Beyond Linux® From Scratch (systemd Edition) - Version 13.0

Chapter 33. GNOME Libraries and Desktop

Gcr-4.4.0.1

Introduction to Gcr

The Gcr package contains libraries used for displaying certificates and accessing key stores. It also provides the viewer for crypto files on the GNOME Desktop.

[Note]

Note

This package is known to build and work properly using an LFS 13.0 platform.

Package Information

Gcr Dependencies

Required

GLib-2.86.4 (GObject Introspection recommended), libgcrypt-1.12.0, p11-kit-0.26.2

Recommended

GnuPG-2.5.17, GTK-4.20.3, libsecret-0.21.7, libxslt-1.1.45, and Vala-0.56.18

Optional

Gi-DocGen-2026.1, GnuTLS-3.8.12, OpenSSH-10.2p1, and Valgrind-3.26.0

Installation of Gcr

[Note]

Note

Both gcr-3 and gcr-4 are coinstallable. This version of the package is used to support GTK-4 applications, such as gnome-shell-49.4 and Epiphany-49.2.

Install Gcr by running the following commands: 

mkdir build &&
cd    build &&

meson setup --prefix=/usr       \
            --buildtype=release \
            -D gtk_doc=false    \
            ..                  &&
ninja

If you have Gi-DocGen-2026.1 installed and wish to build the API documentation for this package, issue: 

sed -e "/install_dir/s@,\$@ / 'gcr-4.4.0.1'&@" \
    -i ../docs/*/meson.build                 &&
meson configure -D gtk_doc=true              &&
ninja

To test the results, issue: ninja test. The tests must be run from an X Terminal or similar.

Now, as the root user: 

ninja install

Command Explanations

--buildtype=release: Specify a buildtype suitable for stable releases of the package, as the default may produce unoptimized binaries.

-D gtk4=false: Use this switch if you haven't installed GTK-4.20.3. Note that gcr-viewer-gtk4 will not be installed if this is passed to meson.

-D gtk_doc=false: Allow building this package without Gi-DocGen-2026.1 installed. If you have Gi-DocGen-2026.1 installed and you wish to rebuild and install the API documentation, a meson configure command will reset this option.

-D crypto=gnutls: Use this switch if you have GnuTLS-3.8.12 installed and wish to use it instead of libgcrypt-1.12.0.

Contents

Installed Program: gcr-viewer-gtk4
Installed Libraries: libgck-2.so, libgcr-4.so
Installed Directories: /usr/include/gck-2, /usr/include/gcr-4, and /usr/share/gtk-doc/html/{gcr,gck}

Short Descriptions

gcr-viewer-gtk4

is used to view certificates and key files

libgck-2.so

contains GObject bindings for PKCS#11

libgcr-4.so

contains functions for accessing key stores and displaying certificates