Nextcloud Client Manual

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Appendix A: Building the Client¶

This section explains how to build the Nextcloud Client from source for all major platforms. You should read this section if you want to develop for the desktop client.

Note

Build instructions are subject to change as development proceeds. Please check the version for which you want to build.

These instructions are updated to work with version 3.0 of the Nextcloud Client.

You have two possibilities to clone the repo.

First option is As [remote URL](https://help.github.com/en/articles/which-remote-url-should-i-use) you can choose between cloning with HTTPS URL’s, which is recommended or cloning with SSH URL’s.

[https://github.com/nextcloud/desktop.git](https://github.com/nextcloud/desktop.git)

When you don’t have SSH key added to your GitHub account, than use HTTPS.

When you no part of the nextcloud organisation, clone with HTTPS:

` $ git clone git@github.com:nextcloud/desktop.git `

macOS¶

In addition to needing XCode (along with the command line tools), developing in the macOS environment requires extra dependencies. You can install these dependencies through MacPorts or Homebrew. These dependencies are required only on the build machine, because non-standard libs are deployed in the app bundle.

The tested and preferred way to develop in this environment is through the use of HomeBrew. The team has its own repository containing non-standard recipes.

To set up your build environment for development using HomeBrew:

Install Xcode
Install Xcode command line tools::

xcode-select –install
Install homebrew::

/usr/bin/ruby -e “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)”
Add the Nextcloud repository using the following command:
```
brew tap owncloud/owncloud
```
Install a Qt5 version with qtwebkit support:
```
brew install qt5
```

Install any missing dependencies:

brew install $(brew deps owncloud-client)

Add Qt from brew to the path:
```
export PATH=/usr/local/Cellar/qt5/5.x.y/bin:$PATH
```
Where x.y is the current version of Qt 5 that brew has installed on your machine.
Install qtkeychain from here: git clone https://github.com/frankosterfeld/qtkeychain.git make sure you make the same install prefix as later while building the client e.g. - DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/Path/to/client-install
For compilation of the client, follow the Generic Build Instructions.
Install the Packages package creation tool.

11. Enable git submodules: ` $ cd desktop $ git submodule init $ git submodule update `

12. Generate the build files: ` $ cd build $ cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=~/nextcloud-desktop-client -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug `

13. Compile and install: ` $ make install `

Note

Contrary to earlier versions, Nextcloud 1.7 and later are packaged as a pkg installer. Do not call “make package” at any time when compiling for OS X, as this will build a disk image, and will not work correctly.

Windows Development Build¶

If you want to test some changes and deploy them locally, you can build natively on Windows using MinGW. If you want to generate an installer for deployment, please follow Windows Installer Build (Cross-Compile) instead.

Get the required dependencies:
- Make sure that you have CMake and Git.
- Download the Qt MinGW package. You will use the MinGW version bundled with it.
- Download an OpenSSL Windows Build (the non-“Light” version)

Get the QtKeychain sources as well as the latest versions of the Nextcloud client from Git as follows:

git clone https://github.com/frankosterfeld/qtkeychain.git
git clone git://github.com/nextcloud/client.git

Open the Qt MinGW shortcut console from the Start Menu
Make sure that OpenSSL’s bin directory as well as your qtkeychain source directories are in your PATH. This will allow CMake to find the library and headers, as well as allow the Nextcloud client to find the DLLs at runtime:
```
set PATH=C:\<OpenSSL Install Dir>\bin;%PATH%
set PATH=C:\<qtkeychain Clone Dir>;%PATH%
```
Build qtkeychain directly in the source directory so that the DLL is built in the same directory as the headers to let CMake find them together through PATH:
```
cd <qtkeychain Clone Dir>
cmake -G "MinGW Makefiles" .
mingw32-make
cd ..
```
Create the build directory:
```
mkdir client-build
cd client-build
```
Build the client:
```
cmake -G "MinGW Makefiles" ../client
mingw32-make
```
Note

You can try using ninja to build in parallel using cmake -G Ninja ../client and ninja instead.

