# Installing the &kde; Workspace and Applications

You can install the &kde; workspace and applications on a variety of different platforms, ranging from smartphones and tablets to computers running &Microsoft; &Windows;, &MacOS;, &UNIX;, &BSD; or &Linux;. Binary packages are available for many different platforms and distributions, or advanced users may build the source code.

## Installing Packages

Hundreds of developers worldwide have done a lot of work to make it easy to install &kde; on a variety of different devices and platforms.

### &Linux;

Nearly every &Linux; distribution provides binary packages for individual applications and the &plasma-workspaces; as a whole.

To install an individual application, look for its name in your distribution's package collection. To install one of the &plasma-workspaces;, like &plasma-desktop;, look for a metapackage or package group, typically `kde-desktop`.

Some core applications may be installed together with other core applications in a combined package named after the &kde; package they are provided in. For instance, &dolphin; might be found in the `kde-baseapps` package.

If you have trouble locating &kde; packages for your distribution, please contact their support resources. Many distributions also have a team dedicated to packaging &kde; that can provide assistance specific to &kde;

### &Microsoft; &Windows;

The &kde; on Windows Initiative provides binary packages of &kde; applications for &Microsoft; &Windows;. They also provide a special installer application that permits you to install individual applications or groups and all necessary dependencies easily.

For more information on the initiative and to download the installer, visit the KDE on Windows Initiative.

### &MacOS;

Individual &kde; applications can be installed through several different ports systems available for &MacOS;. Several different &kde; applications also provide their own binary builds for &MacOS;.

For more information, visit &kde; on &MacOS;X.

### &BSD;

Most &BSD; distributions allows you to install &kde; applications and the &plasma-workspaces; as a whole through their ports system.

For more information on installing ports, see your &BSD; distribution's documentation.

### Mobile Devices

&plasma-active; is an exciting initiative to bring a new &kde; experience to mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. Binary releases are provided for several different devices.

For more information, visit &plasma-active;.

### Live Media

Several &Linux; and &BSD; distributions offer live media. This permits you to try out the &plasma-workspaces; without installing anything to your system. All you have to do insert a CD or connect a USB drive and boot from it. If you like what you see, most offer an option to install it to your hard drive.

There is a list of distributions that offer the &kde; workspace and applications on live media on the &kde; website.

### Building from Source Code

For detailed information on how to compile and install &kde; workspace and applications see &kde; TechBase.

Since &kde; software uses `cmake` you should have no trouble compiling it. Should you run into problems please report them to the &kde; mailing lists.

The recommended tool to build Frameworks and &plasma; Workspace 5 and Applications is kdesrc-build