If running on a Debian-based OS (this includes Ubuntu), it is highly recommended to install this program as a package by doing ln -fs package_definitions/debian debian dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc -b sudo dpkg -i ../feedgnuplot*.deb This builds a debian package and installs it. Without a package, an installation can be done with perl Makefile.PL prefix=/usr/local make make install This installs feedgnuplot to /usr/local. Adjust the paths as required