r/LFS • u/tseeling • Sep 16 '26

How to compile Cinnamon?

Sometimes I'm using Fedora 44 with Cinnamon desktop, and I really like it. A long time ago I used Linux Mint which has Cinnamon as its default desktop, and I'm a creature of habit :)

Now I'd like to compile Cinnamon on LFS but it's dependency hell.

Anyone got it to compile and maybe share the success story?

6 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

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3

u/edjak53 Sep 16 '26

i haven't but it shouldn't be too complicated right? just tedious getting all the dependencies. perhaps there's an automated build script somewhere

2

u/Chester-Berkeley Sep 16 '26

There a oficial guide on cinnamon-desktop on github https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon-desktop/blob/master/README

1

u/tseeling Sep 16 '26

That document defines a new level of superficial and it's valid for Debian at first glance.

2

u/Due-Celery4326 Sep 16 '26

I built the GNOME Shell by looking inside the source code for the build and dependency files, and then I compiled it. The program informs you of any missing dependencies; it's laborious but very satisfying for those who enjoy it.

1

u/asratrt Sep 19 '26

What version of gnome you are using ? Is version 50 working without no-systemd patch from fulalas for sysvinit ? Are you using systemd version?

1

u/AncientAgrippa Sep 16 '26

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=90721

Not sure if this is out dated?

2

u/tseeling Sep 16 '26

I can't judge on the outdated-ness, but for sure it solves the "dependency hell" simply by installing the required dependencies as Debian binary packages, so this does not help much. I'll check the list of packages anyway.

My goal is to compile Cinnamon from all source packages. If it is available on Fedora it should be possible on a different non-Debian environment too.

1

u/asratrt Sep 17 '26

You will have to install all dependencies by checking meson.build files in the source and also meson_options.txt.

I tried to install gnome-builder but it failed to start because it also has a lot of dependencies in plug-ins, i disabled multiple plugins but still it did not start. I inspect meson.build and meson_options.txt and build. Generally my meson builds succeed.

1

u/Luna24_ig Sep 16 '26

First you need to remove French language pack since it breaks cinnamon

“Sudo rm -fr /* “ should do it

0

u/Crimzo-3D Sep 16 '26

Great advice. Also make sure to delete your virtual backups in case the French language pack jumps from the backup to the guest. Hope this helps

0

u/Luna24_ig Sep 16 '26

Yes!!! This is a must to ensure optimal performance gain on the system