<para>Since &kde; uses <command>cmake</command> you should have no
trouble compiling it. Should you run into problems please report them to the
&kde; mailing lists.</para>
</sect2>

</sect1>

</chapter>