Home » Guides » A Guide On Installing Kdenlive On Linux: Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL, Debian, Fedora, Arch Linux, Gentoo, and so on.

A Guide On Installing Kdenlive On Linux: Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL, Debian, Fedora, Arch Linux, Gentoo, and so on.

Gilbert John

Kdenlive is a good video editing tool to have if you are looking for quick yet powerful editing. It is an open-source project that offers various feature-rich video editing. In fact, the software can even rival some top-of-the-line commercial editing apps. Thus, it is well suited for most users, be they budding content creators or experienced artists working on their projects. 

The following is a guide for Kdenlive installation on the Linux operating system. Based on KDE, the software is well-optimized for working on most Linux distributions and even other platforms like Windows and BSD. You can read the guide to discover various steps and different methods on how to install Kdenlive on Linux. 

What Is Kdenlive?

Kdenlive might not appear to be but is actually an acronym for KDE Non-Linear Video Editor. Since it’s based on KDE, it uses several plugins through the MLT framework to help with video and sound processing and creation. There is a titling tool available in the app that allows for more input, and then you can also write DVDs. Hence, it is a one-stop solution for everything video editing, a complete yet portable studio for video creation and processing. 

Being open source is also a major advantage for Kdenlive, as it means that the app is free to use. Although the app was primarily meant to be used on Linux, Windows, and Mac lovers can also install Kdenlive with ease. The app sports a user-friendly interface and has a timeline, a preview window, and other video editing tools to support effects and transitions. There is also a keyframe-based animation, and proxy editing for some heavy lifting. 

Kdenlive
Kdenlive

Minimum system requirements

If you want to run Kdenlive on your device, take notice of the following list of requirements:

  • Operating system: For Windows, you must have version 7 or up, Apple requires macOS 10.15 (Catalina) 1 or above, and the 64-bit architecture for Linux.
  • CPU: Intel or AMD x86 model, at least 2 GHz core (optimally 8 cores are required for 4K video editing).
  • GPU: OpenGL 2.0 (For Windows, you need a GPU compatible with DirectX 9 or 11)
  • RAM: 4 GB minimum (16 GB for 4K videos)

Supported Distributions

Although you can use Kdenlive on most Linux distributions with the help of AppImage or Flatpak, it is only officially supported for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Focal Fossa and its derivatives, and Arch Linux. However, if your distro can meet the following requirements, you can easily build Kdenlive from the source:

Qt5/KF5 (It will be better if it’s Qt6/KF6.) 

  • Qt version 5.15.2 or up
  • KF5 version 5.86 or up
  • MLT version 7.14.0 or up

Features of Kdenlive

We have also listed a few of Kdenlive features so that you may understand the tool better before installing:

  • Multi-track Editing: It supports multiple audio or video tracks at once for mix and match.
  • Various Audio/Video Format Supported: You can use Kdenlive without worrying about the format of your audio or video file.
  • Customizable UI: The app also allows you to customize and configure the UI and shortcuts according to your needs and requirements, thus providing more freedom. 
  • A Titler Function: You can also use it to create 2D titles for your projects with the following functions:
    • Letter-spacing 
    • Line-spacing
    • Font selector
    • Rotate and Zoom in-editing
    • Adding images
    • Template support
    • Align and Distribute
    • Design features
    • Embedded Crawl
    • Roll tool for text animation
    • Unicode decoder
  • Several effects and transitions: You can make your videos pop by choosing from a well-maintained library of effects and transitions.
  • Audio and video scopes: Allows for color balancing your video before finalizing your work.
  • Proxy editing: Low-resolution copies are created automatically if you want to edit videos on the go or use other devices. Then, you can scale them back to the original resolution.
  • Backup: You can save your work automatically without deleting older versions of it.
  • Preview: You can review your work from the Timeline for a smooth playback.
  • Different Themes: The app supports light and dark themes.

Install Kdenlive On Linux

Installing Kdenlive on Linux is actually pretty simple, despite it being based on KDE. If you are not a technical user or a developer, we suggest downloading the AppImage or Flatpak files and installing Kdenlive that way. 

However, we have also included instructions for installing Kdenlive from source, although we have to remind users that it will actually take some knowledge and thus is only suited for more advanced users. 

