Kernel headers not found

jt1122 · 05-15-2021, 07:06 AM

I'm trying to install anbox and running INSTALL.sh gives:

Code:

Error! echo
Your kernel headers for kernel 5.10.0-4-amd64 cannot be found at
/lib/modules/5.10.0-4-amd64/build or /lib/modules/5.10.0-4-amd64/source.
You can use the --kernelsourcedir option to tell DKMS where it's located.
Error! echo
Your kernel headers for kernel 5.10.0-4-amd64 cannot be found at
/lib/modules/5.10.0-4-amd64/build or /lib/modules/5.10.0-4-amd64/source.
You can use the --kernelsourcedir option to tell DKMS where it's located.

neofetch shows:

Code:

Kernel: 5.10.0-4-amd64

Any suggestions?

Thanks

hazel · 05-15-2021, 07:39 AM

Yes, install the kernel headers!

Kernel headers are a separate package from the kernel as a running program. You only need them if you are going to build things. You don't say what distribution you are using (btw you should always give that info in a post) but whatever one it is, you can use the package manager to install the kernel-headers package.

jt1122 · 05-15-2021, 08:31 AM

Thanks.

I'm on Sparky rolling (=Debian testing).
I've already installed linux-headers-amd64 and also linux-headers-sparky-amd64 but then I got the above error.

/lib/modules has the following folders:
5.9.0-4-amd64
5.10.0-4-amd64
5.10.0-6-amd64
5.12.4-sparky-amd64

business_kid · 05-15-2021, 11:25 AM

/lib/modules stores kernel modules (= drivers in M$-speak).

Kernel headers go in /usr/include/asm-generic, /usr/include/asm-x86, /usr/include/linux, and a bevvy of smaller directories and are lookup tables for compiling stuff.

jt1122 · 05-15-2021, 12:58 PM

Thanks but what else do I need to install besides linux-headers-amd64 and linux-headers-sparky-amd64 ?.

hazel · 05-15-2021, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jt1122

I'm trying to install anbox and running INSTALL.sh gives:

Code:

Error! echo
Your kernel headers for kernel 5.10.0-4-amd64 cannot be found at
/lib/modules/5.10.0-4-amd64/build or /lib/modules/5.10.0-4-amd64/source.
You can use the --kernelsourcedir option to tell DKMS where it's located.

One thing about Linux error messages is that they usually tell you not only that something
has gone wrong but what to do about it. This is a case in point. I have no idea why your installation script is looking for kernel headers in /lib/modules because they never go there in practice. As business_kid has said, they should be in /usr/include. So try giving the option

Code:

--kernelsourcedir=/usr/include

and see if that does the job.

computersavvy · 05-15-2021, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jt1122

Thanks but what else do I need to install besides linux-headers-amd64 and linux-headers-sparky-amd64 ?.

linux-headers and kernel-headers are not always the same. The error says you need the kernel headers. I install them with "dnf install kernel-headers" or "apt install kernel-headers" depending on which distro I am on. The package manager should be able to get them for you easily.

Ser Olmy · 05-15-2021, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hazel

I have no idea why your installation script is looking for kernel headers in /lib/modules because they never go there in practice.

/lib/modules/<kernel_version>/build and /lib/modules/<kernel_version>/source are supposed to be symlinks to the kernel source root.

kilgoretrout · 05-15-2021, 08:38 PM

Quote:

/lib/modules has the following folders:
5.9.0-4-amd64
5.10.0-4-amd64
5.10.0-6-amd64
5.12.4-sparky-amd64

This would indicate that you have several kernels installed, two of them newer than the 5.10.0-4-amd64 you are booting into currently. You can be sure you have the kernel headers for whatever kernel you are booting with installed by running:

Code:

# apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

In Debian, the kernel headers package will be in the form linux-headers-<kernel name>. Also, Sparky is a rolling release based on Debian Testing. As such, you are likely to get kernel upgrades a lot more often than on a non-rolling distro. I don't know how Sparky handles these things but in stock Debian Stable, a kernel update does not automatically install the new kernel headers package along with the updated kernel. You have to remember to rerun the above command with each kernel update to get the kernel headers for the new kernel installed.