This document describes the process to build Ocean on Linux.
- General prerequisites listed on the main page
- Python 3.8 or higher
- Currently some packages will have to be installed using the package manager of your distribution (example commands and package names given below are for Fedora and Ubuntu, but they should be similar for other distributions):
# Fedora sudo dnf install libX11-devel-1.7.0-9.el9.x86_64 \ gtk3-devel-3.24.31-2.el9.x86_64 \ mesa-libGL-devel \ libgudev-devel \ xz-devel # Ubuntu sudo apt-get install libx11-dev libudev-dev liblzma-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libxcb-glx0-dev
The third-party libraries are built using the Python-based build system. It handles fetching, patching, and building all dependencies with DAG-based parallel builds.
cd /path/to/ocean
# Build all required third-party libraries for the host platform (debug + release, static)
python build/python/build_ocean_3rdparty.py
# Build release only
python build/python/build_ocean_3rdparty.py --config release
# Include optional libraries (e.g., OpenCV)
python build/python/build_ocean_3rdparty.py --with opencv
# Show build plan without building
python build/python/build_ocean_3rdparty.py --dry-runOnce the build is complete, the installed libraries can be found in ocean_3rdparty/install/. Headers are stored in <lib>/h/<platform>/ and libraries in <lib>/lib/<target>/ (e.g., zlib/lib/linux_x86_64_static_release/). On ARM64 systems, paths use arm64 instead of x86_64.
Run python build/python/build_ocean_3rdparty.py --help to see all available options.
Note: The build system displays a real-time TUI with progress for all parallel build jobs. Use
--log-level verboseto see detailed build output instead.
Ocean is built using a Python build script that invokes CMake with the correct configuration.
cd /path/to/ocean
# Build Ocean using the Python 3P layout
python build/python/build_ocean.py --third-party-layout python
# Build for a specific configuration
python build/python/build_ocean.py --third-party-layout python --config release
# Specify custom directories
python build/python/build_ocean.py --third-party-layout python \
--build-dir "${HOME}/build_ocean" \
--install-dir "${HOME}/install_ocean" \
--third-party-dir /path/to/ocean_3rdparty/install
# Show build plan without building
python build/python/build_ocean.py --third-party-layout python --dry-runOnce the build is complete, the compiled binaries can be found in ocean_install/linux_x86_64_static_debug and .../linux_x86_64_static_release (or linux_arm64_static_* on ARM64 systems).
Run python build/python/build_ocean.py --help to see all available options.
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
OCEAN_ENABLE_AVX2 |
ON |
Emit AVX2 instructions (-mavx2). Turn OFF when targeting generic x86_64 hosts (CI runners, VMs) that may only support SSE4.1. |
To disable AVX2, pass the option when invoking CMake directly (see Using CMake Directly):
cmake -S . -B build_linux \
-DOCEAN_ENABLE_AVX2=OFF \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF \
-DOCEAN_THIRD_PARTY_LAYOUT=python \
-DOCEAN_THIRD_PARTY_ROOT=./ocean_3rdparty/installNote: This option only affects Ocean's own code. Third-party libraries are built separately and do not use AVX2 instructions.
Alternatively, you can invoke CMake directly:
cd /path/to/ocean
# Configure and build using CMake
cmake -S . -B build_linux \
-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
-DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF \
-DOCEAN_THIRD_PARTY_LAYOUT=python \
-DOCEAN_THIRD_PARTY_ROOT=./ocean_3rdparty/install
cmake --build build_linux --target install -j