Extract lantern-terminal-0.2.1-source.tar.gz and enter its top-level directory. Paths containing spaces are supported. The source archive contains C++ code, CMake configuration, shell/PowerShell scripts, terminal-parser source, specifications, examples, tests and dependency/download manifests. Build outputs go to build/; release files go to dist/.

Requirements: C++17 compiler, CMake 3.22+, Ninja, Qt 6.8+ development files for Widgets/Network/SerialPort/PrintSupport/Core5Compat/Test, OpenSSH client tools and Python 3. Qt 6.10.2 was used for the supplied Linux build.

On a distribution that supplies a suitable Qt version:

sudo apt install build-essential cmake ninja-build qt6-base-dev qt6-serialport-dev qt6-5compat-dev openssh-client python3 libglib2.0-bin desktop-file-utils
./scripts/build-linux.sh
./build/linux/lantern-terminal

Alternatively ./scripts/build-linux.sh –install-deps installs those packages before building. This is opt-in and uses sudo. Older Ubuntu distributions may supply Qt below 6.8; install a Qt 6.8+ SDK and pass -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/path/to/Qt/gcc_64 to the build script.

To make a Debian installer and a tar archive:

./scripts/package-linux.sh

The .deb declares its actual shared-library dependencies. It is intended for a compatible Linux distribution; it is not a universal Linux binary. Build from source on a different distribution. The tar archive uses the same runtime libraries and contains bin/ and share/ content.

Choose a compiler/build directory/job count if needed:

LANTERN_BUILD_DIR="$PWD/build/debug" LANTERN_BUILD_TYPE=Debug LANTERN_JOBS=4 ./scripts/build-linux.sh

Install CMake, Ninja, Python 3, NSIS, and Qt 6.8.3 with its matching 64-bit MinGW 13.1 compiler and Qt SerialPort and Qt 5 Compatibility components. The application is built with C++17. Use the matching MinGW compiler rather than mixing MSVC with a MinGW Qt kit.

In PowerShell from the extracted source directory:

.\scripts\build-windows.ps1 -QtRoot C:\Qt\6.8.3\mingw_64 -CompilerBin C:\Qt\Tools\mingw1310_64\bin
.\build\windows-native\lantern-terminal.exe
.\scripts\package-windows.ps1 -QtRoot C:\Qt\6.8.3\mingw_64 -CompilerBin C:\Qt\Tools\mingw1310_64\bin

Add cmake, ninja, python and makensis to PATH. The packaging script uses Qt's deployment tool to collect required libraries/plugins, adds the application data and scripting interface, and creates an installer and portable ZIP. Runtime download versions and SHA256 values are pinned in scripts/runtime-downloads.json; packaging requires Internet access on the first run and uses a user cache thereafter.

sudo apt install mingw-w64 cmake ninja-build nsis python3-venv
./scripts/setup-windows-cross.sh
./scripts/build-windows-cross.sh

The setup script installs a pinned aqt helper into a user virtual environment and downloads the official Qt 6.8.3 MinGW Windows kit. The cross build uses the POSIX MinGW compiler variant and vendored Vulkan headers so Linux headers do not enter the Windows build. It does not alter the system compiler configuration.

An already-installed kit can be selected with LANTERN_QT_WINDOWS=/absolute/path/to/mingw_64. LANTERN_TOOLCHAIN_CACHE changes the cache root. Windows binaries must still be tested on Windows; successful cross-compilation or Wine smoke tests alone do not validate every Windows device/integration.

python3 scripts/package.py source
python3 scripts/package.py checksums
sha256sum -c dist/SHA256SUMS

Generated artifacts, caches, profiles, private keys and Python bytecode are excluded from the source archive. Public upstream dependencies retain their licences. Qt remains dynamically linked and replaceable.

ctest --test-dir build/linux --output-on-failure
python3 tests/integration.py build/linux/lantern-terminal
python3 tests/launch_checks.py build/linux/lantern-terminal

Integration tests create disposable profiles, loopback TCP/Telnet endpoints, a serial PTY, TFTP files and an SSH daemon with temporary keys. SSH tests need sshd and ssh-keygen; no production hosts, credentials, service configurations or SSH trust stores are modified. The test daemon listens only on loopback. Tests use a protected user cache so OpenSSH strict ownership checks remain enabled.

docs/TEST-RESULTS.md records the actual release checks and limitations.

The native core suite exercises a desktop launcher through gio (libglib2.0-bin); launch_checks.py also uses desktop-file-validate (desktop-file-utils). Appearance and workspace tests use disposable/offscreen UI instances. The SSH trace check runs OpenSSH configuration inspection without making a network connection.

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