Linux Installation Instructions

BC3 logo BC version 3 or later

Index:

See also Tips for using BC on Linux.


Debian, Ubuntu

Beyond Compare 4.1 and newer require matching package and OS architecture (amd64.deb or i386.deb).  Beyond Compare 3 - 4.0.7 require the i386.deb package on all supported versions of Debian and Ubuntu (32-bit and 64-bit).

Graphical Install

Double-click the .deb package to install using the graphical package manager.

Terminal Install

wget https://www.scootersoftware.com/files/bcompare-4.4.7.28397_amd64.deb
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./bcompare-4.4.7.28397_amd64.deb

Terminal Uninstall

sudo apt remove bcompare

Prevent Addition of Repository (BC5)

Installing Beyond Compare's .deb package will add the Scooter Software repository to your system, allowing automatic software updates.  To prevent the repository from being added, create an empty /etc/default/bcompare file before installation of the .deb.

sudo touch /etc/default/bcompare
sudo apt install ./bcompare-5.0.0.29206_amd64.deb

Manual Addition of Repository (BC5)

wget https://www.scootersoftware.com/DEB-GPG-KEY-scootersoftware.asc
sudo cp DEB-GPG-KEY-scootersoftware.asc /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/
wget https://www.scootersoftware.com/scootersoftware.list
sudo cp scootersoftware.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/
sudo apt update


Redhat Enterprise Linux, Fedora, CentOS

Beyond Compare 4.1 and newer require matching package and OS architecture (x86_64.rpm or i386.rpm).  Beyond Compare 3 - 4.0.7 require the i386.rpm package on all supported versions of RHEL, Fedora and CentOS (32-bit and 64-bit).

Graphical Install

Double-click the .rpm package to install using the graphical package manager.

Terminal Install

wget https://www.scootersoftware.com/files/bcompare-4.4.7.28397.x86_64.rpm
su
rpm --import https://www.scootersoftware.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-scootersoftware
yum install bcompare-4.4.7.28397.x86_64.rpm

Terminal Uninstall

su
yum remove bcompare

Manual Addition of Repository (BC5)

wget https://www.scootersoftware.com/scootersoftware.repo
sudo cp scootersoftware.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/


openSUSE (partially supported)

Beyond Compare 4.1 and newer require matching package and OS architecture (x86_64.rpm or i386.rpm).  Beyond Compare 3 - 4.0.7 require the i386.rpm package on all versions of openSUSE (32-bit and 64-bit).  Beyond Compare on OpenSUSE doesn't support SMB network drives due to a missing gvfs-smb dependency.  When prompted for the missing dependency during RPM installtion, select option 2 to install without network drive support.

Terminal Install

su
rpm --import https://www.scootersoftware.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-scootersoftware
zypper refresh
zypper install https://www.scootersoftware.com/files/bcompare-4.4.7.28397.x86_64.rpm
Problem: nothing provides 'gvfs-smb' needed by the to be installed bcompare
 Solution 1: do not install bcompare-4.4.7.28397.x86_64
 Solution 2: break bcompare-4.4.7.28397.x86_64 by ignoring some of its dependencies

Choose from above solutions by number or cancel [1/2/c/d/?] (c): 2

Terminal Uninstall

su
zypper remove bcompare


Installation using .tar.gz

This is the only install method that allows installation by non-root users.  It is also appropriate for Linux distributions that don't support .deb or .rpm packages.  This method requires manual installation of dependencies, so if your distribution supports .deb or .rpm, you should use those packages instead of .tar.gz.

If you run the .tar.gz installer as root, Beyond Compare is installed system wide.  If you run the .tar.gz installer as a normal user, it is installed in the current user's home directory.

BC4 logo BC version 4

Version:  4.4.7, build 28397, released Oct. 19, 2023
.64-bit TAR.GZ format   20405kb
.32-bit TAR.GZ format   13662kb

BC3 logo BC version 3

Version:  3.3.13, build 18981, released Oct. 1, 2014
.TAR.GZ format   10175kb

Terminal Install

tar zxvf bcompare-4.4.7.28397.i386.tar.gz
cd bcompare-4.4.7.28397
./install.sh

Terminal Uninstall (installed as normal user)

$HOME/lib/beyondcompare/uninstall.sh

Terminal Uninstall (installed as root)

su
/usr/lib/beyondcompare/uninstall.sh