Linux

Supported Linux Distributions

This guide provides installation instructions for OMNeT++ on various Linux distributions. The install.sh script, included with OMNeT++, automates much of this process.

The following distributions and versions are explicitly covered by the install.sh script and have dedicated chapters or sections in this guide:

  • Ubuntu: 24.04 LTS, 26.04 LTS (and derivatives like Linux Mint)

  • Fedora: 44 (and similar RPM-based distributions)

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), AlmaLinux: 9.x and 10.x (and compatible distributions like RockyLinux, CentOS Stream)

  • OpenSUSE: Tumbleweed (rolling release)

  • Arch Linux: (rolling release)

  • NixOS: (25.11 or later)

This chapter describes the general installation process common to these distributions. For distribution-specific details, particularly regarding the installation of prerequisite system packages, please refer to the relevant chapter:

  • ch-ubuntu

  • ch-fedora

  • ch-redhat

  • ch-opensuse

  • ch-archlinux

  • ch-nixos

If you are using the install.sh script, it will attempt to auto-detect your distribution and install the necessary system packages.

Note

If your Linux distribution is not listed above, you still may be able to use some distro-specific instructions in this Guide.

Ubuntu derivatives (Ubuntu instructions may apply):

  • Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, …

  • Linux Mint

Some Debian-based distros (Ubuntu instructions may apply, as Ubuntu itself is based on Debian):

  • Knoppix and derivatives

  • Mepis

Some Fedora-based distros (Fedora instructions may apply):

  • Simplis

  • Eeedora

Installing the Prerequisite Packages

OMNeT++ requires several packages to be installed on the computer. These packages include the C++ compiler (gcc or clang) and several other libraries and programs. These packages can be installed from the software repositories of your Linux distribution.

See the chapter specific to your Linux distribution for instructions on installing the packages needed by OMNeT++.

Generally, you will need superuser permissions to install packages.

Not all packages are available from software repositories; some (optional) ones need to be downloaded separately from their web sites, and installed manually. See the section Additional Packages later in this chapter.

Downloading and Unpacking

Download OMNeT++ from https://omnetpp.org. Make sure you select to download the Linux specific archive, omnetpp-6.4-linux-x86_64.tgz.

Copy the archive to the directory where you want to install it. This is usually your home directory, /home/<you>. Open a terminal, and extract the archive using the following command:

$ tar xvfz omnetpp-6.4-linux-x86_64.tgz

This will create an omnetpp-6.4 subdirectory with the OMNeT++ files in it.

Note

On how to open a terminal on your Linux installation, see the chapter specific to your Linux distribution.

Setting up the Python Virtual Environment

OMNeT++ uses Python for various tools and scripts. It is highly recommended to use a Python virtual environment to manage dependencies and avoid conflicts with system-wide Python packages.

The install.sh script automates the creation and setup of this virtual environment for most Linux distributions.

If you are installing manually or want to understand the process, the typical steps performed by the script (after system packages, including python3 and python3-venv, are installed) are:

  1. Navigate to the OMNeT++ root directory (e.g., cd omnetpp-6.4).

  2. Create the virtual environment (this example uses .venv as the directory name):

    $ python3 -m venv .venv --upgrade-deps --clear --prompt "omnetpp/.venv"

  3. Activate the virtual environment:

    $ source .venv/bin/activate

  4. Install required Python packages using pip. It’s also common to upgrade pip itself:

    $ python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
$ python3 -m pip install -r python/requirements.txt

Once the virtual environment is active, your shell prompt will usually change, and calls to python and pip will use the versions within the .venv directory.

Note

If you use the install.sh script, these steps are generally handled for you.

Environment Variables

In general OMNeT++ requires that certain environment variables are set and the omnetpp-6.4/bin directory is in the PATH. Source the setenv script to set up all these variables.

$ cd omnetpp-6.4
$ source setenv

To set the environment variables permanently, edit .profile or .zprofile in your home directory and add a line something like this:

[ -f "$HOME/omnetpp-6.4/setenv" ] && source "$HOME/omnetpp-6.4/setenv"

Note

The setenv script requires Bash or Zsh.

