Drop Compress Image

Build Drop Compress Image for Linux

This guide walks you through setting up the development environment and building Drop Compress Image on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (and similar Debian-based distributions).

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or similar Debian-based distribution
  • Sudo privileges for installing software
  • Basic familiarity with terminal commands

Step 1: Update System Packages

First, update your system packages to ensure you have the latest versions:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Build Dependencies

Install the essential build tools and libraries required for Tauri development:

# Install build essentials and development libraries
sudo apt install -y \
  build-essential \
  curl \
  wget \
  file \
  libssl-dev \
  libgtk-3-dev \
  libayatana-appindicator3-dev \
  librsvg2-dev \
  libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
  patchelf

What These Packages Do

  • build-essential: Provides GCC, G++, and make
  • libssl-dev: OpenSSL development libraries
  • libgtk-3-dev: GTK3 development libraries for UI
  • libayatana-appindicator3-dev: System tray support
  • librsvg2-dev: SVG rendering support
  • libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev: WebKit for Tauri's webview
  • patchelf: ELF binary patcher for AppImage

Verify Installation

gcc --version

You should see output showing GCC version 13.x or higher.

Step 3: Install Rust

Drop Compress Image is built with Rust, so you'll need to install the Rust toolchain.

Install Rust via rustup

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

When prompted, choose option 1 (default installation).

Configure Your Shell

source $HOME/.cargo/env

To make this permanent, add it to your shell profile:

echo 'source $HOME/.cargo/env' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Verify Rust Installation

rustc --version
cargo --version

You should see version information for both rustc and cargo.

Step 4: Install Node.js

The frontend of Drop Compress Image is built with Vue.js and requires Node.js.

Install Node.js via NodeSource Repository

# Install Node.js 22.x (LTS)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Verify Node.js Installation

node --version
npm --version

You should see Node.js version 22.x or higher.

Step 5: Install pnpm

Drop Compress Image uses pnpm as its package manager for better performance and disk efficiency.

Install pnpm

npm install -g pnpm

Verify pnpm Installation

pnpm --version

Step 6: Set Up vcpkg and Install Dependencies

This project uses vcpkg to manage C/C++ image processing libraries (libaom, libavif, libjxl, etc.).

Install vcpkg Prerequisites

# Install tools required for vcpkg
sudo apt install -y curl zip unzip tar cmake pkg-config

Install vcpkg

# Clone vcpkg
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git ~/vcpkg

# Bootstrap vcpkg
cd ~/vcpkg
./bootstrap-vcpkg.sh

# Set environment variables (add to ~/.bashrc)
echo 'export VCPKG_ROOT="$HOME/vcpkg"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export PATH="$VCPKG_ROOT:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Install Dependencies

Use the automated installation script (recommended):

cd ~/path/to/DropWebP/app/src-tauri
./setup-vcpkg.sh

Or install manually:

cd ~/vcpkg

# For x64 Linux
./vcpkg install aom:x64-linux
./vcpkg install libavif[aom]:x64-linux
./vcpkg install libjxl:x64-linux
./vcpkg install libwebp:x64-linux
./vcpkg install openjpeg:x64-linux
./vcpkg install libjpeg-turbo:x64-linux
./vcpkg install lcms:x64-linux

# For ARM64 Linux
./vcpkg install aom:arm64-linux
./vcpkg install libavif[aom]:arm64-linux
./vcpkg install libjxl:arm64-linux
./vcpkg install libwebp:arm64-linux
./vcpkg install openjpeg:arm64-linux
./vcpkg install libjpeg-turbo:arm64-linux
./vcpkg install lcms:arm64-linux

Installed libraries:

  • libaom: AV1 encoder (for AVIF format, required)
  • libavif: AVIF image format
  • libjxl: JPEG XL image format
  • libwebp: WebP image format
  • openjpeg: JPEG 2000 image format
  • libjpeg-turbo: JPEG image processing (for jpegli)
  • lcms: Little CMS color management

Verify Installation

./vcpkg list | grep -E "aom|avif|jxl|webp|openjpeg|jpeg|lcms"

Step 7: Clone and Build Drop Compress Image

Now you're ready to clone and build Drop Compress Image.

Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/logue/DropWebP.git
cd DropWebP

Install Frontend Dependencies

# Install all workspace dependencies
pnpm install

Install Tauri CLI v2

# Install Tauri CLI v2 globally
pnpm add -g @tauri-apps/cli@next

Build the Application

For development:

# Run in development mode
pnpm dev:tauri

For production:

# Build for production
pnpm build:tauri

The built application will be in app/src-tauri/target/release/.

Step 8: Distribution Formats

Tauri on Linux can generate multiple distribution formats:

AppImage is a universal package format that works on most Linux distributions:

pnpm build:tauri

The AppImage will be in app/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/appimage/.

Debian Package (.deb)

For Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions:

pnpm build:tauri

The .deb package will be in app/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/deb/.

Install it with:

sudo dpkg -i app/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/deb/*.deb

RPM Package (.rpm)

For Red Hat/Fedora-based distributions, you'll need to install additional tools:

sudo apt install -y rpm
pnpm build:tauri

The .rpm package will be in app/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/rpm/.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Missing libwebkit2gtk-4.1
    If you get errors about missing webkit libraries:
    # Try the older webkit version
sudo apt install -y libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev
  2. Permission Denied for npm/pnpm
    # Fix npm global directory permissions
mkdir -p ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
  3. Build Failures with Native Dependencies
    # Clear build caches
cargo clean
pnpm clean

# Rebuild everything
pnpm install
pnpm build:tauri
  4. AppImage Not Executable
    # Make AppImage executable
chmod +x app/src-tauri/target/release/bundle/appimage/*.AppImage
  5. Missing GLIBC Version
    If you see errors about GLIBC version, ensure you're on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or newer:
    ldd --version

Graphics Driver Issues

For optimal performance, ensure you have proper graphics drivers installed:

# For NVIDIA
sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

# For AMD
sudo apt install -y mesa-vulkan-drivers

# For Intel
sudo apt install -y intel-media-va-driver

Getting Help

If you encounter issues not covered here:

  1. Check the Drop Compress Image repository for known issues
  2. Review the Tauri v2 documentation for Linux-specific guidance
  3. Search existing GitHub issues or create a new one

Next Steps

Once you have Drop Compress Image built successfully:

  1. Run Tests: Execute pnpm test to ensure everything works correctly
  2. Development: Use pnpm dev:tauri for development with hot reloading
  3. Customization: Explore the codebase and make your modifications
  4. Distribution: Use pnpm build:tauri to create distributable packages

You're now ready to develop and build Drop Compress Image on Linux!

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