Installation

Release packages are attached to the selected GitHub Release. Each release contains the three native packages below, one matching source archive, and SHA256SUMS. Replace <version> with the version shown on that release.

Download all five files into one directory and verify the four payloads before installing:

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS

The manifest must report one successful check for each of the three packages and xfce4-meowmenu-plugin-<version>.tar.gz. It does not contain a checksum entry for itself.

Release channels and configuration

Before final 1.0.0, 0.x releases are experimental feature releases. An available -rcN release is the more stable channel for testing and feedback. Choose the newest 0.x release when it is newer than the latest RC and you want newer features; choose the RC when you prefer a more stable testing channel. Both are standard public releases.

Before final 1.0.0, including every 0.x release and RC, compatibility and configuration preservation are not guaranteed in any way. From final 1.0.0 onward, configuration preservation is guaranteed. Back up panel configuration before testing a pre-1.0 release.

Ubuntu 26.04

sudo apt install ./xfce4-meowmenu-plugin_<version>_ubuntu26.04_amd64.deb

Debian 13

sudo apt install ./xfce4-meowmenu-plugin_<version>_debian13_amd64.deb

Fedora 44

sudo dnf install ./xfce4-meowmenu-plugin-<version>-1.fc44.x86_64.rpm

Arch Linux (AUR)

Arch and Arch-based distributions — including CachyOS, EndeavourOS, and Manjaro — can install the AUR package with an AUR helper:

yay -S xfce4-meowmenu-plugin

The package (xfce4-meowmenu-plugin) is published manually by the maintainer and distributed through the AUR. The repository recipe is built, tested, linted, and smoke-installed as a mandatory release check, but no Arch binary is attached to the GitHub Release and the workflow does not publish AUR metadata.

Uninstall with yay -R xfce4-meowmenu-plugin.

Optional calculator engine

Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora packages recommend bc for the optional Calculator. It is never required. Arch package metadata has no Calculator dependency or optional dependency.

To deliberately omit the recommendation, install a downloaded package with:

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends ./xfce4-meowmenu-plugin_*.deb
sudo dnf install --setopt=install_weak_deps=False ./xfce4-meowmenu-plugin-*.rpm

If selected bc is missing, Calculator shows bc package required and ordinary search continues to work. Qalculate and GNOME Calculator engines are also available when installed; none is a build or hard runtime dependency.

After install

1. Run xfce4-panel -r to restart the panel.
2. Right-click the panel → Add New Items → MeowMenu.
3. Right-click the MeowMenu button → Properties to pick a preset.

Remove the package

Remove the package with the appropriate command for your distribution:

• Ubuntu / Debian: sudo apt purge xfce4-meowmenu-plugin
• Fedora: sudo dnf remove xfce4-meowmenu-plugin
• Source install: sudo ninja -C build uninstall

Package removal keeps user configuration so a later reinstall can restore it.

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/matteobonanomi/xfce4-meowmenu-plugin.git
cd xfce4-meowmenu-plugin
meson setup build
meson compile -C build
sudo meson install -C build

Install the required core build dependencies for the exact distribution release first. Optional integrations are listed separately so omitting one never blocks the core launcher.

Ubuntu 26.04

sudo apt update
sudo apt install \
    build-essential meson ninja-build pkg-config \
    libgtk-3-dev libglib2.0-dev \
    libgarcon-1-dev libgarcon-gtk3-1-dev \
    libxfce4panel-2.0-dev libxfce4ui-2-dev libxfce4util-dev \
    libexo-2-dev \
    libxfconf-0-dev \
    gettext

Optional integrations on Ubuntu 26.04:

sudo apt install libaccountsservice-dev libgtk-layer-shell-dev

Debian 13

sudo apt update
sudo apt install \
    build-essential meson ninja-build pkg-config \
    libgtk-3-dev libglib2.0-dev \
    libgarcon-1-dev libgarcon-gtk3-1-dev \
    libxfce4panel-2.0-dev libxfce4ui-2-dev libxfce4util-dev \
    libexo-2-dev \
    libxfconf-0-dev \
    gettext

Optional integrations on Debian 13:

sudo apt install libaccountsservice-dev libgtk-layer-shell-dev

Fedora 44+

sudo dnf install \
    gcc gcc-c++ make meson ninja-build pkgconf-pkg-config \
    gtk3-devel glib2-devel \
    garcon-devel \
    xfce4-panel-devel libxfce4ui-devel libxfce4util-devel \
    exo-devel \
    xfconf-devel \
    gettext

Optional integrations on Fedora 44:

sudo dnf install accountsservice-devel gtk-layer-shell-devel

Arch / Manjaro / EndeavourOS

sudo pacman -S --needed \
    base-devel meson ninja pkgconf \
    gtk3 glib2 \
    garcon \
    xfce4-panel libxfce4ui libxfce4util \
    exo \
    xfconf \
    gettext

Optional integrations on Arch:

sudo pacman -S --needed accountsservice gtk-layer-shell

AccountsService and gtk-layer-shell are optional for source builds. The distribution packages build with both integrations disabled, so the core launcher remains usable when those libraries are absent. Source builders may install the development packages above to let Meson enable the integrations.

Xfce dependency boundary

Xfce 4.16, 4.18, and 4.20 builds require Exo development files and helper programs. The commands above therefore retain libexo-2-dev, exo-devel, or exo for their current repositories. Starting with libxfce4ui 4.21, the required chooser, opener, and launcher editor are supplied by libxfce4ui.

Keep each distribution recipe aligned with the dependencies available in its target repository. A target may remove Exo only after its package build, linkage inspection, installed actions, and upgraded stored actions all pass without Exo.

X11 is the only officially supported environment. Wayland is experimentally supported; if gtk-layer-shell is unavailable, MeowMenu uses its normal session-compatible positioning fallback.