Install Software Not Available in Discover

If you don't find the software you're looking for in Discover, there are a few options here, depending on what you want. All of these options are more suitable for advanced users.

Specific common software

DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is challenging to install. If it meets your needs, consider trying KDE's Kdenlive video editor instead. If not, proceed.

First, download the DaVinci Resolve software using the official installer at https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve. This will get you a .run file. Ignore it for now.

Instead, run the following commands in a terminal window:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zelikos/davincibox/refs/heads/main/setup.sh --directory-prefix=/tmp/
chmod +x /tmp/setup.sh
/tmp/setup.sh [drag the .run file into the terminal window, or paste its path here]

For more information, see https://github.com/zelikos/davincibox/.

Tailscale

Follow one of the following sets of instructions:

Software not listed above

Distrobox

Distrobox is a system for creating “containers” within which you can install anything from the software library of another Linux distribution, in a self-contained manner and with access to the files in your home directory. Distrobox works well for creating bespoke development environments that won't scatter files all over your home directory. Distrobox comes pre-installed in KDE Linux; explore it using the distrobox command-line. Toolbx is also pre-installed and supported.

Example usage:

# Try to run a command, for example "mc"
mc

# It does not work because is not installed on the system
# KDE Linux does not include the “mc” command.

# Download the image "quay.io/toolbx/arch-toolbox".
distrobox create -n default

# Enter it
distrobox enter default

# Do whatever you want in it. Here, we install `mc`
sudo pacman -Syu
sudo pacman -S mc

# Run `mc`. Your home directory from KDE Linux is exposed as your home directory inside the Linux container. Press F10 to close mc.
mc

# Exit the distrobox container

# To find the container image:
podman image list

# To see the distrobox podman container still running:
podman ps
distrobox list
distrobox stop default

# To delete the container:
distrobox rm name
podman image list # Says "IMAGE ID" is 664c1f5776fa.
podman image rm 664c1f5776fa
podman image list

Snap

Snap is an alternative to Flatpak that includes many GUI apps as well as command-line tools and developer libraries. Snap comes pre-installed in KDE Linux; explore it using the snap command-line.

Example usage:

snap install hugo

AppImage

Apps packaged as AppImages work in KDE Linux, and many can be found at https://www.appimagehub.com. AppImages offer a reduced level of system integration compared to other software, so getting apps using Discover is preferred.

Homebrew

Homebrew is not recommended. Anything it installs that includes Python will break kde-builder and potentially any other Python-based software shipped on the system.

Nix

Nix is an advanced package management tool suitable for use by technically-adept users. Nix facilitates the installation of many commonly-used programs from a large library of precompiled software, and takes care of adding command-line tools to your search path.

See the Nix subpage for details.

Compile it yourself

If you can get the dependencies using (for example) Distrobox or Homebrew, you'll be able to compile anything you want.

Article contributed by under the CC-BY-4.0 license.