Building for Linux - Sonicadvance1/dolphin GitHub Wiki

Introduction

Dolphin runs on 64-bit Linux distributions. These instructions explain how to build Dolphin on Linux using the cmake build system.

Step 1 – Install the Correct Dependencies

Ubuntu 12.04 and newer
sudo apt-get install cmake git g++ wx2.8-headers libwxbase2.8-dev libwxgtk2.8-dev libgtk2.0-dev libsdl1.2-dev libxrandr-dev libxext-dev libao-dev libasound2-dev libpulse-dev libbluetooth-dev libreadline-gplv2-dev libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev

Ubuntu 11.04
sudo apt-get install cmake git g++ wx2.8-headers libwxbase2.8-dev libwxgtk2.8-dev libgtk2.0-dev libsdl1.2-dev libxrandr-dev libxext-dev libao-dev libasound2-dev libpulse-dev libbluetooth-dev libreadline5-dev libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev

Other Linux versions
See the build dependencies below for a list of packages you will need to install.

Step 2 – Get the Dolphin Repository

Get a local copy of the dolphin-emu repository:

git clone https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin.git dolphin-emu

Change to the directory created:

cd dolphin-emu

Later, if you wish to update your local copy:

git pull origin master

Step 3 – Building Dolphin

Create a build subdirectory, and change into it:

mkdir Build && cd Build

Configure the build:

cmake ..

You may also want to change the install prefix by adding -D CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/new/path. Note that this path does not need to be absolute. cmake will complete it to its absolute equivalent. The default prefix is /usr. This means that the executable will be installed as /usr/bin/dolphin-emu, the plugins will be installed into /usr/lib/dolphin-emu, and the shared data files will be installed into /usr/share/dolphin-emu.

From here build and install in the standard make way:

make && make install

Note that you may need superuser privileges for the last command.

Step 4 – Run Dolphin!

You can run dolphin from anywhere by typing:

dolphin-emu

If you changed the prefix and $prefix/bin is not in your path, then you will have to precede this with the path to the executable.

FAQ

Where can I get help?
Go to the forums. Lots of Dolphin users use Linux, and they are very experienced with this process.

My build failed, but I did nothing wrong!
Most of the time, any problems in the build process are due to user error. It's understandable, it is a complicated process and can be quite daunting for a first timer. But sometimes even with everything right, triple checked, and it's still not working. It's rare, but sometimes a build will just be bugged. But many of Dolphin devs are Linux users, so just wait a day or so, and it will be sorted out.

Build Dependencies

  • git
  • cmake
  • g++
  • wx2.9-headers (wx3.0-headers work too, and are perhaps preferred!)
  • libwxbase2.8-dev
  • libwxgtk2.8-dev
  • libgtk2.0-dev
  • libbluetooth-dev (optional, for real Wiimotes)
  • libxrandr-dev (optional, for switching desktop resolution in fullscreen mode)
  • libxext-dev
  • libreadline-dev
  • libasound-dev (optional, for ALSA sound backend)
  • libpulse-dev (optional, for PulseAudio sound backend)
  • libao-dev (optional, for AO sound backend)
  • libopenal-dev (optional, for OpenAL sound backend)
  • libavcodec-dev (optional, for dumping frames in AVI format)
  • libavformat-dev (optional, for dumping frames in AVI format)
  • libswscale-dev (optional, for dumping frames in AVI format)
  • liblzo2-dev (optional, if not found will be built statically)
  • libsdl1.2-dev (optional, if not found will be built statically)
  • libsoil-dev (optional, if not found will be built statically)
  • libsfml-dev (optional, if not found will be built statically)