UbuntuHandbook

Compile & Install Sigil 2.1.0 from Source in Ubuntu 24.04 | 22.04

Last updated: May 4, 2024 — 1 Comment

This simple tutorial shows how to compile and install the Sigil EPUB ebook editor (2.1.0 so far) from the source code in Ubuntu step by step.

Sigil is a popular free and open-source ePub ebook editor that works in Windows, Linux, and macOS. However, it does not provide official packages for Linux.

While Sigil in Ubuntu system repository is always old, user can easily install the latest version via Flatpak package that runs in sandbox.

In case you neither prefer Flatpak package, nor even trust third-party software sources, it’s not hard to build it from the source tarball! And, here I’m going to show you how.

This tutorial is tested and works in Ubuntu 22.04 with Sigil 2.0.1, and Ubuntu 24.04 with Sigil 2.1.0. Though things may change depends on software version.

In Howtos epub

Enable Thumbnails for EPub / MOBI eBooks in Ubuntu 22.04 & 24.04

Last updated: July 21, 2024 — Leave a comment

Got some ePub and/or MOBI books in your PC? Debian / Ubuntu has recently includes a package in their repository for generating thumbnails for these files.

As you may know, Linux Mint 21 was released recently with a thumbnail generators for AppImage, ePub, MP3 and RAW files. Debian/Ubuntu now has similar tool called gnome-epub-thumbnailer, though it’s only for ePub and MOBI books.

With the package installed, the default file manager will no longer display the universal “e” image with green background for all ePub files. Instead, it shows thumbnail book covers.

Enable EPub / MOBI Thumbnails in Ubuntu 24.04

For Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the package has been made into the system repositories.

Simply press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open up a terminal window. When it opens, run the command below to install the package:

sudo apt install gnome-epub-thumbnailer

NOTE: the package is only for the default GNOME Desktop! Install the Foliate eBook reader from system repository will also install it as recommend dependency package.

After that, just close Nautilus file manager and re-open it. Or, run nautilus -q command in terminal to apply.

Enable EPub / MOBI Thumbnails in Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

For the previous Ubuntu 22.04 and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, user can either build the package from source code, or use this unofficial PPA that supports only AMD/Intel computers.

To add the PPA and install the package, press Ctrl + Alt +T on keyboard to open terminal and run 3 commands one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

sudo apt update

sudo apt install gnome-epub-thumbnailer

NOTE: The first command will asks for password authentication, though there’s no asterisk feedback. Just type in mind and hit Enter to continue.

Enable EPub / MOBI Thumbnails in Fedora, Arch, SUSE Linux

Most other recent Linux systems have also added the package into their official repositories. If you want to get it, open terminal and run command:

For Fedora, use command:
```
sudo dnf install gnome-epub-thumbnailer
```
Arch and Manjaro Linux can install it via:
```
sudo pacman -S gnome-epub-thumbnailer
```

And, openSUSE user may run command:

sudo zypper install gnome-epub-thumbnailer

Uninstall the Thumbnails

Thumbnails generate automatically once you installed the package. If somehow you want to get rid of them, open terminal and run command:

sudo apt remove gnome-epub-thumbnailer

Also remove the PPA via command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/apps

Replace apt depends your system. For Arch, use sudo pacman -R gnome-epub-thumbnailer.

Removing the package won’t clear existing thumbnail images, until you removed the content under “~/.cache/thumbnails” either from file manager or by running command:

rm -R ~/.cache/thumbnails/*

In Howtos epub, nautilus

Install Sigil Epub Editor 0.9.3 in Ubuntu 15.10

Last updated: February 6, 2016

Sigil EPUB ebook editor has reached the 0.9.3 release recently. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 15.10 via PPA.

Sigil-0.9.3 is a major new release that greatly improves Sigil’s ability to work with and generate epub3 ebooks without losing any of its epub2 capabilities. This release also includes a number of bug fixes and stability improvements.

The main bug fixes are:

Add a python based updatechecker for Sigil updates to prevent Windows OpenSSL build issues

Stop ‘Generate TOC’ from introducing unnecessary spaces in front of class attibute values

Use localeAwareCompare to attempt to add Index Entries to build them sorted

……

— for more see the release note.

How to Install Sigil 0.9.3 in Ubuntu:

There’s no official binaries for Linux users. You can install it by either building from the source or using an unofficial PPA.

Here’s a PPA for Ubuntu 15.10 (Ubuntu 16.04 will be support soon). Ubuntu 14.04 is not supported since Sigil requires Qt >= 5.4

1. Add PPA

Open terminal from Unity Dash, App Launcher, or via Ctrl+Alt+T shortcut key. When it opens, paste below command and hit run:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/sigil

Type in your password (no visual feedback just type in mind) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.

2. After that, upgrade the software via Software Updater, or run below commands one by one in terminal:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install sigil

For those who don’t want to add PPA, grab the .debs for sigil-data and sigil packages at the PPA page.

3. (Optional) After installed the editor, you may disable/remove the PPA by going to System Settings -> Software & Updates -> Other Software.

In Howtos epub, sigil epub editor

Sigil Epub Editor Now Is Based on Qt 5.4.0+

Last updated: February 4, 2015

Sigil, a free and open-source EPUB e-books editor, gets a big update recently by releasing version 0.8.3 and 0.8.4 one day after.

One of the big changes is that now Qt 5.4.0 is the minimum required version for building Sigil. Since Qt 5.4.0 fixed the macdeployqt application and even integrated code signing, Mac OS X (>= 10.9.5) users no longer need to disable gatekeeper.

But for Ubuntu, this may not be good news since Ubuntu repositories still provide Qt 5.2 for 14.04 and Qt 5.3 for 14.10 (and 15.04). Users need to manually download & install Qt 5.4.0+ and compile Sigil from the source tarball.

Sigil release notes, binary packages for Windows & Mac, and source code are available at github.com.

For Ubuntu user, besides building the latest Sigil 0.8.4 source code as well as Qt 5.4.0 manually, the old 0.8.2 release can be easily installed from a third-party PPA (run below commands one by one or grab the .deb from link page).

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:i2p.packages/i2p

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install sigil

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