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Installation

Quick Install

If you have cargo installed, then jump to Build from source.

CView is a cross-platform application built on Rust and GTK4. Because it uses the native GTK4 libraries for rendering, the installation process involves two steps:

  1. Installing the system dependencies (GTK4).
  2. Compiling the application using Cargo.

1. Install Dependencies

Select your operating system below to set up the required libraries.

Linux

You need the GTK4 development headers and the standard build tools (gcc/clang).

Fedora / RHEL

sudo dnf install gcc gtk4-devel libadwaita-devel

Ubuntu / Debian / Mint

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential libgtk-4-dev libadwaita-1-dev

Arch Linux / Manjaro

sudo pacman -S base-devel gtk4 libadwaita

macOS

The easiest way to install GTK4 on macOS is via Homebrew.

# 1. Install Homebrew if you haven't already
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh))"

# 2. Install Rust and GTK4
brew install rust gtk4 libadwaita adwaita-icon-theme

Windows

For Windows, we recommend using the MSYS2 environment to manage the native GTK4 libraries.

  1. Install MSYS2: Download the installer from msys2.org.
  2. Open the Terminal: Launch MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit.
  3. Install Toolchain: Run this command inside the MSYS2 terminal: 
    pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gtk4 mingw-w64-x86_64-rust mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc
  4. Add to Path: Add C:\msys64\mingw64\bin to your Windows System PATH environment variable.
    • Why? This allows you to run cargo run from VS Code or PowerShell later.

Do not use PowerShell yet

The pacman command above works only inside the MSYS2 terminal. It will fail if you try to run it in PowerShell or Command Prompt.

2. Install Rust

If you do not have the Rust compiler installed, the recommended way is via rustup.

Check your version

CView requires Rust 1.70 or higher. Check your version with: cargo --version

Command (Linux / macOS / Windows PowerShell):

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

3. Build from Source

Once the dependencies are ready, you can compile CView directly from the repository.

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone [https://github.com/mavensgroup/cview.git](https://github.com/mavensgroup/cview.git)
cd cview

# 2. Build and Run (Release mode recommended for performance)
cargo run --release

This will install cview in ~/bin by default. For the subsequent run, just type cview

The first compilation may take a few minutes as it compiles the dependencies. Subsequent runs will be instant.

Troubleshooting

Error: pkg-config not found

If the build fails claiming it cannot find gtk4 or pkg-config, it means the development headers are missing.

  • Linux: Ensure you installed the -dev or -devel packages (e.g., libgtk-4-dev), not just the runtime library.
  • macOS: Try running brew link gtk4.

Error: Linker failed

If you see errors related to cc or ld:

  • Ensure you have build-essential (Linux) or Xcode Command Line Tools (macOS) installed.