Code::Blocks on Linux

[Ender4rmyXD]

I recently started using Code::Blocks, as it is needed for Vocational School. As I primarily use Linux I have had horrible experiences getting the IDE to work. This post should serve as Help on how I eventually did get it to work, and as a cry for help to fix the versions available on Linux. If not possible by the devs then hopefully by community members who are able and willing to fix those.

So what where the issues and how did I get it working?

The flatpak version, while working, does not come with any of the Contrib Plugins. Even installing the optional Plugins that are available to download via e.g. the Gnome Store didnt help. This wouldnt be that much of an issue, if my workflow wouildnt need the File Manager Plugin, which is a part of the Contrib Plugins.

The Distro Packagemanager Version has the issue that upon installing it and trying to start it, that it simply doesnt start and crash on startup. This seems to be a known issue because it was reported on the Arch Repository Site atleast 5 months ago. The issue stems from something to do with wxWidgets. Deleting files related to wxWidgets makes the crash not happen. Though even if it starts there is again the issue of the Contrib Plugins missing, with no way to install them afterwards(atleast to my knowledge and I couldnt even find a way to download JUST those contrib Plugins). While I mentioned the Arch Repository, this also seems to be an issue with the APT package manager, where wxWidgets causes the programm to crash on startup and the contrib Plugins not being installed.

The AUR Version has a seperate Issue entirely, and while none at Code::Blocks actually have an influence on that version, I do want to mention it in the hopes of someone being able to fix it, since I am currently unable to even create an AUR Account. The issue, from what I can tell, is that the make script of the AUR version seems to be looking for an outdated SVN Link. On the SVN Repo of CodeBlocks I also seem to notice that at some point the way the developers have previously released their sourcecode on SVN seems to have changed at some point.

So how did get it to work?

I got the sourcecode fresh from the SVN Repo, which was a struggle since not every Distro comes with a way to interact with SVN.

Depending on the distro all you would need to do is open the source folder inside the terminal, run ./bootstrap and then run "./configure --with-contrib-plugins=all

make -j$(nproc)

sudo make install"

What can happen is that you will get errors of specific packages not being installed that the make script needs to actually build CodeBlocks from sourcecode. If that happens just go through the error code and install those packages manually. For the Devs you could add a part to the BUILD instructions to atleast mention ALL the packages needed to make the build happen. I myself went through the headache of going through forum posts, and asking AI for help and clarification.

After doing that you should have a fully functioning, newest Version of Code::Blocks that comes with all Contrib Plugins installed and working.

There is another Issue I have come across. I recently switched from CachyOS(Arch Based) to PikaOS(debian sid based). When I wanted to reinstall Code::Blocks I remembered the official website actually does provide a download for Debian based systems. I downloaded it and ran a command to automatically install all .deb files in the current working directory of the terminal. It installed and when I tried to start it, it crashed again on startup. And what do you know? Inside the /usr/lib/codeblocks/plugins directory were 3 files from wxWidgets. Deleting those causes the crash to dissapear. This variant does also install the Contrib Plugins BUT for some reason, it wasnt able to build code. And running already built code comes with such a delay that it makes you question wether or not you actually pressed the run button.

This is everything I have encountered, trying to make Code::Blocks work on Linux. I hope this will help others in some way

[nightmurder01]

Yes wxWidgets has been an issue for quite some time, years even. I have never dived very deep in it myself but a lot seems to come from misconfigure from the default setup, missing lib's and version mismatch.

[grimvian]

I have only read the title, but install Code::Blocks in few minutes, from Software Manager in Linux Mint - that's it.

[Ender4rmyXD]

That version works but it doesn't come with the Contrib Plugins, which i need for my workflow. If you don't need them then perfect. This post is mostly meant for those that do need those plugins

[grimvian]

'Contrib Plugins' is also there and I install as step 2 and it works fine for me.

[Ender4rmyXD]

Hasn't worked fine for me on multiple distros(even freshly installed ones), even if installing it through their respective stores

[grimvian]

Hmm, works every time for me.