How to Install Programs in Kubuntu

You've installed Kubuntu and have the default programs at your avail. However there are some programs that you want to install because the defaults don't handle your needs. So, how do you go about installing these programs in Kubuntu? This article will lead you through the process--whether it be from a repository or file, command line or Package Manager.

Your three main sources of files to install in Kubuntu are from repositories, individual .deb (debian installer) files, or from the source code (commonly packaged in tarball files (.tar)). Each package maintainer may have their own repositories, or they may have their packages included in the official (K)ubuntu repositories (I put the "K" in parenthesis, because you can use any of the Ubuntu repositories, even though you are on Kubuntu). Or they may supply you with the .deb installer (or source code in a tar file), and you will have to meet the dependencies yourself.

The main methods of installing programs are by using either apt-get, or dpkg -i in the command line, installing from the source code, or using gdebi or the Package Manager in the desktop. You can open a terminal on your desktop to use the CLI if you wish, but you are still using these main methods. Also in terms of the Package Manager, there are different managers available for Kubuntu than Ubuntu (although you can install the Ubuntu manager on Kubuntu and vice versa).

Check out this comparison on installing via the command line or through a package manager for a complete look at the question.

If you wish to install the program from the command line, you have two options. You can either open a terminal window on your desktop (the "K" button --> Applications --> System --> Terminal (Konsole)), or you can use the keyboard combination of CTRL+Alt+ Fn (where n is a number 2 through 6)-- for example CTRL+Alt+F3. "F1" is the initial startup screen, and "F7" and "F8" are the X-shells (your desktop).

In either case, you will use "sudo" to install the program. "Sudo" is similar to the "Run As Administrator" function in Windows (in that it only allows the current command to be run as root). You will be required to enter your password, as sudo elevates your specific user to "root" level. This is safer than requiring you to know a "root" password, and using "su -i" to elevate you to root level.

You should perform "sudo apt-get update" before installing anything, just to make sure you have the most updated lists available to you.

To search for the program, if you're not sure of the name, you can use sudo apt-cache search program-name. This will search for any reference to the program in the repository lists that are on your computer. This may return a long list of programs, so you will want to look through it for the names of the actual files you want to install.

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