With all the hoopla and excitement today in regards to KDE 4.0 release I thought I would publish some instructions on installation for those that want to try it out. There is a KDE 4.0 LiveCD available if you’d like to “try before you buy”, and this tutorial will install KDE 4.0 alongside your current installation so you should still be able to revert if you run into problems.
This tutorial is based on Ubuntu Geeks KDE 4.0 guide and the KDE 4.0 guide at Kubuntu.org.
Installing KDE 4.0
First of all we need to update the repository sources list to pull these new KDE 4.0 packages from the kubuntu team PPA (Personal Package Archive). We do that by editing the /etc/apt/sources.list file:
sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list
You’ll want to then append this line:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kubuntu-members-kde4/ubuntu gutsy main
(The above should be on one line.) We’re now ready to install the KDE 4.0 packages:
sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install kde4-core
Removing Previous KDE 4.0 Releases
note: do make sure you remove any previous KDE 4.0 installations you may have been playing with. The previous packages can have conflicts with this newer release from the PPA.
To remove previous KDE 4.0 packages, use the command:
sudo aptitude remove kdelibs5 kde4base-data kde4libs-data
You can now launch your newly added KDE 4.0 environment from the login manager by selecting KDE 4. Enjoy!
I’ve definitely been affected by the increasing excitement surrounding the approaching (and now arrived) KDE 4.0 release. I had kept my eye on Akregator to see if Planet Ubuntu would discover an article describing how to install KDE 4.0 under Ubuntu, and here it is! You have my thanks.
After following your instructions, the Kubuntu upgrade manager indicates that many packages can be upgraded from the newly added repository. I’m guessing it’s not really safe to do that; is there any way that I can tell the upgrade manager to ignore upgrades from this repository except for those upgrades pertaining to KDE 4.0?
great guide from ubuntugeek and ubuntugeek become really interesting ubuntu tutorials website
I suggest using nano instead of vim on the tutorial. Newbies trying to install KDE 4.0 may be confused while using it.
Nice work, anyway.
Just a note: you don’t need to remove the RC2 packages before installing the 4.0.0 packages, they upgrade nicely. You may however need to temporally disable gutsy-backports if you get some nice dependency errors.
Rock on KDE!
Isn’t there a way with tee and >> /etc/apt/sources.list taht we can make a one liner to append to the sources.list?
As bloggers, we could do that and then link to the apturl:/ as step 2.
Just a thought. Thanks for publishing this, I’m apt-getting as I type. Cheers.
it’s really cool although if you use kubuntu you can just type sudo kate /etc/apt/sources.list
(Kate stands for “K Advanced Text Editor”)
so, how exactly DO you select it from Login Manager?
just tried out kde4, and am not impressed at all. lots of eyecandy, lots of clicking and useless features too, like your taskbar becoming widget features i really dont like.. a real system resource hog, its like vista. the start menu has become a lot like vista’s. there seems to be lots of graphical bugs too. fgs even the black theme reminds me of vista.
oh well, everyone will have their own opinion, thats just mine. i’ll stick with previous version of kde for now.
@me: well, although i pretty much like kde4, I definitely think you are right !
Remember! KDE 4.0 is a version for testers!
It’s important to understand this in order to not feel frustrated but help to develop and to debug KDE.
I just want to make sure before I try this. Will I be able to choose between KDE 3.5 and 4.0 at the logon screen?
@If I Get Old – yes, you will be able to chose between both, which is the appeal of the method at this point.
You can avoid using editors to append the repository location at all, simply use:
~$ echo “repo location” | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list
Is this it ?? I spend the last 5 years learning command line stuff, I destroy perfectly good installs with mistakes, and so I learn the hard way. Now, some bozzo writes a 3 line method of installing something new and now I suppose they want thanks ;0)
I installed ubuntu and later i installed kubuntu but i feel ubuntu was more of my liking but i do need to have KDE 4 in ubunutu
is there a way i can install only KDE4 in ubuntu, i tried it but it installed KDE3 some how, i would need KDE 4 on my current ubuntu 7.10 gusty
Thanks. This Article is really helpful.
I am really new with Ubuntu and I want to know what would happened if I decide to install KDE 4 in Ubuntu Server. Is it possible?
If it is possible, How Can I do it?
Kde is a desktop solution and its not a good idea to use on a server.
also for a one liner can do:
sudo echo “deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kubuntu-members-kde4/ubuntu gutsy main” >> /etc/apt/sources.list
I like it. It does remind me of Vista. But it runs way better than Vista and uses alot less resources, it seems. I was also able to get desktop effects working without going through a whole mess a setting up anything. It is more like the Gnome version of Ubuntu now that just has to option to check “Enable Desktop effects.” And I am surprised that it worked on the first try without me having to do a whole mess of installing or editing xorg.conf. Good deal.
I’ve followed the instructions and install KDE4 but the thing is I couldn’t launch anything on my window. What’s happened ?? I mean I can’t even launch File Manager (Dolphin). Is there anything that I should set up prior to use KDE 4 ? Please help me out of this.
I couldn't pass step two. Call me a newbie if you want, but apt-get update errors out with "The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available:" I don't know how to get hold of these keys.