Set up MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm: Free IDE

This tutorial aims to guide you through the process of setting up MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm. MonoDevelop is a powerful and versatile Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that allows developers to seamlessly port .NET applications created using Visual Studio to Linux. This facilitates the maintenance of a single code base that can be deployed across multiple platforms, significantly streamlining the development process. Let’s delve into how to Set up MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm.

To properly Set up MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm, it’s assumed that you have access to your Debian 12 server as a non-root user with sudo privileges. If you haven’t already configured this, you can refer to a guide on initial server setup for Debian 12 Bookworm. This ensures you have the necessary permissions to perform the installation and configuration steps.

Step 1 – Run System Update and Install Dependencies for MonoDevelop

First, it’s crucial to update your system’s package index to ensure you have the latest information about available packages. You can do this by running the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

This command first updates the package lists and then upgrades any outdated packages to their newest versions.

Next, you need to install the necessary dependencies for MonoDevelop on your Debian 12 system. These dependencies provide the foundational components that MonoDevelop relies on to function correctly. Execute the following command to install these dependencies:

sudo apt install dirmngr gnupg apt-transport-https ca-certificates software-properties-common -y

This command installs packages like dirmngr (for managing GPG keys), gnupg (GNU Privacy Guard), apt-transport-https (allows APT to access repositories over HTTPS), ca-certificates (provides trusted certificates), and software-properties-common (simplifies managing software repositories). The -y flag automatically answers "yes" to any prompts during the installation process.

Step 2 – Add Mono GPG Key on Debian 12

To ensure the authenticity and integrity of the Mono packages, you need to add the Mono Project GPG key to your system’s trusted keys. This key is used to verify that the packages you download are indeed from the Mono Project and haven’t been tampered with. Use the following command:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver hkp://keyserver.ubuntu.com:80 --recv-keys 3FA7E0328081BFF6A14DA29AA6A19B38D3D831EF

This command retrieves the GPG key from the specified keyserver and adds it to your system’s keyring. You should see an output similar to the following:

gpg: keyring '/tmp/tmp.i1q1r99e8a/secring.gpg' created
gpg: keyring '/tmp/tmp.i1q1r99e8a/pubring.gpg' created
gpg: requesting key D3D831EF from hkp server keyserver.ubuntu.com
gpg: /tmp/tmp.i1q1r99e8a/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key D3D831EF: public key "Xamarin Public Build Server <releng@xamarin.com>" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1  (RSA: 1)

Step 3 – Add Mono Repository on Debian 12

Now that you have the GPG key, you need to add the Mono repository to your system’s list of software sources. This tells your system where to find the Mono packages. Execute the following command:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb https://download.mono-project.com/repo/debian stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mono-official-stable.list'

This command creates a new file in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory that contains the URL of the Mono repository. The stable branch is used for stable releases of Mono.

Step 4 – Install MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm

With the Mono repository added, you can now install MonoDevelop. First, update the package index again to include the newly added repository:

sudo apt update

Then, use the following command to install the complete Mono runtime environment, which includes MonoDevelop:

sudo apt install mono-complete -y

Note: If you prefer to install only the MonoDevelop IDE, you can use the following command instead:

sudo apt install monodevelop -y

To verify that Mono has been installed correctly, run the following command to check the Mono version:

mono -V

The output should look similar to this:

Mono JIT compiler version 6.8.0.105 (Debian 6.8.0.105+dfsg-3.3 Wed Dec 14 11:18:08 UTC 2022)
Copyright (C) 2002-2014 Novell, Inc, Xamarin Inc and Contributors. www.mono-project.com
        TLS:           __thread
        SIGSEGV:       altstack
        Notifications: epoll
        Architecture:  amd64
        Disabled:      none
        Misc:          softdebug
        Interpreter:   yes
        LLVM:          supported, not enabled.
        Suspend:       hybrid
        GC:            sgen (concurrent by default)

Step 5 – How To Create a Sample Project with Mono?

Now, let’s create a simple "Hello World" program to test your Mono installation. Create a new file named hello.cs using your favorite text editor (e.g., vi, nano, or gedit).

sudo vi hello.cs

Add the following code to the hello.cs file:

using System;

public class HelloWorld
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Hello World!");
    }
}

Save and close the file.

Now, compile the program using the Mono C# compiler (mcs):

mcs hello.cs

This command creates an executable file named hello.exe.

Run the program using the Mono runtime:

mono hello.exe

The output should be:

Hello World!

You can also make the executable directly runnable by setting the executable flag:

chmod +x hello.exe

Now you can execute the program directly:

./hello.exe

The output will be the same:

Hello World!

For more in-depth information and advanced usage, you can consult the official MonoDevelop Documentation Page.

Conclusion

You have successfully Set up MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm by adding the Mono Project GPG Key and Repository. You also created a sample project with Mono and confirmed everything functions as expected. This enables you to build and run .NET applications on your Debian 12 system.

Alternative Solutions for Installing MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm

While the previously detailed method is a standard approach, there are alternative ways to install and manage MonoDevelop on Debian 12 Bookworm. Here are two distinct approaches:

1. Using Snap Packages

Snap is a package management system developed by Canonical (the creators of Ubuntu) that allows you to install applications in a sandboxed environment. This can be useful for isolating MonoDevelop from the rest of your system and ensuring that it has all the necessary dependencies.

First, ensure that snapd is installed on your Debian 12 system. While Debian doesn’t include Snap by default, it can be easily installed:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd

After installation, you may need to log out and back in, or restart your system, for Snap’s paths to be correctly updated. Then, install MonoDevelop using the Snap package:

sudo snap install monodevelop

This command downloads and installs the latest version of MonoDevelop from the Snap Store. After installation, you can launch MonoDevelop from your application menu or by running monodevelop in the terminal. The main advantage of using snap packages is their self-contained nature, which reduces dependency conflicts.

2. Building from Source

Another approach is to build MonoDevelop directly from its source code. This gives you the most control over the build process and allows you to customize MonoDevelop to your specific needs. However, this method is more complex and requires a deeper understanding of the build process.

First, you need to download the source code for MonoDevelop from the official website or a Git repository. Assuming you are downloading from Git, install the necessary Git packages:

sudo apt install git

Then, clone the MonoDevelop repository:

git clone https://github.com/mono/monodevelop.git
cd monodevelop

Next, you need to install the build dependencies. These dependencies may vary depending on the version of MonoDevelop you are building. Consult the MonoDevelop documentation for a complete list of dependencies. Common dependencies include:

sudo apt install build-essential autoconf automake libtool gtk-sharp3 libgtk-3-dev mono-devel nuget

After installing the dependencies, you can build MonoDevelop using the following commands:

./configure --prefix=/opt/monodevelop
make
sudo make install

The --prefix option specifies the installation directory. After the build process is complete, you can launch MonoDevelop from the installation directory, in this case, /opt/monodevelop/bin/MonoDevelop.

Building from source offers maximum flexibility but requires more technical expertise and time.