Building Vassal

This guide contains instructions on how to build a Linux release package of Vassal.

Installing build dependencies
Vassal is a Java application and needs a JDK to compile. In addition it needs the  build system.

On a Ubuntu-based system, both can be installed by running:

Clone the Git repository
Technically optional, since you can download a source code release too, but Git is extremely handy if you will be making modifications and keeping track with current development:

Compiling Vassal
Change to the vassal directory:

Compile and build the Linux release package:

Result and running
If the build is successful, you should not have any errors from the make command, and the tmp/ directory should have a .tar.bz2 file.

Treat this file like a regular Vassal Linux release: unzip it to a location of your choice, and run the Vassal.sh script inside it.

Keeping up to date
If you have compiled the latest version from Git, you may want to keep up to date with new developments and bug fixes. To update to the latest version, go to ~/vassal and type:

Building VASSAL on Mac
If you are running on MacOSX, please see Notes for Mac Users