Get source and compile

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This information is for people who want to look at the actual source code for the viewer. Just the act of downloading and compiling can uncover problems. If the version you download doesn't build on your platform, file a bug. If you have time and skill, adding a feature that you've always wanted, or fixing a bug that most annoys you is welcome. There is a process for uploading your changes and getting them accepted for a merge into a future release viewer.

Project Snowstorm

This is the latest Viewer 2 code that LindenLab has. Viewer 2 source code is stored in a Mercurial (hg) repository on bitbucket, one of the main Open Source repository web sites. There are many versions there, with the ones you are most likely interested in being

• Viewer2 Release
• Viewer2 Beta
• The latest developer test builds

You can browse the source code using an ordinary web browser, download it to your machine, or use Mercurial to manage the process for you. One of the interesting features of the Viewer-Development branch is that you can literally watch Lindens merging bug fixes and new features into the code before your very eyes.

Another good way to browse the source code, including UML diagrams, is using Doxygen.

Be sure to read Creating a version control repository.

Download Source Archives (Zipfile/Tarball)

OBSOLETE! Linden Lab provides current and past downloads in an archived format, see the source downloads page. Be sure to get all three: source, artwork, and libraries.

Version Control

Viewer development uses the Mercurial (hg) distributed version control system. To clone the current primary development repository, use:

hg clone http://hg.secondlife.com/viewer-development

Compiling

Per platform instructions are available in these topics:

• Microsoft Windows
• Mac OS X
• Linux

• Viewer 2 Microsoft Windows Builds - under construction

Notes

• Common compilation problems if you run into errors while building.
• Improving compilation time for information on how to compile faster
• LLMozLib2 for building LLMozLib2.

Hints on running

Channels and Versions

Channels are just groupings of versions. Linden Lab uses channels to track and supply updates for First Look viewers separately from Release and Release Candidate viewers.

If you get a message while trying to start your compiled viewer that there is a required update, don't panic. All of your work is not lost. You (usually) don't have to apply your changes to a new source release to test your code. That's where channels come in.

On login, the combination of channel plus version is checked against a list. Within each channel, some versions are allowed and some are blocked. Viewers are blocked that are unsafe (security issues), incompatible (the protocol has been changed in some fundamental way), not supported (so old Linden Lab can't afford to provide support resources), or (most relevant here) are in a test channel (Release Candidate, First Look) and Linden Lab only wants test data from the most recent.

See Setting a Channel and Version for an Open Source Viewer for an explanation of how to do it in the source code.

See Channel and Version Requirements for a detailed explanation and official policy on how Linden Lab deals with channels and versions in Second Life.

The Third Party Viewer Policy requires that all viewers use a unique channel name. Please see here for more information.