Installing from the sources

Starting from version 6.0, Libgda uses Meson build system. The following commands should work for most platforms:

$ git clone https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgda.git
$ cd libgda
$ meson build
$ ninja -C build
$ ninja -C build install
      

This will compile all the source tree, and install the binaries and documentation in your system. This method should work on all platforms where meson and ninja as well as all dependencies are available.

You can specify several arguments to meson. Some arguments are related to the meson system itself, while others are project specific. To get a full list of all meson specific options a one can type:

$ meson help setup
      

All project specific options can be found in meson_options.txt file. In meson all parameters should be provided in the forms: -Dparameter=value

Table 1. 

Option Type Default value Description
with-help boolean true Enable building help (GdaBrowser))
with-goocanvas boolean false Enable GooCanvas
with-graphviz boolean false Enable using Graphviz
with-json boolean true Enable support for JSON
enable-gda-gi boolean false Enable GObject Introspection for libgda
disable-sqlcipher boolean false Disable SQLCipher database provider
with-libsoup boolean true Enable libsoup support
with-libsecret boolean false Enable libsecret support
with-gnome-keyring boolean false Enable gnome-keyring support
enable-debug boolean false Enable debug mode
with-examples boolean false Compile examples
enable-tools boolean false Enable build experimental GUI Tools
glade-catalog-dir string '' Use the given directory to install glade catalog files. If glade is not available this option is ignored. If it is not given the valaue from pkg-config will be used
glade-pixmap-dir string '' Use the given directory to install glade pixmap files. If glade is not available this option is ignored. If it is not given the valaue from pkg-config will be used
gtk_doc boolean false Enable documentation generation
experimental boolean false Enable experimental features
enable-ldap boolean false Enable experimental LDAP provider
enable-web boolean false Enable experimental WEB provider
enable-test-flatpak boolean false Enable Terminal Test Application


The custom prefix for the installation can be provided during the configuration step:

$ meson --prefix=/opt/GNOME/progs -Dgtk_doc=true
      

Please review all available options by running:

$meson help setup
      

Libraries needed by providers are searched by default, so, if found, providers are compiled by default. Those libraries are searched in hard-coded directories, so if the installation of these libraries is in an uncommon place, the above arguments should be used to specify the directories where the libraries and header files are installed. Note that the SQLite provider is now always built using the sources of the SQLite library that are bundled within Libgda's sources.

If you find any problem during the configuration, compilation or installation process, do not hesitate in contacting the Gnome-Db mailing list (, first send an email to with the subject SUBSCRIBE, if you are not already subscribed).