KDE apps on windows

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+---
+title: "KDE applications on Windows"
+date: 2019-09-21T22:47:00+02:00
+draft: false
+categories: [kde, development]
+tags: [kde]
+url: /posts/kde-applications-on-windows/
+author: "Christoph Cullmann"
+---
+
+#### KDE applications on Windows?
+
+One of the new [goals of KDE](https://dot.kde.org/2019/09/07/kde-decides-three-new-challenges-wayland-consistency-and-apps) is to spread the use of the applications created by the KDE community.
+This doesn't only include the use of them on Linux & other Unix-like operating systems, but Windows, too.
+
+#### The Successes :)
+
+The KDE community has some successfully cross-platform applications out there, like [Krita](https://krita.org/) and [GCompris](https://gcompris.net/).
+The teams behind these applications did some great job to both develop & market them for all operating systems, including Windows.
+
+#### The Remaining Stuff :(
+
+Wheres many KDE application can already be built on Windows since years, they have not found a wide spread use there.
+
+For example [Kate](https://kate-editor.org), the text editor I maintain, is there mostly unknown.
+Actually most of the applications we ship with the [KDE Applications releases](https://kde.org/announcements/announce-applications-19.08.1.php) are not widely known on Windows (nor used).
+
+#### The Plan!
+
+Already last year we came up with [the task](https://phabricator.kde.org/T9575) to bring more of our applications to the official [Microsoft Store](https://store.microsoft.com) to increase their visibility for the average Windows user.
+
+#### The Building Blocks
+
+Hannah von Reth & Kevin Funk provided the means to achieve this:
+
+* [Craft](https://community.kde.org/Craft) - a meta build system / package manager that can be used on Windows for our stuff
+* [KDE Binary Factory](https://binary-factory.kde.org/) - a CI that actually even creates fully signed installers and packages for the store!
+
+Without their work, nothing would have happened for the "we publish stuff in the store" task.
+
+More details about that can be found in the wiki and older blog posts:
+
+* [Using Craft on Windows](https://community.kde.org/Guidelines_and_HOWTOs/Build_from_source/Windows)
+* [Tips for streamlining KDE applications for deployment on Microsoft Windows](http://kfunk.org/2017/12/20/tips-streamlining-kde-application-for-deployment-microsoft-windows/)
+* [CI for Windows installer and macOS bundle generation: KDE Binary Factory](http://kfunk.org/2017/11/17/kde-binary-factory/)
+
+#### Our Progress :=)
+
+Based on that work, some applications got now published with the [KDE e.V.](https://ev.kde.org/) account to the Microsoft Store.
+The first was [KStars](https://kde.org/applications/education/org.kde.kstars) and after a long gap [Kate](https://kate-editor.org) & [Okular](https://okular.kde.org) followed.
+
+Direct links to the store entries can be found below (the screenshots are in German, made in a Win10 VM, yes, i18n works on Windows just fine):
+
+* [Okular - more than a reader](https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9N41MSQ1WNM8)
+
+<center><a href="/posts/kde-applications-on-windows/images/okular-on-windows.png" target="_blank"><img width=500 src="images/okular-on-windows.png"></a></center>
+
+* [Kate - Advanced Text Editor](https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9NWMW7BB59HW)
+
+<center><a href="/posts/kde-applications-on-windows/images/kate-on-windows.png" target="_blank"><img width=500 src="images/kate-on-windows.png"></a></center>
+
+* [KStars - Astronomy Software](https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9PPRZ2QHLXTG)
+
+<center><a href="/posts/kde-applications-on-windows/images/kstars-on-windows.png" target="_blank"><img width=500 src="images/kstars-on-windows.png"></a></center>
+
+#### Help Wanted!
+
+At the moment, this is the effort of only a few people and it will only be sustainable if we gain more support.
+
+Therefore, if you are interested in bringing more of our applications to Windows and helping to maintain them, join in at [this Phabricator task](https://phabricator.kde.org/T9575).
+
+The tooling might still be a bit rough to use in some places and the documentation is not perfect, but this can be improved!
+
+#### Why all that?
+
+I think there is a large user base on Windows that might benefit from our applications and we will benefit from potential more contributors, too.
+
+Some might say: "Why shall we provide our applications on a proprietary operating system? People shall use fully open systems!"
+
+I say: "Why shall we ignore all the people that are stuck with a proprietary operating system out of whatever reason?"
+
+#### P.S.
+
+And no, the idea is not to publish the stuff exclusively in the Microsoft Store.
+
+The [KDE Binary Factory](https://binary-factory.kde.org/) outputs normal installers and portable archives, too.
+
+The Microsoft Store is just a good way to advertise our applications to a broader scope of potential users.
+The KDE e.V. published applications are there available for free but you can use any other means to install them.