Install this package from source: $ perl MakeFile.PL PREFIX=~/path/to/custom/dir LIB=~/path/to/custom/lib $ make $ make test $ make install Perl one liner using CPAN.pm: $ perl -MCPAN -e 'install Apache2::WebApp::Plugin::File' Use of CPAN.pm in interactive mode: $ perl -MCPAN -e shell cpan> install Apache2::WebApp::Plugin::File cpan> quit Just like the manual installation of Perl modules, the user may need root access during this process to insure write permission is allowed within the intstallation directory. Install/Runtime issues (non-root) Q. When running a script, I get the message "Can't locate loadable object for mod.." A. Since you are an unpriviledged user, you aren't allowed to install modules into system directories. In order to remedy this situation, you can install CPAN into your home directory. Not only is this good practice (sandboxing), it will make it easier when installing other 3rd party CPAN modules in the future. $ perl -MCPAN -e shell cpan shell -- CPAN exploration and modules installation (v1.X) ReadLine support enabled cpan> o conf commit