Based on your preference, set KDE_PREFIX. If KDE is your desktop of choice: export KDE_PREFIX=/usr If you want to try-out KDE: export KDE_PREFIX=/opt/kde-&kde-version; Remember to execute ldconfig after installation of libraries to update the library cache. If you are not installing KDE in /usr, you will need to make some configuration changes: Add to your system or personal profile: export PATH=$PATH:/opt/kde-&kde-version;/bin export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=$PKG_CONFIG_PATH:/opt/kde-&kde-version;/lib/pkgconfig Add to your /etc/ld.so.conf: cat >> /etc/ld.so.conf << "EOF" # Begin kde addition to /etc/ld.so.conf /opt/kde-&kde-version;/lib # End kde addition EOF Add to your /etc/man.conf: cat >> /etc/man.conf << "EOF" # Begin kde addition to man.conf MANPATH /opt/kde-&kde-version;/man # End kde addition to man.conf EOF If you prefer installing KDE in /opt, one trick to avoid the above configuration changes every time you install the new version is to replace /opt/kde-&kde-version; with /opt/kde and to create a symlink from /opt/kde-&kde-version; to /opt/kde. ln -sf kde-&kde-version; /opt/kde