*********************
Installation on Linux
*********************
The following distribution-specific packages are officially supported, and they
provide an easy way of installing and upgrading Powerline. The packages will
automatically do most of the configuration.
* `Arch Linux (AUR), Python 2 version `_
* `Arch Linux (AUR), Python 3 version `_
* Gentoo Live ebuild in `raiagent `_ overlay
* Powerline package is available for Debian starting from Wheezy (via `backports
`_). Use `search
`_
to get more information.
If used distribution does not have an official package installation guide below
should be followed:
1. Install Python 3.2+, Python 2.6+ or PyPy and ``pip`` with ``setuptools``.
This step is distribution-specific, so no commands provided.
2. Install Powerline using one of the following commands:
.. code-block:: sh
pip install --user powerline-status
will get the latest release version and
.. code-block:: sh
pip install --user git+git://github.com/powerline/powerline
will get the latest development version.
.. note:: Due to the naming conflict with an unrelated project powerline is
named ``powerline-status`` in PyPI.
.. note::
Powerline developers should be aware that``pip install --editable`` does
not currently fully work. Installation performed this way are missing
``powerline`` executable that needs to be symlinked. It will be located in
``scripts/powerline``.
Fonts installation
==================
Fontconfig
----------
This method only works on Linux. It’s the second recommended method if terminal
emulator supports it as patching fonts is not needed, and it generally works
with any coding font.
#. Download the latest version of the symbol font and fontconfig file::
wget https://github.com/powerline/powerline/raw/develop/font/PowerlineSymbols.otf
wget https://github.com/powerline/powerline/raw/develop/font/10-powerline-symbols.conf
#. Move the symbol font to a valid X font path. Valid font paths can be
listed with ``xset q``::
mv PowerlineSymbols.otf ~/.local/share/fonts/
#. Update font cache for the path the font was moved to (root priveleges may be
needed to update cache for the system-wide paths)::
fc-cache -vf ~/.local/share/fonts/
#. Install the fontconfig file. For newer versions of fontconfig the config
path is ``~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d/``, for older versions it’s
``~/.fonts.conf.d/``::
mv 10-powerline-symbols.conf ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d/
If custom symbols still cannot be seen then try closing all instances of the
terminal emulator. Restarting X may be needed for the changes to take effect.
If custom symbols *still* can’t be seen, double-check that the font have been
installed to a valid X font path, and that the fontconfig file was installed to
a valid fontconfig path. Alternatively try to install a :ref:`patched font
`.
Patched font installation
-------------------------
This is the preferred method, but it is not always available because not all
fonts were patched and not all fonts *can* be patched due to licensing issues.
After downloading font the following should be done:
#. Move the patched font to a valid X font path. Valid font paths can be
listed with ``xset q``::
mv 'SomeFont for Powerline.otf' ~/.local/share/fonts/
#. Update font cache for the path the font was moved to (root privileges may be
needed for updating font cache for some paths)::
fc-cache -vf ~/.local/share/fonts/
After installing patched font terminal emulator, GVim or whatever application
powerline should work with must be configured to use the patched font. The
correct font usually ends with *for Powerline*.
If custom symbols cannot be seen then try closing all instances of the terminal
emulator. X server may need to be restarted for the changes to take effect.
If custom symbols *still* can’t be seen then double-check that the font have
been installed to a valid X font path.