Note

Refer to the Generic Build Instructions section for additional options.

The Nextcloud binary will appear in the bin directory.

Windows Installer Build (Cross-Compile)¶

Due to the large number of dependencies, building the client installer for Windows is currently only officially supported on openSUSE, by using the MinGW cross compiler. You can set up any currently supported version of openSUSE in a virtual machine if you do not have it installed already.

In order to make setup simple, you can use the provided Dockerfile to build your own image.

Assuming you are in the root of the Nextcloud Client’s source tree, you can build an image from this Dockerfile like this:
```
cd admin/win/docker
docker build . -t nextcloud-client-win32:<version>
```
Replace <version> by the version of the client you are building, e.g. 3.0 for the release of the client that this document describes. If you do not wish to use docker, you can run the commands in RUN manually in a shell, e.g. to create your own build environment in a virtual machine.

Note

Docker images are specific to releases. This one refers to 3.0. Newer releases may have different dependencies, and thus require a later version of the docker image! Always pick the docker image fitting your release of Nextcloud client!
From within the source tree Run the docker instance:
```
docker run -v "$PWD:/home/user/client" nextcloud-client-win32:<version> \
   /home/user/client/admin/win/docker/build.sh client/  $(id -u)
```
It will run the build, create an NSIS based installer, as well as run tests. You will find the resulting binary in an newly created build-win32 subfolder.

If you do not wish to use docker, and ran the RUN commands above in a virtual machine, you can run the indented commands in the lower section of build.sh manually in your source tree.

Finally, you should sign the installer to avoid warnings upon installation. This requires a Microsoft Authenticode Certificate osslsigncode to sign the installer:
```
osslsigncode -pkcs12 $HOME/.codesign/packages.pfx -h sha256 \
          -pass yourpass \
          -n "ACME Client" \
          -i "http://acme.com" \
          -ts "http://timestamp.server/" \
          -in ${unsigned_file} \
          -out ${installer_file}
```
For -in, use the URL to the time stamping server provided by your CA along with the Authenticode certificate. Alternatively, you may use the official Microsoft signtool utility on Microsoft Windows.

If you’re familiar with docker, you can use the version of osslsigncode that is part of the docker image.

Generic Build Instructions¶

Compared to previous versions, building the desktop sync client has become easier. Unlike earlier versions, CSync, which is the sync engine library of the client, is now part of the client source repository and not a separate module.

To build the most up-to-date version of the client:

Clone the latest versions of the client from Git as follows:

git clone git://github.com/nextcloud/client.git
cd client
git submodule init
git submodule update

Create the build directory:
```
mkdir client-build
cd client-build
```
Configure the client build:
```
cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE="Debug" ..
```
Note

You must use absolute paths for the include and library directories.

Note

On macOS, you need to specify -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=target, where target is a private location, i.e. in parallel to your build dir by specifying ../install.

Note

qtkeychain must be compiled with the same prefix e.g CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/Users/path/to/client/install/ .

Note

Example:: cmake -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/usr/local/opt/qt5 -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/Users/path/to/client/install/
Call make.

The Nextcloud binary will appear in the bin directory.
(Optional) Call make install to install the client to the /usr/local/bin directory.

The following are known cmake parameters:

QTKEYCHAIN_LIBRARY=/path/to/qtkeychain.dylib -DQTKEYCHAIN_INCLUDE_DIR=/path/to/qtkeychain/:

Used for stored credentials. When compiling with Qt5, the library is called qt5keychain.dylib. You need to compile QtKeychain with the same Qt version.
WITH_DOC=TRUE: Creates doc and manpages through running make; also adds install statements, providing the ability to install using make install.
CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/path/to/Qt5.2.0/5.2.0/yourarch/lib/cmake/: Builds using Qt5.
BUILD_WITH_QT4=ON: Builds using Qt4 (even if Qt5 is found).
CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=path: Set an install prefix. This is mandatory on Mac OS