Build from source

Use this on a system that has no package for Gnoblin. You build Gnoblin from a release tarball or a Git checkout, try it in a window, then add a login session.

make builds into build/stage inside the source directory and installs nothing. make install copies the build to /usr/local/lib/gnoblin. After that, you can delete the source directory.

Prerequisites

Install these with your package manager:

• A C/C++ compiler and GNU Make
• Python 3, CMake, Meson and Ninja
• tar and xz
• Git, if you build from a Git checkout
• The development libraries that Gnoblin needs, including GLib, GTK4, libadwaita, PipeWire, xdg-desktop-portal and gsettings-desktop-schemas

python3 scripts/check-build-deps.py checks the library versions. The versions Gnoblin builds against are listed in the pinned versions file. On Fedora, scripts/install-fedora-build-deps.sh installs them. On Debian and Ubuntu, scripts/install-debian-build-deps.sh --with-test-tools installs them. When the release has a Meson that is too old for Mutter, this script also installs a newer Meson from PyPI into /opt/gnoblin-meson. See platform support for the systems that Gnoblin builds on.

When the system libraries are older than the ones Gnoblin is built against, some features are not available. The platform support page lists them.

To build without Gnoblin's portal backend, run ./build.sh --without-portal instead of make. You then need no GTK4 or libadwaita.

1. Get the source

Download gnoblin-*-source.tar.xz from the Gnoblin releases, then build it:

tar -xf gnoblin-*-source.tar.xz
cd gnoblin-[0-9]*/
make

To build the development code instead, use Git:

git clone https://github.com/kierandrewett/gnoblin.git
cd gnoblin
make

Run make as your normal user.

2. Try it in a window

From a Wayland desktop, after make:

make preview

A nested Gnoblin window opens with a terminal. It needs no root access and changes nothing on your system. Close the terminal to end the preview. See Devkit if it does not open.

3. Add a login session

Install these with your package manager first:

• xdg-desktop-portal and WirePlumber
• dconf, so your settings survive logout
• dbus-tools on Fedora, or dbus on Arch Linux

Then run:

make install

make install asks for sudo and installs:

• Gnoblin, in /usr/local/lib/gnoblin
• The gnoblin and gnoblinctl commands, in /usr/local/bin
• The Gnoblin login entry and the manual pages

Install a desktop shell and log in. Run gnoblin --version to check the installed version.

Gnoblin reads these desktop settings for idle and lock timing:

For X11 applications, install Xwayland with your package manager.

Build options

Add these settings after the command, for example make JOBS=4:

make clean deletes the build directory. An installed copy stays.

To leave out the portal backend or X11 application support, or to see what a build would do, run ./build.sh --help for the flags.

Update

For a Git checkout:

git pull --ff-only
make
make install

For a release tarball, download the newer tarball, extract it into a new directory, and run make and make install there. Log out and back in to use the new version.

Remove

Log in to another session first. Then remove the files that make install created:

sudo rm -f /usr/local/bin/gnoblin /usr/local/bin/gnoblinctl
sudo rm -f /usr/share/man/man1/gnoblin.1 /usr/share/man/man1/gnoblinctl.1
sudo rm -f /usr/share/wayland-sessions/gnoblin.desktop
sudo rm -f /usr/share/xdg-desktop-portal/portals/gnoblin.portal /usr/share/xdg-desktop-portal/gnoblin-portals.conf
sudo rm -f /usr/share/dbus-1/services/org.freedesktop.impl.portal.desktop.gnoblin.service
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/systemd/user/gnoblin-session.target /usr/lib/systemd/user/gnoblin-idle.service
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/systemd/user/xdg-desktop-portal-gnoblin.service
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/lib/gnoblin

If you set another PREFIX, remove that directory instead of /usr/local/lib/gnoblin. Your shell and your configuration stay.

See source development to rebuild one component.