Installing the Chilkat Perl Module on Linux & Alpine Linux

Install with one command

The install-perl script reads your Perl's version, CPU architecture, threading, and C library (glibc or musl) from the perl that runs it, downloads the matching prebuilt module, and installs it into that same perl. There is no compiler step and no make. Because the perl that runs the script is the perl the module goes into, the version and threading always match.

curl -fsSL https://chilkatdownload.com/perl/install-perl | perl -

# no curl?  wget works the same way
wget -qO- https://chilkatdownload.com/perl/install-perl | perl -

# with curl
curl -fsSL https://chilkatdownload.com/perl/install-perl | sudo perl -
# with wget
wget -qO- https://chilkatdownload.com/perl/install-perl | sudo perl -

# per-user, no root needed
curl -fsSL https://chilkatdownload.com/perl/install-perl | perl - --local

cpanm --mirror https://chilkatdownload.com/cpan --mirror-only Chilkat

Other options: --dry-run shows what would be detected and installed without changing anything; --from <file> installs from an already-downloaded .tar.gz (offline machines); --version 11.6.0 selects a particular Chilkat release. The script finishes by loading the module in a fresh perl and printing the Chilkat version, so OK: 'use chilkat' loads means you are done.

apk add perl
wget -qO- https://chilkatdownload.com/perl/install-perl | perl -

Manual install from a downloaded package

For machines without internet access, or if you prefer to download the package yourself. (With the package downloaded, perl install-perl --from chilkat-perl-<version>-<arch>-linux.tar.gz also works in place of steps 4–7.)

1. Download

   Get the build for your system from the Chilkat Linux Perl Downloads (Linux and Alpine are both listed there).

2. What's in the download

   Each .tar.gz contains:

   chilkat-perl-<version>-<arch>-linux/
   ├─ lib/
   │   ├─ chilkat.pm              the Perl module
   │   └─ libchilkat.so           the compiled Chilkat library
   ├─ Makefile.PL                 build script (ExtUtils::MakeMaker)
   ├─ MANIFEST
   ├─ META.yml
   ├─ test.pl                     a short test / unlock example
   ├─ license.pdf
   ├─ pcre2-license.pdf
   ├─ quickjs-license.pdf
   └─ THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt

   (The Alpine download has the same layout, with a musl-compatible libchilkat.so.)

3. Match your Perl version, architecture, and threading

   Confirm the download matches your system. Check each with:

   # Perl version (must match the download's 5.xx)
   perl -version
   
   # CPU architecture (x86_64, aarch64, armv7l, ...)
   uname -m
   
   # Threaded Perl? "define" = use the thread-multi download
   perl -V:useithreads

   If useithreads='define', download the thread-multi build; if useithreads='undef', download the regular build. A mismatch is the usual cause of the PL_stack_base error (see below).

4. Extract to any directory

   tar xzf chilkat-perl-<version>-<arch>-linux.tar.gz

5. Build

   In the newly-created directory:

   perl Makefile.PL
   make

   The library is prebuilt, so this only generates and runs a Makefile that stages the files — there is no C compilation of Chilkat itself.

6. Install

   Still in the same directory:

   make install
   # or, if you need elevated permissions:
   sudo make install

   You need write permission to your Perl library directory — installing system-wide usually requires root.

7. Verify the installation

   Run the included test.pl, or this short script, which unlocks Chilkat in 30-day trial mode and prints the version:

   use chilkat();
   
   my $glob = new chilkat::CkGlobal();
   my $success = $glob->UnlockBundle("Anything for 30-day trial");
   if ($success != 1) {
       print $glob->lastErrorText() . "\n";
       exit;
   }
   
   print "Version: " . $glob->version() . "\n";

Notes for Alpine Linux (manual install)

Common error: undefined symbol: PL_stack_base

If you see an error like undefined symbol: PL_stack_base at … DynaLoader.pm when using Chilkat, it usually means the download's threading does not match your Perl (a non-thread module with a threaded Perl, or vice-versa). Re-check Step 3 and download the matching build.