If you want to learn how to install Meld tool on Ubuntu for easier file management, this is just the guide.
Meld is a tool for visually observing the differences in files and merging those changes in the Linux operating system (OS). In this article, we will discuss installing the Meld tool on Ubuntu.
About the Meld tool
In a regular daily routine, it is quite frequent that you require comparing files and directories and maintain the information of these files. The Meld tool is the most widely used feature-rich tool for comparing files and directories. It is developed using python and GTK library. The following snapshot of the visual interface of the Meld tool:
Before proceeding further, let’s discuss the features of this tool. The following are the significant features of this software:
- Both two and three-way comparisons of files and directories.
- Auto merge feature for merging files and folders.
- A graphical user interface (GUI) for visualizing the differences.
- It can be easily integrated with version controlling tools such as Git, Mercurial, Bazaar, and SVN.
- Support for multiple languages.
- Syntax highlighting and file management.
- Available for other operating systems besides Linux, such as Windows.
We will now discuss the installation steps for the Meld tool. The installation of Meld can be performed in two ways a. installation of old version b. installation of the new version. We will discuss the installation steps for each of these in the following sections.
How to install Meld on Ubuntu (old version)
The old version of the Meld can be installed via an advanced package tool (apt). It is a free tool that can be used to add and remove the software from your system. Following are the steps to install the old version of Meld on your computer.
Update your system
The installation of an older version of Meld is straightforward. First, update your system via the following command:
$sudo apt-get update
Installation of the old version
Once the system is updated, it can be installed via the following command. Open your Terminal by clicking on the system menu and selecting Terminal. Now, type the following command:
sudo apt-get install meld
Note: Note that the old version doesn’t require the installation of any dependencies. However, you will not have the newer features of the software.
How to Install Meld Tool on Ubuntu (new version)
To install the new version of Meld, we need to install the dependencies first and then install the software manually.
Installation of dependencies
Following are the dependencies that need to be installed for Meld software:
- intltool
- itstool
- gir1.2-gtksource-3.0
- libxml2-utils
In your Terminal, type the following command and press enter to install the required dependencies:
$sudo apt-get install intltool itstool gir1.2-gtksource-3.0 libxml2-utils
It will take a while for the installation of dependencies.
Clone the repository
After these dependencies are installed, we need to clone the git repository on our Ubuntu system. First, you need to install git on your system. Use the following command to install git:
$apt-get install git
Run the following command on your terminal to clone the repository:
$git clone https://git.gnome.org/browse/meld
Here, we have to use the git utility and then specify the online repository uniform resource locator (URL). It will download the repository from the online URL and copy it to your local system.
Installation of Meld tool
After cloning, you can go to the specified folder on your local system via the following command on your terminal:
$cd meld
Now, we will use python to install the Meld tool manually. Run the following command on your Terminal:
$sudo python setup.py install
Congratulations. The Meld tool has been installed on your system.
Create a soft link
After the installation of the tool, create a soft link for Meld using the following command:
$ln -s ~/meld/bin/meld/usr/bin/Meld
Running Meld
After the installation of the Meld and creating a soft link, you can run the Meld by using the following command:
$meld
Un-installation of Meld from your computer
The uninstallation of the Meld tool is very simple. It can be removed via the apt utility. To remove the software, type the following command on your Terminal:
$sudo apt-get remove meld
To remove the software and all of its dependencies, run the following command:
$sudo apt-get remove --auto-remove meld
To remove the software with all of its configuration files, the following command can be used:
$sudo apt-get purge meld
Or, use the following command:
$sudo apt-get purge --auto-remove meld
In this article, we have discussed the installation steps for the Meld tool in Ubuntu. It is used for comparing files and folders visually. It provides some beneficial features such as comparing files and merging them, support for several languages, etc. We discussed the installation of tools in ways. The installation of the old version is pretty straightforward. The newer version with advanced features can be installed manually after the installation of dependencies. More details about the tool usage can be seen in the manual for the tool.
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