How Do I Install GNU Software?
This FAQ applies to: All
On a correctly configured system, installing a GNU software package requires four steps:
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With the source.tar.gz archive in the /usr/src/ directory, or wherever you maintain your source files, untar and decompress the package with the command:
tar zxvf package-name.tar.gz
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Run the ./configure script in the untarred source archive's top-level directory with whatever command line arguments you need. The options that configure recognizes are usually contained in a file called INSTALL or README.
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Run make. This will build the source code into an executable program (or programs) and may take a few minutes or a few hours, depending on the speed of the computer and the size of the package.
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Run make install. This will install the compiled binaries, configuration files, and any libraries in the appropriate directories.
