Manual Installation

Although the preferred method of installing programs is with the package manager, individual software package files can be downloaded and installed. Several kinds of package files are available for Linux systems. Generally, these file types are associated with the package managers of specific Linux distributions.

To install a particular application, it is preferable to select a Kubuntu package of the application, and install it with a package manager. This ensures that the program is compatible with other software on the system. If there is no version of the package available through a package manager, it may be possible to install it manually. The installation procedure depends on the type of package file.

Install/Uninstall .deb files

The package files associated with Kubuntu have the .deb suffix because of Kubuntu's close relationship with the Debian GNU/Linux distribution. Individual .deb files can be downloaded and installed. Administrative privileges are required to do this.

To install a .deb file, simply Left click on the .deb file to initiate the installation process. A prompt will appear for a password associated with the necessary administrative privilege.

Convert .rpm files to .deb files

Red Hat Package Manager files have the .rpm suffix. Installing these on a Kubuntu system is not recommended. In almost all cases, a native Kubuntu .deb version of the package is available. However, if necessary, an .rpm file can be converted to a .deb package by using a program called alien.

Procedure 1. Installing Alien

  1. Open Muon by going to Kickoff Application LauncherComputerMuon Software Center.

  2. Enter alien in the Search box near the top of the window.

  3. Locate the package named alien and select it. Press the Installation button near the bottom right of the window.

    Note

    The text in the Requested column will turn green and change from No Change to Install.

  4. Additional packages may be required as dependencies. If so, a list will be displayed. Click the OK button to mark them for installation.

  5. Press the Apply Changes button in the toolbar.

  6. If prompted, enter the proper password and press OK.

  7. Once the installation has completed, close Muon.

Procedure 2. Using alien

  1. Open Konsole by going to Kickoff Application LauncherApplicationsSystemTerminal (Konsole).

  2. At the command prompt, type sudo alien package_file.rpm and press the Enter key to create a .deb file in the same directory.

  3. For more information on alien, type man alien at the command prompt. When finished, press q to exit.

Install from Source

Files with the .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 suffix are package files known as tarballs or source packages. These are widely used in Linux. If there is no native Kubuntu package available in any of the repositories, it may be possible to compile and install the package from source. For tips on compiling software, look at the Compiling Software page in the Ubuntu Wiki.