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Update build instructions for bubblewrap #746

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5 changes: 3 additions & 2 deletions README.md
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Expand Up @@ -83,10 +83,11 @@ Installation
bubblewrap is available in the package repositories of the most Linux distributions
and can be installed from there.

If you need to build bubblewrap from source, you can do this with meson:
If you need to build bubblewrap from source, first make sure you
have `lipcap-dev` installed, then use meson:
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@charmander charmander May 5, 2026

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Typo (“libcap”), but libcap-dev is a distro-specific package name.

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@rusty-snake rusty-snake May 5, 2026

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Fedora does not provide libcap-dev, can I build bubblewrap on Fedora?
(Rhetorical question)

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@smcv smcv May 29, 2026

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Yes, that. I'd prefer a distro-neutral instruction:

Suggested change
have `lipcap-dev` installed, then use meson:
have `libcap` development files installed, then use meson:

or more generically

Suggested change
have `lipcap-dev` installed, then use meson:
have the build-time dependencies installed, then use meson:

Or just fix the meson → meson setup and don't say anything about the required libraries, because Meson will tell you if they're missing anyway, and "you need the dependencies before you can build a project" is a universal fact about building any project. It scales poorly if every project is expected to teach new developers the basics of compiling software.


```sh
meson _builddir
meson setup _builddir
meson compile -C _builddir
meson test -C _builddir
meson install -C _builddir
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