4.1. Command Line Usage

KDE Builder is designed to be run as follows:

kde-builder [--options] [projects to build...]

If no projects to build are specified on the command line, then kde-builder will build all projects defined in its configuration file, in the order listed in that file (although this can be modified by various configuration file options).

4.1.1. Specifying projects to build

In general, specifying projects to build is as simple as passing their project name as you defined it in the configuration file. You can also pass projects that are part of a group, either as named on use-projects, or the name of the entire group itself.

In the specific case of groups based against the KDE project database, kde-builder will expand project name components to determine the exact project you want. For example, repo-metadata's KDE project entry locates the project in extragear/utils/kcalc. You could specify any of the following to build kcalc:

kde-builder +kde/kdeutils/kcalc
kde-builder +kdeutils/kcalc
kde-builder +kcalc

Note

The commands in the example above preceded the project name with a +. This forces the project name to be interpreted as a project from the KDE project database, even if that project hasn't been defined in your configuration file.

Be careful about specifying very generic projects (e.g. extragear/utils by itself), as this can lead to a large amount of projects being built. You should use the --pretend option before building a new group to ensure it is only building the projects you want.

4.1.2. Commonly used command line options

--pretend (or -p)
This option causes KDE Builder to indicate what actions it would take, without actually executing them. This can be useful to make sure that the projects you think you are building will actually get built.

--no-src
This option skips the source update process. You might use it if you have very recently updated the source code (perhaps you did it manually or recently ran kde-builder) but still want to rebuild some projects.

--no-include-dependencies (or -D)
Only process the selected projects, skipping their dependencies. Useful when you have changed only selected projects, and you are sure you do not need to rebuild the others.

--refresh-build (or -r)
This option forces kde-builder to build the given projects from an absolutely fresh start point. Any existing build directory for that project is removed and it is rebuilt. This option is useful if you have errors building a project, and sometimes is required when Qt or KDE libraries change.

--resume-from project
Skips projects until just before the given project, then operates as normal. Useful when the previous build failed on specific project, you fixed it, and then you want to continue the building with the rest of initial set of projects.

--run executable_name
Launch the built application.

The full list of command line options is given in the section called Supported command-line parameters.

4.1.3. Exit status

0
Success

1
Normally this means some part of the update, build or install process failed, but is also used for any abnormal program end not otherwise covered below.

5
A signal was received that killed kde-builder, but it attempted to perform normal closedown.

8
Unknown option was passed on the command line.

99
An exception was raised that forced kde-builder to abort early.

4.1.4. Signals

kde-builder supports SIGHUP, which if received will cause kde-builder to exit after the current projects for the build thread (and update thread, if still active) have completed.