[SOLVED] Why can't I install Slackware files (.txz format)?

TheNutCase · 05-07-2016, 12:11 PM

I recently downloaded and installed Slackware 14.1 to my computer, and according to the online instructions for it, the way to install programs is to type "INSTALLPKG [ filename ].txz. I did that, and it comes back with "command not found"

. So where do I go from here?

astrogeek · 05-07-2016, 12:33 PM

Welcome to LQ and Slackware!

You must have root permission (i.e., login, su or sudo) and it is installpkg not INSTALLPKG (case sensitive).

It is also worth noting that not all .txz archives are installable packages, so if you continue to have problems please tell us the package name and where it came from (i.e., Slackware repo, third party, built from SBo, etc.).

onebuck · 05-07-2016, 12:36 PM

Hi,

You are using 'root' to installpkg? I use a console then 'su-' to get root privileges.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

TheNutCase · 05-07-2016, 02:08 PM

I even tried that after signing in as 'root' and got the same result. As a matter of fact, "installpkg" didn't show up after I typed in "help" (a bunch of other commands did show up, however)?

astrogeek · 05-07-2016, 02:15 PM

Can you be a little more specific, please.

How did you "sign in as root"? A normal login or using su or sudo?

Please post the command you are using and the exact error message you get.

Is this a full install of Slackware?

Does man installpkg open a man page?

What .txz package are you trying to install?

Tonus · 05-07-2016, 02:25 PM

As root, try with full path :
/sbin/installpkg

Richard Cranium · 05-07-2016, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheNutCase

I even tried that after signing in as 'root' and got the same result. As a matter of fact, "installpkg" didn't show up after I typed in "help" (a bunch of other commands did show up, however)?

I'm not surprised that "help" didn't mention installpkg since "help" merely gives you help for bash.

After you sign in as root, what is the output of these commands?

Code:

echo $PATH

Code:

id

As an example, when I run those commands, I get...

Code:

root@hp635:~# echo $PATH
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/lib64/java/bin:/usr/lib64/java/jre/bin:/usr/lib64/kde4/libexec:/usr/lib64/qt/bin:/usr/share/texmf/bin
root@hp635:~# id
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root),1(bin),2(daemon),3(sys),4(adm),6(disk),10(wheel)
root@hp635:~#

I wouldn't expect to see java entries in your $PATH output.

bassmadrigal · 05-07-2016, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheNutCase

As a matter of fact, "installpkg" didn't show up after I typed in "help" (a bunch of other commands did show up, however)?

The program help provides you generic commands that are supported by bash. It does not list all available commands that you can type.

As astrogeek mentioned, installpkg is, by default, only able to be run by root. It is located in the /sbin folder, which regular users don't have access to.

If you did log in as root and still can't run installpkg (check the spelling), then your installation isn't complete or it is screwed up somehow (or maybe you accidentally booted into another distro you may have installed). The installpkg program is included within the pkgtools package that is part of the a/ series of packages. These are the base packages that should be installed by almost all users (although, it is always recommended to just do a full install).

Following Richard Craniums post and providing us with the output should help narrow down the issues. Can you also post the output of the following commands?

Code:

ls -la /var/log/packages/pkgtool*
ls -la /sbin/*pkg*

Example output should be something like below:

Code:

jbhansen@craven-moorhead:~/tmp$ ls -la /var/log/packages/pkgtool*
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1350 Jul 11  2014 /var/log/packages/pkgtools-14.1-noarch-2
jbhansen@craven-moorhead:~/tmp$ ls -la /sbin/*pkg*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  3169 May 11  2010 /sbin/explodepkg*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 20490 Apr 22  2011 /sbin/installpkg*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 11315 Jun  2  2009 /sbin/makepkg*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 22670 Oct  2  2013 /sbin/pkgtool*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 14048 Apr 28  2009 /sbin/removepkg*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 12135 May 11  2010 /sbin/upgradepkg*

onebuck · 05-07-2016, 04:06 PM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheNutCase

I even tried that after signing in as 'root' and got the same result. As a matter of fact, "installpkg" didn't show up after I typed in "help" (a bunch of other commands did show up, however)?

If you do a 'man su' then see the option for '-';

Code:

 -, -l, --login
           Provide an environment similar to what the user would expect had the user logged in directly.

That is why one uses 'su -' to get root privileges and pathway for commands when using the 'cli'.

If you do a 'man pkgtool' you can see what is necessary or for 'man installpkg';

Code:

 installpkg - install Slackware packages.

SYNOPSIS
       installpkg  [  --warn  ] [ --md5sum ] [ --root /otherroot ] [ --infobox ] [ --menu ] [ --terse ] [ --ask ] [ --priority ADD|REC|OPT|SKP ] [
       --tagfile /somedir/tagfile ] packagename [ packagename2 ...  ]

DESCRIPTION
       installpkg installs single or multiple *.tgz (or .tbz, .tlz, .txz) binary packages designed for use with the Slackware  Linux  distribution
       onto your system.

OPTIONS
       --warn packagename
              Generate  a  list  of  files that would be overwritten to the standard output, but do not actually install the package.  The list is
              formatted in a suitable fashion to use as a list of files to backup.

       --md5sum packagename
              Record the package md5sum in the metadata written in /var/log/packages.

       --root /otherroot
              Install using a location other than / (the default) as the root of the filesystem to install on.  In the example given, use  /other-
              root instead.  Setting the ROOT environment variable does the same thing.

       --infobox
              Use /bin/dialog to display an informational dialog as the package is installed.  Primarily used when installpkg is called from other
              scripts.

       --menu Use /bin/dialog to display a menu asking the user if they would like  to  install  the  package(s)  or  not.   Generally  used  when
              installpkg is called from other scripts.

       --terse
              Install the package displaying only a single description line to stdout.

       --ask  Used with -menu mode.  When selected, always ask if a package should be installed regardless of what the package's priority is.

       --priority ADD|REC|OPT|SKP
              When  installing  with  the -menu option, package priority levels (found in the file "tagfile" in the package directory) are used to
              automatically install (ADD) or skip (SKP) a package, or to suggest recommended (REC) or optional (OPT) to the user if a menu is dis-
              played.  If a priority is set on the command line, it will override the values set in the tagfile for the entire package list.

       --tagfile /somedir/tagfile
              Specify  a  different file to use for package priorities (in this example, /somedir/tagfile will be used).  The default is "tagfile"
              in the package's directory.

'man command' is your friend so please use it to understand what is necessary to get success.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

dyn0myt3 · 09-21-2019, 10:20 AM

I think; from my limited knowledge; you have to run updatedb after install. i was getting similar errors.

dyn0

Firerat · 09-21-2019, 10:25 AM

updatedb?

nope

I hope they figured it out in the last few years

Jan K. · 09-21-2019, 11:27 AM

Otherwise it's back to F5...