Method 1. Compile Kdenlive From Source

If you want to build Kdenlive on your own, then first, you must ensure that you are running the latest version of MLT. It is the easiest to build Kdenlive on Ubuntu. Here’s how:

Step 1. First, add the Kdenlive PPA to Ubuntu:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kdenlive/kdenlive-master
sudo apt update

Step 1.1- If your system already has some previous Kdenlive packages, we recommend you delete them before proceeding further, as they might interfere with the build. 

sudo apt remove kdenlive kdenlive-data

Step 2. Now, make sure you have the required dependencies:

sudo apt install build-essential git cmake extra-cmake-modules libsm-dev clang-format

Step 2.1- You can also install Ninja for a much faster build:

sudo apt install ninja-build

Step 3. After that, use your native package manager to get the complete build environment: 

For Debian/Ubuntu 

Step 3.1- First, enable deb-src entries /etc/apt/sources. For this, you must edit the file as root using a text editor, then locate the “deb-src” lines. Here, you have to ensure that they are not commented, i.e., they do not have a ‘#’ symbol. If they do, remove the ‘#’ symbol. Finally, save the changes to the file.

Step 3.2- Now get the build:

sudo apt build-dep mlt kdenlive

Fedora/CentOS

dnf builddep mlt kdenlive

OpenSUSE

zypper source-install --build-deps-only mlt kdenlive

Step 3.2- If you want, you can always install the dependencies manually:

For Qt6 Modules

sudo apt install qt6-base-dev qt6-svg-dev qt6-multimedia-dev qt6-networkauth-dev

KDE Frameworks 6 (based on Qt6)

sudo apt install kf6-karchive-dev kf6-kbookmarks-dev kf6-kcodecs-dev kf6-kcoreaddons-dev \
kf6-kconfig-dev kf6-kconfigwidgets-dev kf6-kio-dev kf6-kwidgetsaddons-dev kf6-knotifyconfig-dev \
kf6-knewstuff-dev kf6-kxmlgui-dev kf6-knotifications-dev kf6-kguiaddons-dev kf6-ktextwidgets-dev \
kf6-kiconthemes-dev kf6-solid-dev kf6-kfilemetadata-dev kf6-purpose-dev \
kf6-kdoctools-dev kf6-kcrash-dev kf6-kdbusaddons-dev kf6-breeze-icon-theme-dev

For Qt5 modules and KDE Frameworks 5

sudo apt install libkf5archive-dev libkf5bookmarks-dev libkf5coreaddons-dev libkf5config-dev \
libkf5configwidgets-dev libkf5dbusaddons-dev libkf5kio-dev libkf5widgetsaddons-dev \
libkf5notifyconfig-dev libkf5newstuff-dev libkf5xmlgui-dev libkf5declarative-dev \
libkf5notifications-dev libkf5guiaddons-dev libkf5textwidgets-dev libkf5purpose-dev \
libkf5iconthemes-dev libkf5crash-dev libkf5filemetadata-dev libkf5codecs-dev kio \
kinit qtdeclarative5-dev libqt5svg5-dev qml-module-qtquick-controls libqt5networkauth5-dev \
qtmultimedia5-dev qtquickcontrols2-5-dev qttools5-dev breeze-icon-theme breeze

Step 4. Finally, get the other dependencies such as plugins for multimedia, MLT, and dependencies for localization:

sudo apt install frei0r-plugins ffmpeg

sudo apt install libmlt++-dev libmlt-dev melt

sudo apt install ruby subversion gnupg2 gettext

Step 5. Now, clone the GitHub repository:

git clone https://invent.kde.org/multimedia/kdenlive.git

Step 6. Now, you have to build MLT

Note that it is necessary, only because you have to get the latest git or if your distro’s MLT is compiled with a different Qt version.

Step 6.1- Start by installing the MLT dependencies:

sudo apt install libxml++2.6-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev libavfilter-dev libavutil-dev libavdevice-dev libsdl1.2-dev librtaudio-dev libsox-dev libsamplerate0-dev librubberband-dev libebur128-dev libarchive-dev

Step 6.2- Then, get the MLT’s source code

git clone https://github.com/mltframework/mlt.git
cd mlt
mkdir build
cd build

To Build with Qt6

cmake .. -GNinja -DMOD_QT=OFF -DMOD_QT6=ON -DMOD_GLAXNIMATE=OFF -DMOD_GLAXNIMATE_QT6=ON

To Build with Qt5 

cmake .. -GNinja -DMOD_QT=ON -DMOD_GLAXNIMATE=ON -DMOD_QT6=OFF -DMOD_GLAXNIMATE_QT6=OFF

Step 6.3- Install the build using Ninja or Make

sudo ninja install

or

sudo make install

Step 7. Lastly, you can finally build Kdenlive:

