diff --git a/docs/precompiled.rst b/docs/precompiled.rst index cf1c31ebbb1..82cff7d134a 100644 --- a/docs/precompiled.rst +++ b/docs/precompiled.rst @@ -1,14 +1,29 @@ Precompiled Libraries ===================== -In general, precompiled Mesa libraries are not available. +Mesa does not provide precompiled libraries; that job is left in the hands of +the Linux distributions. -Some Linux distributions closely follow the latest Mesa releases. On -others one has to use unofficial channels. +Most distributions pre-install Mesa along with the rest of the graphical user +interface, so you probably already have it installed, and applying your +updates regularly is all you need to do. +If not, searching for ``mesa`` in your package manager should return the relevant +packages (most distributions split the project into multiple packages, you +probably don't need all of them). +Be aware that other projects might also include that name. As always, pay +attention to what you install. -There are some general directions: +Some distributions (eg. Debian & Ubuntu and their derivatives) usually package +very old versions of software, which are often not supported by their projects +anymore. The current release version is visible near the top of our `homepage +`__. If you have any issues (unsupported hardware, bugs, +missing features, performance issues, etc.) the first thing you should try is +to install that version. -- Debian/Ubuntu based distributions - PPA: xorg-edgers, oibaf and padoka -- Fedora - Copr: erp and che -- OpenSuse/SLES - OBS: X11:XOrg and pontostroy:X11 -- Gentoo/Arch Linux - officially provided/supported +Some distributions also provide unofficial packages for unreleased Mesa, but note +that those might break your system. Before installing one of those, make sure +you know how to recover if you can't get a graphical session anymore. + +- Debian/Ubuntu based distributions - PPA: xorg-edgers, oibaf and padoka +- Fedora - Copr: erp and che +- OpenSuse/SLES - OBS: X11:XOrg and pontostroy:X11