You need cmake to build tinns and its tools. cmake is part of nearly all linux distributions and you may need to install first. debian/ubuntu: "apt-get install cmake" suse (11.0+): "zypper in cmake" After installing cmake just use it with the CMakeLists.txt file in this directory. "cmake CMakeLists.txt" cmake will now create a full buildsystem which can be used with the plain GNU make and checks for all missing packages/libs. You will get notified if something is missing. "cmake_distclean.sh" removes all cache and temp files from the cmake buildsystem. - Akiko