Configuring and Building OMNeT++

In the top-level OMNeT++ directory, type:

$ ./configure

The configure script detects installed software and configuration of your system. It writes the results into the Makefile.inc file, which will be read by the makefiles during the build process.

../_images/terminal-configuration.png

Fig. 2 Configuring OMNeT++

Note

If there is an error during configure, the output may give hints about what went wrong. Scroll up to see the messages. (Use Shift+PgUp; you may need to increase the scrollback buffer size of the terminal and re-run ./configure.) The script also writes a very detailed log of its operation into config.log to help track down errors. Since config.log is very long, it is recommended that you open it in an editor and search for phrases like error or the name of the package associated with the problem.

When ./configure has finished, you can compile OMNeT++. Type in the terminal:

$ make
../_images/terminal-make.png

Fig. 3 Building OMNeT++

Tip

To take advantage of multiple processor cores, add the -j8 option to the make command line.

Note

The build process will not write anything outside its directory, so no special privileges are needed.

Tip

The make command will seemingly compile everything twice. This is because both debug and optimized versions of the libraries are built. If you only want to build one set of the libraries, specify MODE=debug or MODE=release:

Verifying the Installation

You can now verify that the sample simulations run correctly. For example, the aloha simulation is started by entering the following commands:

$ cd samples/aloha
$ ./aloha

By default, the samples will run using the Qtenv environment. You should see nice gui windows and dialogs.

Starting the IDE

You can launch the OMNeT++ Simulation IDE by typing the following command in the terminal:

$ omnetpp
../_images/ide-initial.png

Fig. 4 The Simulation IDE

If you would like to be able to access the IDE from the application launcher or via a desktop shortcut, run one or both of the commands below:

$ make install-menu-item
$ make install-desktop-icon

Or add a shortcut that points to the omnetpp program in the ide subdirectory by other means, for example using the Linux desktop’s context menu.

Using the IDE

When you try to build a project in the IDE, you may get the following warning message:

Toolchain “…” is not supported on this platform or installation. Please go to the Project menu, and activate a different build configuration. (You may need to switch to the C/C++ perspective first, so that the required menu items appear in the Project menu.)

If you encounter this message, choose Project > Properties > C/C++ Build > Tool Chain Editor > Current toolchain > GCC for OMNeT++.

The IDE is documented in detail in the User Guide.

Reconfiguring the Libraries

If you need to recompile the OMNeT++ components with different flags (e.g. different optimization), then change the top-level OMNeT++ directory, edit configure.user accordingly, then type:

$ ./configure
$ make cleanall
$ make

If you want to recompile just a single library, then change to the directory of the library (e.g. cd src/sim) and type:

$ make clean
$ make

By default, libraries are compiled in both debug and release mode. If you want to make release or debug builds only, use:

$ make MODE=release

or

$ make MODE=debug

By default, shared libraries will be created. If you want to build static libraries, set SHARED_LIBS=no in configure.user and re-configure your project.

Note

For detailed description of all options please read the Build Options chapter.

Additional Packages

Note that at this point, MPI, Doxygen and GraphViz have been installed as part of the prerequisites.

Qtenv

OMNeT++ comes with a Qt based runtime environment that supports also 3D visualization. The new environment can be disabled by the WITH_QTENV=no variable in the configure.user file and then running ./configure.

Akaroa

Linux distributions do not contain the Akaroa package. It must be downloaded, compiled and installed manually before installing OMNeT++.

Note

As of version 2.7.9, Akaroa only supports Linux and Solaris.

Download Akaroa 2.7.9 from: http://www.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz/research/RG/net_sim/simulation_group/akaroa/download.chtml

Extract it into a temporary directory:

$ tar xfz akaroa-2.7.9.tar.gz

Configure, build and install the Akaroa library. By default, it will be installed into the /usr/local/akaroa directory.

$ ./configure
$ make
$ sudo make install

Go to the OMNeT++ directory, and (re-)run the configure script. Akaroa will be automatically detected if you installed it to the default location.

Nemiver

Nemiver is the default debugger for the OMNeT++ just-in-time debugging facility (see the debugger-attach-on-startup and debugger-attach-on-error configuration options). Nemiver can be installed via the package manager in most Linux distros. For example, on Ubuntu and other Debian-based distros you can install it by the following command:

$ sudo apt-get install nemiver