Chapter 1. Download and Install
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## Linux

To use FreeGuide on Linux you need Java and XMLTV.

You will need the Java 2 Runtime Environment version 1.4 or above: You can check this by typing java -version in a terminal. (If you've installed the new version of Java but "java -version" still says the old one, you need to look at putting the new version of java in your `PATH`. Ask on the FreeGuide Users' mailing list (see the Contact page) if you have trouble installing Java.

Ubuntu users can install Sun's version of Java by typing:

    sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jre

in a terminal, after making sure the "multiverse" repository is enabled.

Continue with your distribution:

- RPM-based distributions (RedHat/Fedora, Mandrake, SuSE)

- Ubuntu

- Debian

- Gentoo

- Others - Tarball installation

### FreeGuide on RPM-based distributions (RedHat/Fedora, Mandrake, SuSE)

First, you will need the latest version of XMLTV. This is made fairly easy for RedHat and Fedora users who can sign up for the ATRPMs package repository by following the instructions at atrpms.net/install.html and then install XMLTV by simply typing

    su -c "yum install xmltv"

or similar.

(If you want to do it the hard way, you can find RPMs (for RedHat and Fedora) at http://atrpms.physik.fu-berlin.de/name/xmltv/.)

For other RPM-based distros, you should find XMLTV in your favourite package repository (let us know so we can add it here).

Alternatively, to download FreeGuide here, go to the sourceforge download page, download the `freeguide-xx-noarch.rpm` RPM file and install it like so:

    su -c "rpm -i freeGuide-xx-noarch.rpm"

This will install FreeGuide and put a shortcut to it in the menu.

You can now run FreeGuide by choosing it from the menu (in RedHat it's under "Accessories" or "Other") or alternatively by typing into a terminal:

    freeguide

You'll now need to answer a few questions, and then you're ready to go.

Now configure your system.

### FreeGuide on Ubuntu

First, you will need the latest version of XMLTV which you can get by typing:

    sudo apt-get install xmltv

The xmltv package is in the "universe" repository, so ensure that is enabled.

If you are using Ubuntu Feisty, freeguide is in the "multiverse" repository, so enable that and type:

    sudo apt-get install freeguide

[If you are using an earlier Ubuntu version, you can download and install the FreeGuide package from http://packages.ubuntu.com/feisty/misc/freeguide. This is a Feisty package, but it should work on any version of Ubuntu (it certainly works on Dapper and Edgy).]

You can now run FreeGuide by choosing it from the menu (under "Sound and Video") or alternatively by typing into a terminal:

    freeguide

You'll now need to answer a few questions, and then you're ready to go.

Now configure your system.

### FreeGuide on Debian

First, you will need the latest version of XMLTV which you can get by typing:

    apt-get install xmltv

logged in as root. The latest version of FreeGuide is usually in "unstable", but there are decent versions in "testing" and "stable" too. Unstall it like so:

    apt-get install freeguide

[If you need to get the package manually, download and install it from from http://packages.debian.org/freeguide.]

You can now run FreeGuide by choosing it from the menu or alternatively by typing into a terminal:

    freeguide

You'll now need to answer a few questions, and then you're ready to go.

Now configure your system.

### FreeGuide on Gentoo

First, you will need to install XMLTV. Either use emerge if the xmltv package is available, or, if you have to, install XMLTV from source.

FreeGuide isn't officially supported by Gentoo, but there are ebuilds which can be installed manually.

First, go to the sourceforge download page and download the `freeguide_gentoo_ebuilds_x.y.z.tar.bz2` file.

Second: Follow the instructions on Gentoo Wiki: Installing 3rdParty ebuilds.

After you have set up your local portage overlay dir, extract the freeguide ebuild file into the directory and do a

    ACCEPT_KEYWORDS="~x86" emerge install freeguide

There are several freeguide packages in portage, but "freeguide" alone installs the most necessary ones. If you need another grabber or other plugins, type

    emerge search freeguide

and choose the right ones for you.

You can now run FreeGuide by choosing it from the menu or alternatively by typing into a terminal:

    freeguide

You'll now need to answer a few questions, and then you're ready to go.

Now configure your system.

### FreeGuide on other distros - Tarball installation

First, you will need to install XMLTV. Either use your operating system's package management system, or, if you have to, install XMLTV from source.

Go to the sourceforge download page.

To install FreeGuide in its normal place, download `freeguide-x.y.z-install-bin.tar.gz`, and unzip this tarball in `/` as root.

You can now run FreeGuide by typing:

    freeguide

To install FreeGuide in a local directory, download and unzip `freeguide-x.y.z-bin.tar.gz`.

You can now run FreeGuide by typing:

    ./freeguide

in the directory into which you unzipped the file.

You'll now need to answer a few questions, and then you're ready to go.

Now configure your system.

NOTE: if you use a different operating system or Linux distribution and would like to contribute either more detailed installation instructions or a specific installer, we'd welcome your contribution! Please contact the developers' mailing list.

### Installing XMLTV from source

Most people will not need to do this. See the instructions above for your distro on how to get XMLTV.

To install XMLTV from source (which can be tricky due to the large number of prerequisites) download the latest version plus the prerequisites.

Install from source in the usual way with:

    perl Makefile.PL

    make

    su -c "make install"

### Configuring your System

#### Proxy

If you have a proxy server or are behind a firewall, you may need to follow the instructions below to allow FreeGuide to see past them to the Internet.

NOTE: most home users will NOT need to do this - you are ready to start FreeGuide! Go straight to the User Guide.

Add 2 lines to the file `~/.bash_profile`:

    export http_proxy=http://example.com:8080
    export FREEGUIDE_OPTS=-DproxySet=true -DproxyHost=http://example.com -DproxyPort=8080

Replace "`example.com`" with your proxy server address, and "`8080`" with the port it uses.

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