HOWTO: Xfire on linux with pidgin

This is a howto for connecting to the xfire network using a plugin for the Pidgin instant messenger. Note that it might also be possible to run xfire [url]through wine[/url], unfortunately for me it froze on the registration dialog. Native solutions are better anyway 🙂

1. Get Pidgin 2.5 or greater

Remember to uninstall any older version of pidgin you might have before installing/compiling the new version.
Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid) or newer users: You should already have a new enough version of Pidgin, so you can skip this step. If you really want you can download deb packages for the latest version here: http://www.getdeb.net/app/Pidgin
Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy) users: The pidgin version in the hardy repository is outdated so uninstall it through synaptic or through the terminal:

sudo apt-get remove pidgin pidgin-data

and get deb packages for the new version from here: http://www.getdeb.net/app/Pidgin
Other distributions: First check to see if pidgin 2.5 or greater is available or already installed through your package manager. If not look for a binary package here.
If there aren’t any you’ll have to compile from source which you can download from there too.

2. Get Gfire Pidgin plugin

[url]Gfire download page[/url]
For Ubuntu/Debian-based distro users: Download and install the deb package.
Other distributions: At the time of writing they don’t have binary packages for any other distros so you’ll have download and compile the source (‘SRC’). Refer to the readme/install files in the source archive for instructions.

3. Create an Xfire account if you haven’t already

[url]Register here[/url]

4. Add your xfire account to pidgin

– Open Pidgin and go to Accounts>Manage Accounts.
– Click Add
– Choose Xfire from the protocol dropdown list and enter your username, password and alias.
If Xfire isn’t a choice in the protocol list Gfire wasn’t installed properly and you have problems 😛
– Add friends with Buddies>Add buddy. (Select your xfire account in the dropdown.)

And that’s about it. The plugin offers all the basic functions of the real xfire client AFAIK, like joining friends’ game servers etc. Reply with any problems/feedback/comments.

Cheers