# Need guidance on modifying OpenFHE for custom bootstrapping implementation

**URL:** https://openfhe.discourse.group/t/need-guidance-on-modifying-openfhe-for-custom-bootstrapping-implementation/2021
**Category:** Library Questions
**Tags:** openfhe-help
**Created:** [May 9, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://openfhe.discourse.group/t/need-guidance-on-modifying-openfhe-for-custom-bootstrapping-implementation/2021 "2025-05-09T14:36:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![haohaohao](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/openfhe.discourse.group/haohaohao/32/400_2.png) [@haohaohao](https://openfhe.discourse.group/u/haohaohao)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2025, 2:36pm UTC](https://openfhe.discourse.group/t/need-guidance-on-modifying-openfhe-for-custom-bootstrapping-implementation/2021/1 "2025-05-09T14:36:19Z")

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Hi OpenFHE community,

I’m trying to implement a custom bootstrapping program in OpenFHE, which requires modifying underlying code and recompiling. I have a few questions:

1. **Development Location** : Should I make changes directly in the downloaded OpenFHE source directory, rather than working externally after `make install`? My understanding is that `make install` is for end-users, while development requires source modification.
2. **Compilation Workflow** : When testing iterative changes, is the correct workflow to:

```Bash
cd build  
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=DEBUG # Debug flags recommended  
make -j4 # Parallel build  

```

or are there better practices?

1. **Persistence** : Do I need to re-run make install after every modification, or is rebuilding sufficient for testing?

Any advice on best practices for core modifications would be greatly appreciated!

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![Caesar](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/openfhe.discourse.group/caesar/32/63_2.png) [@Caesar](https://openfhe.discourse.group/u/Caesar)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2025, 3:29pm UTC](https://openfhe.discourse.group/t/need-guidance-on-modifying-openfhe-for-custom-bootstrapping-implementation/2021/2 "2025-05-09T15:29:36Z")

</div>

I recommend making the changes in your own repo. Best practice is to fork OpenFHE and then work on your own repo to capture changes.

You do not need to run `make install`; that command will install OpenFHE on your system.

However, if you make changes in the library, you need to run `make testall` to run all unit tests and ensure that everything passes successfully.