1 Introduction

This page aims to explain how to install OpenFOAM on any Linux Distribution.

In the following chapters and sections is explained how to generally install OpenFOAM 2.3.1 and related dependencies, such as ParaView:

2 Installing from source code

The official instructions are made available here: Download v2.3.1 | Source Pack

A few details to keep in mind:

As of OpenFOAM 2.2.0, the minimum required GCC version is 4.5.0. This implies one of the following situations:
1. You should use a recent Linux Distribution, so that it can provide GCC 4.5 or any newer version.
2. In case you have to use an older Linux Distribution and the GCC version provided is older than 4.4, then you'll have to build GCC from source code.
3. When in doubt, check the Installation/Compatibility Matrix page for information on compatible compilers.
When it comes to ParaView, it's possible to avoid the need to build it from source code. If your Linux Distribution provides ParaView 3.12.0 or newer, you don't need to build ParaView from source code. Simply run:
```
paraFoam -builtin
```
and it will open the case in ParaView.
- If the previous command worked, you can add the following alias command in your ~/.bashrc file:
```
alias paraFoam='paraFoam -builtin'
```
- In case you have an old Linux Distribution and still don't want to build ParaView from source code, get the latest binary version for Linux from ParaView's official website. Then add to your ~/.bashrc file the following line (adapt accordingly):
```
export PATH=$HOME/Downloads/ParaView-4.2.0/bin:$PATH
```