How to Compile the Zulip Desktop Client from Source on Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial)

Building the Zulip desktop client from source on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) requires resolving Qt5 WebKit, multimedia, and GStreamer Phonon audio backend dependencies.

Stack: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS • Qt 5.x • CMake • Zulip Desktop 0.5.x

Build and Installation Commands

# 1. Install Qt5 development libraries and phonon GStreamer backends
sudo apt-get install git cmake qt5-default libqt5svg5-dev libqt5webkit5-dev   qtmultimedia5-dev libjson0-dev phonon-backend-gstreamer phonon4qt5-backend-gstreamer -y

# 2. Download and build Zulip Desktop
wget https://github.com/zulip/zulip-desktop/archive/0.5.1.tar.gz
tar -zxf 0.5.1.tar.gz
cd zulip-desktop-0.5.1
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DBUILD_WITH_QT5=On
make
sudo make install

# 3. Register Desktop launcher
cd /usr/share/applications
sudo ln -s /usr/local/share/applications/Zulip.desktop .