Usually, the only dependency you will need for building on Linux is Python 3(.11). While there are a lot more dependencies you shouldn't have to worry about them, as the build system we're using (briefcase) should set them all up for you. All the provided steps have been tested on Ubuntu 23.04 (64bit). They may or may not work with other Linux distributions and versions. Please open a pull request to the documentation should you discover there are more steps needed for other Linux flavors. Just install Python3 with the package manager of your choice, and you should be ready to go.
In case you are having problems with the briefcase build system, you can still try to install dependencies in an
automated fashion via make activate-venv. If even this is no option (maybe because of the very unlikely reason that
your system doesn't even offer make), you can also try to install them via pip install -r requirements.txt.
All the listed commands should be executed inside the repos root directory.
You can also easily build an AppImage (which is a sort of almost self-contained binary) via:
make build-linux-appimage
Once briefcase finished packaging you can find the installer's .AppImage file in the dist subdirectory
You can try to build packages for a lot of different Linux distributions at the same time. It's not guaranteed to work,
and you will definitely need some more dependencies (especially podman or docker). Right now the briefcase build
system is configured to build for Arch Linux (latest) & Debian 11, 12 & Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, 22.04 & Fedora 36, 37, 38 &
AlmaLinux 7, 8, 9. Check the ./src/scripts/build_linux_all.sh and consult the briefcase documentation if
you want to build for other targets.
You can simply execute make build-all-linux in the repos root directory to call the briefcase build system and
build for all configured targets at once.
Usually, the only dependency you will need for building on Windows is Python 3(.11). While there are a lot more dependencies you shouldn't have to worry about them, as the build system we're using (briefcase) should set them all up for you. All the provided steps have been tested on Windows 10 (64bit). They may or may not work with other Windows versions. Please open a pull request to the documentation should you discover there are more steps needed for other Windows versions. You should download and install the latest Python 3(.11) installer from: https://www.python.org/downloads/ (select the amd64 installer)
Follow all the steps of Packaging, but instead of executing briefcase package use briefcase build, e.g.:
C:\[..]> py -m venv .venv
C:\[..]> .venv\Scripts\activate.bat
(.venv) C:\[..]> briefcase build
Once briefcase finished you should find your fresh build in the build subdirectory