Building from Source

This guide covers building BotServer from source, including dependencies, feature flags, and platform-specific considerations.

Prerequisites

System Requirements

• Operating System: Linux, macOS, or Windows
• Rust: 1.70 or later (2021 edition)
• Memory: 4GB RAM minimum (8GB recommended)
• Disk Space: 8GB for development environment

Install Rust

If you don’t have Rust installed:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
source $HOME/.cargo/env

Verify installation:

rustc --version
cargo --version

System Dependencies

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential \
    pkg-config \
    libssl-dev \
    libpq-dev \
    cmake

Linux (Fedora/RHEL)

sudo dnf install -y \
    gcc \
    gcc-c++ \
    make \
    pkg-config \
    openssl-devel \
    postgresql-devel \
    cmake

macOS

brew install postgresql openssl cmake

Windows

Install Visual Studio Build Tools with C++ support, then:

# Install PostgreSQL (for libpq)
choco install postgresql

Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/GeneralBots/BotServer.git
cd BotServer

Build Configurations

Standard Build

Build with default features (includes desktop support):

cargo build --release

The compiled binary will be at target/release/botserver.

Minimal Build

Build without any optional features:

cargo build --release --no-default-features

This excludes:

• Desktop GUI (Tauri)
• Vector database (Qdrant)
• Email integration (IMAP)

Feature-Specific Builds

With Vector Database

Enable Qdrant vector database support:

cargo build --release --features vectordb

With Email Support

Enable IMAP email integration:

cargo build --release --features email

Desktop Application

Build as desktop app with Tauri (default):

cargo build --release --features desktop

All Features

Build with all optional features:

cargo build --release --all-features

Feature Flags

BotServer supports the following features defined in Cargo.toml:

[features]
default = ["desktop"]
vectordb = ["qdrant-client"]
email = ["imap"]
desktop = ["dep:tauri", "dep:tauri-plugin-dialog", "dep:tauri-plugin-opener"]

Feature Details

Build Profiles

Debug Build

For development with debug symbols and no optimizations:

cargo build

Binary location: target/debug/botserver

Release Build

Optimized for production with LTO and size optimization:

cargo build --release

Binary location: target/release/botserver

The release profile in Cargo.toml uses aggressive optimization:

[profile.release]
lto = true              # Link-time optimization
opt-level = "z"         # Optimize for size
strip = true            # Strip symbols
panic = "abort"         # Abort on panic (smaller binary)
codegen-units = 1       # Better optimization (slower build)

Platform-Specific Builds

Linux

Standard build works on most distributions:

cargo build --release

For static linking (portable binary):

RUSTFLAGS='-C target-feature=+crt-static' cargo build --release --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

macOS

Build for current architecture:

cargo build --release

Build universal binary (Intel + Apple Silicon):

rustup target add x86_64-apple-darwin aarch64-apple-darwin
cargo build --release --target x86_64-apple-darwin
cargo build --release --target aarch64-apple-darwin
lipo -create \
    target/x86_64-apple-darwin/release/botserver \
    target/aarch64-apple-darwin/release/botserver \
    -output botserver-universal

Windows

Build with MSVC toolchain:

cargo build --release

Binary location: target\release\botserver.exe

Cross-Compilation

Install Cross-Compilation Tools

cargo install cross

Build for Linux from macOS/Windows

cross build --release --target x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu

Build for Windows from Linux/macOS

cross build --release --target x86_64-pc-windows-gnu

Troubleshooting

OpenSSL Errors

If you encounter OpenSSL linking errors:

Linux:

sudo apt install libssl-dev

macOS:

export OPENSSL_DIR=$(brew --prefix openssl)
cargo build --release

Windows:

# Use vcpkg
vcpkg install openssl:x64-windows
set OPENSSL_DIR=C:\vcpkg\installed\x64-windows
cargo build --release

PostgreSQL Library Errors

If libpq is not found:

Linux:

sudo apt install libpq-dev

macOS:

brew install postgresql
export PQ_LIB_DIR=$(brew --prefix postgresql)/lib

Windows:

# Ensure PostgreSQL is in PATH
set PQ_LIB_DIR=C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\15\lib

Out of Memory During Build

Reduce parallel jobs:

cargo build --release -j 2

Or limit memory per job:

CARGO_BUILD_JOBS=2 cargo build --release

Linker Errors

Ensure you have a C/C++ compiler:

Linux:

sudo apt install build-essential

macOS:

xcode-select --install

Windows: Install Visual Studio Build Tools with C++ support.

Verify Build

After building, verify the binary works:

./target/release/botserver --version

Expected output: botserver 6.0.8 or similar.

Development Builds

Watch Mode

Auto-rebuild on file changes:

cargo install cargo-watch
cargo watch -x 'build --release'

Check Without Building

Fast syntax and type checking:

cargo check

With specific features:

cargo check --features vectordb,email

Testing

Run All Tests

cargo test

Run Tests for Specific Module

cargo test --package botserver --lib bootstrap::tests

Run Integration Tests

cargo test --test '*'

Code Quality

Format Code

cargo fmt

Lint Code

cargo clippy -- -D warnings

Check Dependencies

cargo tree

Find duplicate dependencies:

cargo tree --duplicates

Security Audit

Run security audit to check for known vulnerabilities in dependencies:

cargo install cargo-audit
cargo audit

This should be run regularly during development to ensure dependencies are secure.

Build Artifacts

After a successful release build, you’ll have:

• target/release/botserver - Main executable
• target/release/build/ - Build script outputs
• target/release/deps/ - Compiled dependencies

Size Optimization

The release profile already optimizes for size. To further reduce:

Strip Binary Manually

strip target/release/botserver

Use UPX Compression

upx --best --lzma target/release/botserver

Note: UPX may cause issues with some systems. Test thoroughly.

Incremental Compilation

For faster development builds:

export CARGO_INCREMENTAL=1
cargo build

Note: This is enabled by default for debug builds.

Clean Build

Remove all build artifacts:

cargo clean

LXC Build

Build inside LXC container:

# Create build container
lxc-create -n botserver-build -t download -- -d ubuntu -r jammy -a amd64

# Configure container with build resources
cat >> /var/lib/lxc/botserver-build/config << EOF
lxc.cgroup2.memory.max = 4G
lxc.cgroup2.cpu.max = 400000 100000
EOF

# Start container
lxc-start -n botserver-build

# Install build dependencies
lxc-attach -n botserver-build -- bash -c "
apt-get update
apt-get install -y build-essential pkg-config libssl-dev libpq-dev cmake curl git
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh -s -- -y
source \$HOME/.cargo/env
"

# Build BotServer
lxc-attach -n botserver-build -- bash -c "
git clone https://github.com/GeneralBots/BotServer /build
cd /build
source \$HOME/.cargo/env
cargo build --release --no-default-features
"

# Copy binary from container
lxc-attach -n botserver-build -- cat /build/target/release/botserver > /usr/local/bin/botserver
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/botserver

Installation

After building, install system-wide:

sudo install -m 755 target/release/botserver /usr/local/bin/

Or create a symlink:

ln -s $(pwd)/target/release/botserver ~/.local/bin/botserver

Next Steps

After building:

1. Run the bootstrap process to install dependencies
2. Configure .env file with database credentials
3. Start BotServer and access web interface
4. Create your first bot from templates

See Chapter 01: Run and Talk for next steps.