KDE

KDE is a suite of user workspace applications which allow interaction with the operating system. Several applications are provided within this framework.

KDE on Mac

KDE is primarily meant to work on UNIX systems, but as it is built on top of the ​Qt framework, it can be built on multiple platforms, such as Mac OS X. However, the use on Mac is still pretty experimental, and some parts of KDE are not designed to work on this platform.
Some unexpected behaviours and glitches should thus be expected.

Installing KDE with MacPorts

The KDE ports can be installed with MacPorts as other ports, such as here for the kdelibs4 port:

sudo port install kdelibs4

The dependencies are handled by MacPorts and should be installed automatically. Please note that several large packages are required by KDE, so that the installation may take a long time.

The ports contained in MacPorts essentially match the packages provided on ​KDE mirrors. Several ports end however with a "4", or start with "kde4-" in order to differentiate the ports from the ones of the older KDE version 3. A list of the available ports is provided below. It is also possible to get a full list by issuing the command

port echo categories:kde4

User-required steps

Unfortunately, MacPorts does not provide an out-of-the-box working installation. There are some small steps which need to be performed by the user, which are listed below.

Dbus

Dbus is a messaging system between applications, which is mandatory for the KDE system. It is required to ensure that dbus is running by issuing the following commands after installation by MacPorts:

sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.freedesktop.dbus-system.plist
launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchAgents/org.freedesktop.dbus-session.plist

If these commands are not issued, KDE applications will crash without warning.

Kbuildsycoca

Kbuildsycoca4 is a command which refreshes the cache of KDE, which is required for many applications to work properly. In UNIX, this command is automatically run periodically, but this is not the case on OS X. The recommended way is to use this command to automate its use, after installation of kdelibs4 by MacPorts:

launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchAgents/org.macports.kdecache.plist

The command can also be used manually:

kbuildsycoca4

If the command is not issued periodically (either automatically through the script above or manually), applications may run erratically.

Installation location

Like most of MacPorts ports, KDE ones install most of the applications in ${prefix}/bin, which defaults to /opt/local/bin. However, most of the KDE end-user applications are built as Apple's bundles (double-clickable apps), which are then installed in ${applications_dir}/MacPorts/KDE4, which defaults to /Applications/MacPorts/KDE4.

One should note that several applications save their preferences within a directory outside the MacPorts structure, located at ~/Library/Preferences/KDE. This implies that preferences are maintained throughout upgrades, but also that these files would not be handled by MacPorts upon uninstallation.

List of ports

List of main ports and structure.

In construction

List of Meta ports

Port-specific notes

Some ports require special instructions in order to work, which are listed below.

Okular

This port requires a specific variant of plopper, being +qt4 +quartz. If the installation of okular fails due to this dependency, the following commands should be issued:

sudo port install poppler +qt4 +quartz
sudo port clean okular
sudo port install okular

Additional information

• Homepage of the KDE project: ​KDE
• Information about ​KDE on Mac (somewhat outdated)