The kcd command is actually a shell function or shell alias so it must be setup before you can type any kcd command. You will have to use kcdmain as the command name (since kcd command is not available yet) and use eval to introduce it to the shell. eval `kcdmain -ia` Install Bourne-style shell alias to invoke kcdmain install in /usr/bin. eval `kcdmain -ic` Install C-style shell alias to invoke kcdmain install in /usr/bin. eval `kcdmain -if` Install Bourne-style shell function to invoke kcdmain install in /usr/bin. eval `kcdmain -ias DIR` Install Bourne-style shell alias to invoke kcdmain install in DIR. eval `kcdmain -ics DIR` Install C-style shell alias to invoke kcdmain install in DIR. eval `kcdmain -ifs DIR` Install Bourne-style shell function to invoke kcdmain install in DIR. Other shell function or shell alias may be introduced with the above options. Details can be found in `Profile' subsection in `Configuration File'. You can force a particular profile to be chosen by using -p option followed by profile name. This must be the first option present in the command line. kcd -p PROFILE Force a particular profile name PROFILE in the configuration file to be used.