Configuring the source before building

Building XFree86 from a Source Distribution : Configuring the source before building
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## 2. Configuring the source before building

In most cases it shouldn't be necessary to configure anything before building.

If you do want to make configuration changes, it is recommended that you start by going to the `xc/config/cf` directory, and copying the file `xf86site.def` to `host.def`. Then read through the `host.def` file (which is heavily commented), and set any parameters that you want for your configuration. You can usually find out what the default settings are by checking the `.cf` file(s) relevant to your OS.

A general rule to follow is to only change things that you understand and have a good reason to change. It is easy to create build problems by changing the default configuration. Many of the configuration parameters are documented in `xc/config/cf/README`.

If you are using just the `X430src-1.tgz`, `X430src-2.tgz` and `X430src-3.tgz` parts of the source dist, you will need to define BuildFonts to NO.

Building XFree86 from a Source Distribution : Configuring the source before building
Previous: How to get the XFree86 4.3.0 source
Next: Using a shadow directory of symbolic links for the build