Install GoldenDict on Linux

In Brief

  1. download the latest version of DPD here
  2. install version 1.5 of GoldenDict
  3. in settings, direct GoldenDict to the DPD folder.

Below are detailed step-by-step instructions.

Download DPD

First things first, download the latest version of Digital Pāḷi Dictionary from Github.

Make a GoldenDict folder

It is recommended to make an easily accessible GoldenDict folder, for example /Documents/GoldenDict

create new folder

Or in the terminal
mkdir /home/your_user_name/Documents/GoldenDict

(Obviously, substitute your_user_name with your actual user name)

Unzip

Right-click the DPD zip file in your Downloads folder and open it with Archive Manager.

archive manager

Click Extract and select the folder /Documents/GoldenDict

extract

Or in the terminal:

cd home/your_user_name/Downloads
unzip /home/your_user_name/Downloads/dpd.zip -d /home/your_user_name/Documents/GoldenDict

Install GoldenDict

GoldenDict can be installed directly with apt-get:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install goldendict

Or choose the distribution of your choice from https://pkgs.org/download/goldendict:

Or directly from the Software Manager:

software manager

Make sure to install version 1.5, not version 1.0!

Adding Dictionaries to GoldenDict

Launch the GoldenDict application

Go to Menu > Edit > Dictionaries (Shortcut F3)

dictionaries F3

Go to Sources > Files.
Click Add and select folder /Documents/GoldenDict

add

Click the recursive tick box √ (this makes sure GoldenDict searches in sub-folders)

recursive

Click OK and wait a few moments while the dictionaries are indexing.

You're all setup!

Next learn how to setup the hotkey or scan popup so you can click on any Pāḷi word in any text and open it immediately in the dictionary.