How to make sure that 'make uninstall' will work correctly?

rng · 12-04-2015, 08:04 PM

While installing software from source tar.gz file using commands ./configure, make and sudo make install, how can one make sure that 'make uninstall' will work correctly to remove software later, if needed? Thanks for your answers.

John VV · 12-04-2015, 09:23 PM

READ the output of the command ,simple !

rng · 12-04-2015, 10:51 PM

I want to know about this BEFORE installing the software. I want to install only that software by this method where I can be sure that, if needed, I will be able to remove it later on.

GazL · 12-05-2015, 09:57 AM

Then you're going to have to read the input (makefile). If you're looking for a silver bullet, there isn't one.

maples · 12-05-2015, 11:14 AM

Maybe look at the whole filesystem before installation and after uninstallation? It won't assure you of anything beforehand, but it will tell you if anything gets left behind. Of course, if you do anything else, that will show up as well.

Code:

find / -type f | grep -v proc > filelist-before.txt
# do stuff
find / -type f | grep -v proc > filelist-after.txt
diff filelist-before.txt filelist-after.txt

You might want to exclude other directories, like home and tmp.

dugan · 12-05-2015, 11:41 AM

Test it by installing it to a user-level temporary directory. Do the test with user-level privileges, not with root privileges.

Code:

mkdir $HOME/uninstall_test
make install DESTDIR=$HOME/uninstall_test
make uninstall

DavidMcCann · 12-05-2015, 11:49 AM

It's not a total disaster if it doesn't work. I've had software with no uninstall option, so I just uninstalled manually by working my way through the install instructions and undoing what they'd done.

rng · 12-05-2015, 07:28 PM

Thank you all for very helpful tips. I also found checkinstall (http://asic-linux.com.mx/~izto/checkinstall/) which is very useful for this kind of problem.

ruario · 12-14-2015, 05:21 AM

Make and install (as your normal user) to a temporary, "staging directory":

Code:

./configure
make  
make install DESTDIR="$PWD/staging"

Create a simple uninstall script:

Code:

cd staging
mkdir -p usr/local/bin
printf '#!/bin/sh -e\nwhile read f; do\n  if [ -e "$f" -o -h "$f" ]; then\n    rm -v "$f"\n  fi\ndone << EOF\n' > usr/local/bin/uninstall-packagename
find . ! -type d | grep -Fv "usr/local/bin/uninstall-packagename" | sed 's/^\.//' >> usr/local/bin/uninstall-packagename
printf "/usr/local/bin/uninstall-packagename\nEOF\n" >> usr/local/bin/uninstall-packagename
chmod 755 usr/local/bin/uninstall-packagename

(Only regular files and symlinks are recorded in the uninstall script. This is because directories are often shared between applications.)

Fix file ownership:

Code:

sudo chown -R root:root .

Transfer the contents of the staged directory to the final install locations:

Code:

find . ! -type d | tar cf - -T- | sudo tar xvf - -C/

(Only files are transferred. This avoids updating or adjusting permissions and timestamps on shared directories. New directories will be created as needed with default permissions.)

If this is too much to type all the time, here is a script to automate creating the uninstall script, fixing ownership and transferring the package contents. It also strips binaries, compresses man pages and fixes some potential permissions issues. This reduces the steps to:

Code:

./configure
make  
make install DESTDIR="$PWD/staging"
sudo transfer-staged-package packagename

A bit more detail and background on this technique, why I prefer it to tracking software like checkinstall and some tips for backing up and querying packages on my blog.

ruario · 12-14-2015, 06:03 AM

If you are happy with simply tracking the "make install" (or equivalent command), then issue the following (very shortly afterwards) to find all files that have been installed into common installation directories, within the last five minutes:

Code:

sudo find /etc /opt /usr -cmin -5 ! -type d

If it looks correct, make a null delimited list of these files (used for uninstall later):

Code:

sudo find /etc /opt /usr -cmin -5 ! -type d -print0 > packagename-files.log

If you ever want to check the contents of the log, issue:

Code:

xargs -0I{} echo "{}" < packagename-files.log

To remove all installed files listed in the log:

Code:

sudo xargs -0I{} rm -v "{}" < packagename-files.log

smallpond · 12-14-2015, 06:26 AM

The problem is config files which already existed on your system and are modified by make install. If the install is well-behaved it will create backup files for any that it changes.

ruario · 12-14-2015, 06:45 AM

See my first reply. Not the later one, which is for those who are too lazy to use a staging directory.

If you do use a staging directory, it is still not really a problem IMHO. Just run a find command on this directory. You can see what files will clash, you can also diff them against on the ones on the system. Adjust things as you see fit, prior to the transfer.

P.S. On my blog post I actually mentioned checking the files and adjusting them as needed prior to transfer

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruario

Within this staging directory, you can now move files around to avoid clashes with pre-existing files (if needed), strip binaries, compress man pages, adjust permissions, etc. or make any other adjustments as you see fit. At the very least run a find command to see the contents of the package