# Build and Install KeePassXC

This document will guide you through the steps to build and install KeePassXC from source.
For more information, see also the [_Building KeePassXC_](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc/wiki/Building-KeePassXC) page on the wiki.

The [QuickStart Guide](https://keepassxc.org/docs/KeePassXC_GettingStarted.html) gets you started using KeePassXC on your Windows, macOS, or Linux computer using pre-compiled binaries from the [downloads page](https://keepassxc.org/download).

## Toolchain and Build Dependencies

The following build tools must exist within your PATH:

* cmake (>= 3.16.0)
* make (>= 4.2) or ninja (>= 1.10)
* g++ (>= 9.3.0) or clang++ (>= 10.0)
* asciidoctor (>= 2.0)

* Besides a working C++ toolchain, KeePassXC also has a number of direct build and runtime dependencies. For detailed information about how to install them, please refer to the GitHub wiki:

* [Set up Build Environment on Linux](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc/wiki/Set-up-Build-Environment-on-Linux)
* [Set up Build Environment on Windows](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc/wiki/Set-up-Build-Environment-on-Windows)
* [Set up Build Environment on macOS](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc/wiki/Set-up-Build-Environment-on-macOS)

## Build Steps

We recommend using the release tool to perform builds, please read up-to-date instructions [on our wiki](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc/wiki/Building-KeePassXC#building-using-the-release-tool).

To compile from source, open a **Terminal (Linux/MacOS)**, the **MSVC Tools Command Prompt (Windows)**, or **MSYS2-MinGW shell (Windows)**. For code development on Windows, you can use Visual Studio 2022, Visual Studio Code, or CLion.

1. Download the KeePassXC [source tarball](https://keepassxc.org/download#source) or check out the latest version from our [Git repository](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc).

   To clone the project from Git, `cd` to a suitable location and run

   ```
   git clone https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc.git
   ```

   This will clone the entire contents of the repository and check out the current `develop` branch.

   To update the project from within the project's folder, you can run the following command:

   ```
   git pull
   ```

   For a stable build, it is recommended to check out the `latest` tag.

   ```
   git checkout latest
   ```

2. Navigate to the directory where you have downloaded KeePassXC and run:

   ```
   mkdir build
   cd build
   cmake ..
   make
   ```

If you have `vcpkg` installed, add `-DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=${VCPKG_ROOT}/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake` to the `cmake` command to automatically download and install all required build and runtime dependencies locally to your build directory before compiling KeePassXC. Using `vcpkg` is the preferred way to install dependencies on macOS and required on Windows if using the MSVC toolchain.

For more detailed build instructions for each platform, please refer to the [GitHub wiki](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc/wiki/Building-KeePassXC).

Note: These steps place the compiled KeePassXC binary inside the `./build/src/` directory (`src/KeePassXC.app/Contents/MacOS` on macOS).

## MacOS Build Notes

If you installed Qt@5 via Homebrew and CMake fails to find your Qt installation, you can specify it manually by adding the following parameter:

`-DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=$(brew --prefix qt@5)/lib/cmake`

When building with ASAN support on macOS, you need to use `export ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_leaks=0` before running the tests (LSAN is no supported on macOS).

## Windows Build Notes

If you are using MSYS2, you have to add ```-G "MSYS Makefiles"``` at the beginning of the cmake command.

## Additional CMake Parameters

KeePassXC comes with a variety of build options that can turn on/off features. Each of these build options are supplied at the time of calling cmake:

```
-DKPXC_MINIMAL=[ON|OFF] Build KeePassXC with the minimal feature set required for basic usage (default: OFF)
-DKPXC_FEATURE_BROWSER=[ON|OFF] Browser integration and passkeys support (default: ON)
-DKPXC_FEATURE_SSHAGENT=[ON|OFF] SSH Agent integration (default: ON)
-DKPXC_FEATURE_FDOSECRETS=[ON|OFF] (Linux Only) freedesktop.org Secret Service integration; replace system keyring (default:ON)

-DKPXC_FEATURE_NETWORK=[ON|OFF] Include code that reaches out to external networks (e.g. downloading icons) (default: ON)
-DKPXC_FEATURE_UPDATES=[ON|OFF] Include automatic update checks; disable for managed distributions (requires networking) (default: ON)
-DKPXC_FEATURE_DOCS=[ON|OFF] Build offline documentation; requires asciidoctor tool (default: ON)

-DWITH_TESTS=[ON|OFF] Enable/Disable building of unit tests (default: ON)
-DWITH_GUI_TESTS=[ON|OFF] Enable/Disable building of GUI tests (default: OFF)
-DWITH_WARN_DEPRECATED=[ON|OFF] Development only: warn about deprecated methods, including Qt. (default: OFF)
-DWITH_ASAN=[ON|OFF] Enable/Disable address sanitizer checks (Linux / macOS only) (default: OFF)
-DWITH_COVERAGE=[ON|OFF] Enable/Disable coverage tests (GCC only) (default: OFF)
-DWITH_APP_BUNDLE=[ON|OFF] Enable Application Bundle for macOS (default: ON)
-DWITH_CCACHE=[ON|OFF] Use ccache for build speed optimization (default: OFF)
-DWITH_X11=[ON|OFF] Enable building with X11 dependencies (default: ON)

-DKEEPASSXC_BUILD_TYPE=[Snapshot|Release] Set the build type to show/hide stability warnings (default: "Snapshot")
-DKEEPASSXC_DIST_TYPE=[Snap|AppImage|Flatpak|Native] Specify the distribution method (default: "Native")
-DOVERRIDE_VERSION=[X.X.X] Specify a version number when building. Used with snapshot builds (default: "")
-DGIT_HEAD_OVERRIDE=[XXXXXXX] Specify the 7 digit git commit ref for this build. Used with distribution builds (default: "")
```

Note: Even though you can build the application with all TCP/IP networking code disabled, we still require and link against
Qt5's network library to use local named pipes on all operating systems.

## Installation

After you have successfully built KeePassXC, install the binary by executing the following:

```
sudo make install
```

## Packaging

You can create a package to redistribute KeePassXC (zip, deb, rpm, dmg, etc..). Refer to [keepassxc-packaging](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc-packaging) for packaging scripts.

To package using CMake, run the following command using whichever [generators](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/manual/cpack-generators.7.html) you would like to package with.

```
cpack -G "ZIP;WIX"
```

## Testing

You can perform tests on the built executables with:

```
make test ARGS+="--output-on-failure"
```

On Linux, if you are not currently running on an X Server or Wayland, run the tests as follows:

```
make test ARGS+="-E test\(cli\|gui\) --output-on-failure"
xvfb-run -e errors -a --server-args="-screen 0 1024x768x24" make test ARGS+="-R test\(cli\|gui\) --output-on-failure"
```

Common parameters:

```
CTEST_OUTPUT_ON_FAILURE=1
ARGS+=-jX
ARGS+="-E testgui"
```