Get Involved/Quality/Beta/InstallingBeta1
Using a LiveCD
You can get an ISO for a LiveCD here: http://susestudio.com/a/tAWYe6/kde-plasma-daily
Installing 4.9 beta 1 with your distribution packages
Slackware
The packages will be obtainable at http://alien.slackbook.org/ktown/ The instructions for usage will be posted on http://alien.slackbook.org/blog/
Arch Linux
There is a dedicated [kde-unstable] repository. This repo only contains KDE/Calligra beta and RC releases (with their unstable deps); when the stable version is out, the packages are moved to the [extra] repository.
Installation steps are at:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/KDE#Official_kde-unstable
In case you want to test Pairs alone, you can use the package from aur 'pairs-git': http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=56310
Gentoo
Provides scm versions (ebuilds) for master/trunk & stable branch, betas and rc's in an extra repository (overlay). Detailed install instructions can be found here:
http://www.gentoo.org/proj/en/desktop/kde/kde4-guide.xml
Fedora
There is an unofficial kde-unstable/kde-testing and a kde-stable repo maintained by Rex Dieter - the place where the newest bits come for already released stuff. But Fedora Rawhide is always the first place for all builds.
OpenSuse
See http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/KDE:/Unstable:/SC/openSUSE_12.1/
Kubuntu
Packages for Kubuntu Utopic For Utopic (14.10) releases of KDE Frameworks 5 and Plasma 5 are being packaged in the next PPA. These will replace your Plasma 4 install.
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/next
sudo apt update
sudo apt install kubuntu-plasma5-desktop
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo reboot [save any work first; sorry no elegant way to reboot]
For daily builds, install ppa:kubuntu-ci/unstable as above.
Live Images of Utopic Kubuntu Plasma 5 images are a development build of what will become the default desktop for Kubuntu next year.
Live Image of Kubuntu Utopic with Packages from Git The Weekly Live Image, updated every Friday with latest source from Git to run a full system from a USB disk. Based on Kubuntu 14.10.
Compiling the sources
Compiling a single application against your KDE 4.8 installation
You need the Qt (>= 4.7) and kdelibs (4.8) development packages. Then follow:
http://techbase.kde.org/Development/Tutorials/Building_An_Existing_Application
Using build-tool
Build-tool is a ruby program which will build the 4.9 beta 1 packages. It also has some neat features like progress bars and eta for compile time. It can also automatically generate a ~/.xsessionrc which can be used by KDM when you select to boot into a "Custom" session type. That will enable you to easily get into a KDE session which was built from source, without even having to modify any of your scripts like ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, etc.
Install ruby 1.9 and rubygems through your package manager. Run 'sudo gem install build-tool'. Now that build-tool is installed, we need to install the KDE recipes to have it build KDE from source. Run 'build-tool recipe add git://gitorious.org/build-tool/kde-trunk-recipe.git kde' to add the KDE recipe to the program. Then 'build-tool recipes install kde'. From there, you can run 'kde-build help' to see the commands available for the KDE recipe, as well as compile and update the git repositories. For more detailed information, visit:http://michael-jansen.biz/build-tool/quick-start.html
Ask annma on IRC #kde-quality and/or mjansen on #kde-devel (freenode) for help