# Freefem++ installation error in Ubuntu 24.04 **URL:** \ **Category:** FreeFEM installation\ **Created:** [October 6, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094 "2025-10-06T15:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Alice](https://community.freefem.org/u/Alice)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2025, 3:52pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/1 "2025-10-06T15:52:45Z")
Dear all,I cannot install freefem in ubuntu. If you help I will be glad. When I enter make install it gives these errors mkdir: cannot create directory ‘/usr/local/lib/ff++’: Permission denied Download failed (MD5 check 9b15ef07d3e8bd9eedf11bc3cd6f1f8f ) from [https://www.ljll.fr/~tournier/boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz](https://www.ljll.fr/~tournier/boost_for_bemtool.tar.gz) of boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz ERROR2: INVALID MD5 for boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz 9b15ef07d3e8bd9eedf11bc3cd6f1f8f Also when I run the command dpkg -i FreeFEM\_VERSION\_Ubuntu\_withPETSc\_amd64.deb to Download the package FreeFEM .deb, install it gives the error dpkg: error: requested operation requires superuser privilege ---
**Author:** ![prj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecae2f/32.png) [@prj](https://community.freefem.org/u/prj)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 4:47am UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/2 "2025-10-07T04:47:37Z")
1. use the `develop` branch 2. use the `--prefix` option ---
**Author:** ![Alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Alice](https://community.freefem.org/u/Alice)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 5:52am UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/3 "2025-10-07T05:52:50Z")
How can I do it could you explain further? Will I write them as commands? ---
**Author:** ![fb77](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.freefem.org/fb77/32/3796_2.png) [@fb77](https://community.freefem.org/u/fb77)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 9:22am UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/4 "2025-10-07T09:22:42Z")
When you install software on linux, you need administrator privilege. Instead of typing just “command”, you must type “sudo command” (it means to do as a superuser). Then the system asks you to give the administrator password for your computer. You need to do this for all of your commands, otherwise you get the messages “permission denied” or “requested operation requires superuser privilege” ---
**Author:** ![Alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Alice](https://community.freefem.org/u/Alice)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 10:02am UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/5 "2025-10-07T10:02:17Z")
Dear Professor, Thank you for your help. Also it gives this error Download failed (MD5 check 9b15ef07d3e8bd9eedf11bc3cd6f1f8f ) from [https://www.ljll.fr/~tournier/boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz](https://www.ljll.fr/~tournier/boost_for_bemtool.tar.gz) of boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz Also when I command make - j4 , the terminal stops after a while. I am following the instructions on the freefem page. Is there a different installation and compilation way? I have been dealing to install freefem for 5 days and I still have not done it yet ---
**Author:** ![fb77](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.freefem.org/fb77/32/3796_2.png) [@fb77](https://community.freefem.org/u/fb77)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 11:50am UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/6 "2025-10-07T11:50:59Z")
I don’t know about the “download failed”. the last version is at > **[Release FreeFEM v4.15 · FreeFem/FreeFem-sources](https://github.com/FreeFem/FreeFem-sources/releases/tag/v4.15)** > > Important changes: > > > FreeFEM can now run Markdown (.md) files as well as .edp files. Markdown can be used to document your FreeFEM scripts (see for example the .md files in the examples/examples d... You have to choose either the .deb or the source code. For the source code, the instructions are > **[GitHub - FreeFem/FreeFem-sources: FreeFEM source code](https://github.com/FreeFem/FreeFem-sources#freefem)** > > FreeFEM source code You should not use make -j4, but make -j2 or simply make (it will take more time). With the .deb it is easier. ---
**Author:** ![Alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Alice](https://community.freefem.org/u/Alice)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 12:54pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/7 "2025-10-07T12:54:06Z")
Dear Professor I downloaded deb file from git but now I don’t know what to do. I couldn’t find the instructions ---
**Author:** ![fb77](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.freefem.org/fb77/32/3796_2.png) [@fb77](https://community.freefem.org/u/fb77)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 1:11pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/8 "2025-10-07T13:11:16Z")
With the .deb it is a standard installation procedure of compiled software for linux systems. Probably you can do as 1. update system sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade 2. install gdebi if you don’t have it already sudo apt install gdebi 3. install .deb sudo gdebi FreeFEM-4.15-amd64-ubuntu24.04.deb ---
**Author:** ![Alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Alice](https://community.freefem.org/u/Alice)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/9 "2025-10-07T13:14:16Z")
Dear Professor , I will try . Thank you so much. ---
**Author:** ![prj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecae2f/32.png) [@prj](https://community.freefem.org/u/prj)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/10 "2025-10-07T18:26:00Z")
You did not switch to the `develop` branch as I told you initially, hence you still have an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Alice](https://community.freefem.org/u/Alice)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 5:06am UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/11 "2025-10-08T05:06:38Z")
Shall you explain it more explicitly? ---
**Author:** ![prj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecae2f/32.png) [@prj](https://community.freefem.org/u/prj)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2025, 4:23am UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/12 "2025-10-09T04:23:52Z")
`git checkout develop`. Also, never use `sudo` for installing FreeFEM (or other packages in general), this is bad practice, it’s best to use a prefix install, just read [GitHub - FreeFem/FreeFem-sources: FreeFEM source code](https://github.com/FreeFem/FreeFem-sources?tab=readme-ov-file#freefem). ---
**Author:** ![Alice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Alice](https://community.freefem.org/u/Alice)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2025, 1:46pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/13 "2025-10-09T13:46:36Z")
Dear Professor, I have finally installed and run the program. ---
**Author:** ![kornkven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@kornkven](https://community.freefem.org/u/kornkven)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 7:02pm UTC](https://community.freefem.org/t/freefem-installation-error-in-ubuntu-24-04/4094/14 "2025-11-25T19:02:05Z")
Hello, I am assisting someone with installing FreeFem from source and am also running into the MD5 problem for boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz when I attempt to run 3rdparty/getall. That script expects a value of “bb0e3ee1ad06174c80a69bc0756034e7” for the boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz file but “md5sum boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz” gives a different value. Moreover, I downloaded the getall from FreeFem v. 4.14 and it expects another different value. Maybe I don’t understand how this is supposed to be used but I would expect the md5sum for boost\_for\_bemtool.tar.gz to be unchanged between getall releases. I am tempted to replace the md5sum in getall with the value on the download site but that defeats the purpose of the md5sum, so I would rather get your advice on how to resolve this. Thanks, Ed Kornkven