KDE

External resources

	Wikipedia

KDE is a powerful graphical desktop environment for Unix workstations.

Available versions

KDE SC 4 is the current KDE version supported by upstream. In Portage there is a stable version, and there might be one (or more) non-stable versions. Under normal conditions new versions get in stabilized after a month. In addition, KDE upstream provides live git source repositories. The Gentoo KDE team provides trunk and latest branch live ebuilds through the kde overlay.

Choose what KDE SC version is most appropriate for you:

KDE SC version	Repository	Status
KDE SC 4.10.2	Portage	Stable for amd64, ppc, ppc64 and x86; testing for arm
KDE SC 4.10.3	Portage	Testing
KDE SC 4.10 stable branch	kde overlay	Live version
KDE SC trunk	kde overlay	Live version

Note

Users with stable systems need to put this keywords file in /etc/portage/package.keywords to install testing versions.

Note

If you are running KDE PIM and upgrade from 4.4 to 4.10, please have a look at the KDE PIM 4.7 Upgrade Guide first (it still applies)! If you want to stick with KDE PIM 4.4 you can mask KDE PIM 4.10.

Prerequisites

Profile

The Desktop profile has been split to KDE and GNOME subprofiles. This means that KDE and GNOME specific USE flags have been stripped from the basic desktop profile and have been migrated to the subprofiles. Choosing a subprofile does not restrict you to use only the equivalent desktop environment. In order to choose the profile that suits you, run

root # eselect profile list

to get the profile list, and

root # eselect profile set X

where X is the appropriate number of the profile you want to select. See the page on profiles for more details. For a full KDE desktop environment we recommend to use the desktop/kde profile, which is specially tailored for KDE.

Services

Before you install KDE SC it is recommended that you set up several services. Part of that is done automatically if you use a desktop/kde or desktop profile. In detail you should use:

• ConsoleKit: Enables the ConsoleKit framework for defining and tracking users, login sessions and seats.
• D-Bus: Enables use of the D-Bus message bus system.
• polkit: Enables the polkit framework for controlling privileges for system-wide services.
• udev: Enables support for udev Linux dynamic and persistent device naming.
• udisks: Enables support for some storage related services.

Follow the links for information how to set up these services. Note that other USE flag combinations than set in this profile may technically be possible (especially if you do not run a full KDE desktop environment but only selected applications), but may be unsupported, untested, or lead to unexpected loss of functionality.

X server

Read and follow the instructions in the X server article to setup your X environment.

Installation

Note

If you're updating, check the upgrade subpage.

Note

For live versions see the kde overlay article.

Packages

In Gentoo there are various packages that will install a KDE environment:

• kde-base/kde-meta, the full KDE suite
• kde-base/kdebase-meta, a basic KDE environment
• kde-base/kdebase-startkde, a very minimal, effectively unsupported KDE environment (no KDE applications or artwork)

It's usually a good idea to start with kdebase-meta and install whatever else you need as you go:

root # emerge --ask kdebase-meta

There are other meta packages that can be installed to pull in parts of the KDE suite:

• kde-base/kdeaccessibility-meta: Accessibility applications and utilities.
• kde-base/kdeadmin-meta: Administrative utilities, which helps you manage your system.
• kde-base/kdeartwork-meta: Extra themes, screensavers, etc.
• kde-base/kdebindings-meta: Bindings for various languages.
• kde-base/kdeedu-meta: Educational applications and games.
• kde-base/kdegames-meta: Standard desktop games.
• kde-base/kdegraphics-meta: Graphics applications such as image viewers, color pickers, etc.
• kde-base/kdemultimedia-meta: Audio and video playback applications and services.
• kde-base/kdenetwork-meta: Network applications and VNC services.
• kde-base/kdepim-meta: PIM applications such as emailer, addressbook, organizer, etc.
• kde-base/kdesdk-meta: Various development tools.
• kde-base/kdetoys-meta: Toy like applications.
• kde-base/kdeutils-meta: Standard desktop utilities such as a archiver, a calculator, etc.
• kde-base/kdewebdev-meta: Web development tools.

Localization

For localization of KDE install kde-base/kde-l10n. If you want only selected languages, define beforehand the LINGUAS USE flag, e.g. for German:

File/etc/portage/make.conf

LINGUAS="de"

root # emerge --ask kde-l10n

For localization of packages included in kde-base/kdepim-meta you need to install kde-base/kdepim-l10n.

app-office/calligra has its own localization package too, app-office/calligra-l10n.

Configuration

Boot service

Set KDM as your default display manager:

File/etc/conf.d/xdm

DISPLAYMANAGER="kdm"

To start KDE on boot, add xdm to your default runlevel:

root # rc-update add xdm default

To start KDE now:

root # /etc/init.d/xdm start

Add-on Software

Widgets

Many useful widget are in the kde-base/kdeplasma-addons package:

root # emerge --ask kdeplasma-addons

More KDE software

The most important KDE applications are in the portage tree and many are located in the kde-base and kde-misc categories.

See also

• KDE Hints
• KDE Troubleshooting
• KDE/KDEPIM-4.7 upgrade
• KDE Overlay
• KDE Removal and Clean up

External resources

• Official KDE user wiki
• Official KDE forum
• KDE-Apps.org
• KDE-Look.org
• KDE-Files.org