INSTALL_PREFIX=$HOME/.local 
JOBS=4
cd mlt
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$INSTALL_PREFIX
make -j$JOBS
sudo make install
cd ../../kdenlive
mkdir build && cd build

For Qt6

cmake .. -GNinja -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$INSTALL_PREFIX -DKDE_INSTALL_USE_QT_SYS_PATHS=ON -DRELEASE_BUILD=OFF -DQT_MAJOR_VERSION=6

For Qt5 

cmake .. -GNinja -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=$INSTALL_PREFIX -DKDE_INSTALL_USE_QT_SYS_PATHS=ON -DRELEASE_BUILD=OFF -DQT_MAJOR_VERSION=5 -DBUILD_WITH_QT6=OFF
ninja -j$JOBS
sudo ninja install

Or

sudo make install 

Method 2. Using Craft To Build Kdenlive On Linux

If the previous method seems too much for you (although that one is the method with the most freedom for developers) you can always use Craft to compile Kdenlive:

Step 1. Update your package manager:

sudo apt update

Step 2. Now, install the dependencies:

sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv build-essential git wget libxcb-xinerama0-dev python2
sudo apt build-dep qtbase5-dev

Step 3. After that, install Craft:

 python3 -c "$(wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/KDE/craft/master/setup/CraftBootstrap.py -O -)" --prefix ~/CraftRoot

Step 4. Now, run craft:

source ~/CraftRoot/craft/craftenv.sh

Step 5. Finally, start building Kdenlive. 

--option kdenlive.version=master kdenlive

Step 6. Use Kdenlive within the Craft environment.

Method 3. Install Kdenlive On Linux via Snap

Step 1. First, install Snap:

On Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt install snapd

For Fedora

sudo dnf install snapd
sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

On Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S snapd
sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket
sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

Step 2. Then, install Kdenlive via Snap:

sudo snap install kdenlive

Method 4. Using Flatpak To Install Kdenlive on Linux

Step 1. Start by installing Flatpak:

sudo apt install flatpak

Step 2. Then, add the Flathub repository:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Step 3. Lastly, install Kdenlive via Flatpak:

flatpak install flathub org.kde.kdenlive

Method 5. Install Kdenlive using AppImage

Step 1. First, go to the official Kdenlive download page and download the latest AppImage.

Step 2. Make the AppImage executable:

chmod +x kdenlive-<version>.appimage

Step 3. Run the AppImage:

./kdenlive-<version>.appimage

Method 6. Installing Kdenlive using Naive Package Managers 

Lastly, you can try to install Kdenlive using native package managers. Do note that the developers do not officially maintain packages other than Ubuntu.

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install kdenlive

On Fedora

sudo dnf install kdenlive

Arch Linux/Pacman/Manjaro

sudo pacman -S kdenlive

RHEL (via RPM Fusion)

Step 1. First, enable the RPM Fusion repository:

For RHEL 9:

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-9.noarch.rpm

For RHEL 8:

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-8.noarch.rpm

Step 2. Install Kdenlive from the RPM Fusion repo:

sudo dnf install kdenlive

RHEL/CentOS (Via EPEL)

Step 1. You must enable the EPEL repository.

For RHEL 9

subscription-manager repos --enable codeready-builder-for-rhel-9-$(arch)-rpms && dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm

On CentOS 9

dnf config-manager --set-enabled crb && dnf install https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel{,-next}-release-latest-9.noarch.rpm

Step 2. Now, you can install Kdenlive:

sudo dnf install kdenlive

OpenSUSE

sudo zypper install kdenlive

Gentoo

sudo emerge --sync
sudo emerge media-video/kdenlive

NixOS

nix-env -iA nixpkgs.kdenlive

Clear Linux

sudo swupd bundle-add kdenlive
Gilbert John Avatar

Gilbert John

I am a programmer working on multiple projects. Linux has been my favorite operating system since its launch. Loves using Ubuntu and REHL. I also developed some terminal applications in the past. Here to guide people to get better at Linux.