Install Bin Files in Linux

Revision as of 10:08, 8 January 2016 by Kipkis (Kipkis | contribs) (importing article from wikihow)

(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

There are two types of bin files, self extracting archives and programs you run as they are, I'll mention both...

Steps

  1. If the bin file is an installer/self-extracting archive, first download the thing and keep it somewhere safe just to avoid having to download it again.
  2. Enter the terminal.
  3. Enter Root mode, like so : su - (the hyphen is required) and provide the root password.
  4. If needed copy the bin file to its final output folder - packages like the Java Runtime Environment require this. Read the online instructions first...
  5. Change directories (folders) to the one containing the bin file, like so : cd /topmost/folder, for example cd /usr/share
  6. Give the bin file execute permissions: chmod +x thefile.bin
  7. Execute it: ./thefile.bin - the dot-slash has to be there
  8. If the bin file is the program itself, chances are the file is compressed, untar/unzip in the destination folder, Firefox comes like that.
  9. Copy the archive and unpack it in the output folder, that should produce a folder.
  10. Enter the folder, locate the program - it is a bin file, give it execute permissions if need be (see step 6).
  11. Make a starter for convenience, right-click on the desktop, select the option you need and follow the lead - an icon should appear.

Warnings

  • Be careful where you put things - an unzip could overwrite stuff you need
  • If the program needs to be run system-wide, put it in a central spot , /usr/share is a good candidate
  • If you're a system-admin, avoid that the users do this...it'll mess up the system
  • Use this as a last resort, try to stick to the repository of your distribution of linux if at all possible.

Related Articles