Linux software installation

General workflow (fresh ubuntu)

  1. install ubuntu from official site & follow steps
  2. install required softwares
  3. add aliases
  4. generate ssh (and link with git)

Install methods

  • .deb file: sudo apt install ./some.deb
  • .run file
    • chmod +x file.run
    • ./file.run
  • .tar.gz (source)
    • unpack: tar -zxvf file.tar.gz
    • cd into folder, read README for specifics, usually:
      • ./configure
      • make
      • sudo make install
    • if that fails/isn’t available: copy the extracted folder to /opt/ and create a desktop entry for it

Uninstalling

  • see all installed
    • sudo apt list --installed (debian)
    • snap list
    • or list desktop entries: for app in /usr/share/applications/*.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/*.desktop; do app="${app##/*/}"; echo "${app::-8}"; done
  • search: sudo apt list --installed | grep key-word
  • remove
    • sudo apt remove package_name
    • sudo snap remove package_name
    • sudo apt purge package_name (remove completely, with settings)
    • sudo dpkg -r package_name (deb)
    • sudo dpkg -r --force-all package_name

Desktop entries

  • create appname.desktop in /usr/share/applications

eg (Postman):

[Desktop Entry]
Categories=Development;
Comment=Supercharge your API workflow
Exec="/home/ravinder/Soft/postman/Postman/app/Postman"
Icon=/home/ravinder/Soft/postman/Postman/app/icons/icon_128x128.png
Name=Postman
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Version=1.0

eg (STS):

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=sts
Comment=Spring Tool Suite
Icon=/home/pvr/sts-bundle/sts-3.8.2.RELEASE/icon.xpm
Exec=/home/pvr/sts-bundle/sts-3.8.2.RELEASE/STS
Terminal=false
Categories=Development;IDE;Java;
StartupWMClass=STS

eg (FileZilla):

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=FileZilla
Comment=File Zilla ( FTP Client )
Icon=/opt/FileZilla3/share/pixmaps/filezilla.png
Exec=/opt/FileZilla3/bin/filezilla
Terminal=false
Categories=Network;FileTransfer;

eg (needs root password, eg XAMPP):

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=XAMPP Control Panel
Comment=Start and Stop XAMPP
Exec=sudo /opt/lampp/manager-linux-x64.run
Icon=/opt/lampp/htdocs/favicon.ico
Categories=Application
Type=Application
Terminal=false
  • desktop entry folders: /usr/share/applications, /usr/local/share/applications, ~/.local/share/applications
  • installed apps folder: /opt (and many more)

Re-installing ubuntu (full checklist)

before uninstalling, back up: programs, drive content, aliases, notes folder, list of required software (chrome, dbeaver-ce, VSC, git, node&npm, jdk, postman, sts, tomcat, android-studio, remmina, any-desk, vlc, youtube-dl, filezilla, kazam, printer-driver)

steps after fresh install:

  1. install chrome
  2. update aliases
  3. apt install curl
  4. install node & npm (ref https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-install-node-js-on-ubuntu-18.04/)
    • enable repo: curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_10.x | sudo -E bash -
    • sudo apt install nodejs
    • check: node --version, npm --version
  5. sudo apt install git
  6. install VSC from app store + extensions: es7 react/graphQL snippets, gitlens, markdown preview, vetur, live server (optional), golang, svelte (optional), debugger for chrome, docker, eslint, terraform, insert unicode
  7. dbeaver-ce from app store
  8. postman from app store
  9. JDK setup
    • jdk 8: sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk, sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre, check javac -version
    • to manage more than one jdk, use update-alternatives (see software.md)
  10. download sts (eclipse) and create desktop entry (see above)
  11. VLC media player from app store
  12. apt install youtube-dl
  13. android-studio
    • download zip, extract, run studio.sh in bin folder (installs sdk to /home/ravinder/Android/Sdk or similar)
    • sudo apt-get install libc6:i386 libncurses5:i386 libstdc++6:i386 lib32z1 libbz2-1.0:i386
    • set in .bashrc: 
      export ANDROID_HOME="/home/ravinder/Android/Sdk"
export PATH="$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools"
export PATH="$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools"
alias android="/home/ravinder/Drive/soft/android-studio/android-studio-ide-191.6010548-linux/android-studio/bin/studio.sh"
    • install KVM for emulator acceleration (ref https://developer.android.com/studio/run/emulator-acceleration)
      • apt install cpu-checker
      • check: egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo (>1 means KVM installable) or kvm-ok
  14. printer drivers
    • epson L365: ref https://askubuntu.com/questions/771427/how-to-install-epson-printer-drivers-on-ubuntu-16-04
    • hp: apt install hplip