Into which directory should I install programs in Linux?












28















I want to install a program in Linux and run it as a daemon. (Team Speak 3 in this case, but the question is general in nature). There is no package provided, only tarred binaries.
Where in directory structure should I put such a program by convention?



On the web I found that /opt is for "optional addon apps", while /usr is for "user programs".
I found one tutorial suggesting /opt while the other sugested /usr.



So which one is "more correct"?










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.

    – Leiaz
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:31













  • Thank you Leiaz. Your comment helped me to find the answer (askubuntu.com/questions/1148/…). So I guess it should be /opt in my case (Using Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu) and the application is using a single folder. If you convert your comment into an answer, I will accept it.

    – Eiver
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:41
















28















I want to install a program in Linux and run it as a daemon. (Team Speak 3 in this case, but the question is general in nature). There is no package provided, only tarred binaries.
Where in directory structure should I put such a program by convention?



On the web I found that /opt is for "optional addon apps", while /usr is for "user programs".
I found one tutorial suggesting /opt while the other sugested /usr.



So which one is "more correct"?










share|improve this question




















  • 1





    The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.

    – Leiaz
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:31













  • Thank you Leiaz. Your comment helped me to find the answer (askubuntu.com/questions/1148/…). So I guess it should be /opt in my case (Using Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu) and the application is using a single folder. If you convert your comment into an answer, I will accept it.

    – Eiver
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:41














28












28








28


10






I want to install a program in Linux and run it as a daemon. (Team Speak 3 in this case, but the question is general in nature). There is no package provided, only tarred binaries.
Where in directory structure should I put such a program by convention?



On the web I found that /opt is for "optional addon apps", while /usr is for "user programs".
I found one tutorial suggesting /opt while the other sugested /usr.



So which one is "more correct"?










share|improve this question
















I want to install a program in Linux and run it as a daemon. (Team Speak 3 in this case, but the question is general in nature). There is no package provided, only tarred binaries.
Where in directory structure should I put such a program by convention?



On the web I found that /opt is for "optional addon apps", while /usr is for "user programs".
I found one tutorial suggesting /opt while the other sugested /usr.



So which one is "more correct"?







software-installation directory-structure






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Apr 29 '14 at 23:18









Gilles

537k12810881605




537k12810881605










asked Apr 29 '14 at 11:09









EiverEiver

265139




265139








  • 1





    The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.

    – Leiaz
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:31













  • Thank you Leiaz. Your comment helped me to find the answer (askubuntu.com/questions/1148/…). So I guess it should be /opt in my case (Using Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu) and the application is using a single folder. If you convert your comment into an answer, I will accept it.

    – Eiver
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:41














  • 1





    The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.

    – Leiaz
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:31













  • Thank you Leiaz. Your comment helped me to find the answer (askubuntu.com/questions/1148/…). So I guess it should be /opt in my case (Using Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu) and the application is using a single folder. If you convert your comment into an answer, I will accept it.

    – Eiver
    Apr 29 '14 at 11:41








1




1





The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.

– Leiaz
Apr 29 '14 at 11:31







The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.

– Leiaz
Apr 29 '14 at 11:31















Thank you Leiaz. Your comment helped me to find the answer (askubuntu.com/questions/1148/…). So I guess it should be /opt in my case (Using Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu) and the application is using a single folder. If you convert your comment into an answer, I will accept it.

– Eiver
Apr 29 '14 at 11:41





Thank you Leiaz. Your comment helped me to find the answer (askubuntu.com/questions/1148/…). So I guess it should be /opt in my case (Using Linux Mint, which is based on Ubuntu) and the application is using a single folder. If you convert your comment into an answer, I will accept it.

– Eiver
Apr 29 '14 at 11:41










6 Answers
6






active

oldest

votes


















19














The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.



As you said TeamSpeak just put everything in one folder (and may not be easy to reorganise), yes /opt/ is probably best.



(But, for instance, in Archlinux, the package manager can install there, so I'd still make a PKGBUILD to install in /opt.)



Also distributions usually try to follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, so this is where to look for more generic convention.






share|improve this answer


























  • is there some alias to know where are located each directory by usage? (for example, where to put root configurations, where to put binaries, dependencies, templates...)

    – Sandburg
    Feb 5 at 11:09



















5














The Linux Standard Base and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard are arguably the standards of where and how you should install software on a Linux system and would suggest placing software that isn't included in your distribution either in /opt or /usr/local/ or rather subdirectories therein (/opt/<package> /opt/<provider> /usr/local/bin).



Best practice is to convert software you download to a installable software package native to your distribution, for instance dpkg or rpm formats. That will facilitate reporting, upgrading and cleanly removing the software.






share|improve this answer


























  • This pretty much just re-states the question rather than answering it. The OP was aware that /opt and /usr/local/ were the two available options but wanted specific information on which one of those options to use. This could be a valid answer if it instead made a claim that the two locations are interchangeable (although I would dispute that it would be a correct answer in such case).

    – JBentley
    2 days ago



















4














If you will be compiling your own software then you ultimately control the installation location. By convention, software compiled and installed manually (not through a package manager, e.g apt, yum, pacman) is installed in /usr/local. Some packages (programs) will create a sub-directory within /usr/local to store all of their relevant files in, such as /usr/local/openssl. Other packages will install their necessary files into existing directories such as /usr/local/sbin and /usr/local/etc. These are simply default locations and can be changed during compilation.



When you are compiling software, the installation location can be specified by using the --prefix= option when running ./configure. It is highly recommended that you look at all of the available options for your package by running $ ./configure --help | less. Additionally, browsing the INSTALL and README documents provided with your package is a good idea. They tend to include installation instructions and dependency information that is specific to the package.



It should also be noted that although you can store software anywhere, according to the FHS, source code for locally installed software should be stored in /usr/local/src Standardizing where you store your source trees will allow you to easily locate a tree if you need to copy a stock configuration file or binary. Even though some packages use it, your source code should not be stored in /usr/src as that is designated for system software such as the kernel.



Finally, you need to ensure that your installation location is included in your $PATH. If you decide to install your package in /opt but it's not in your $PATH your shell won't find the executables and you will have to use the absolute path to invoke your programs. Here are some great discussions from AU about configuring your $PATH



Additional reading: man hier






share|improve this answer

































    1














    Binaries go in the bin folder by common conventions, how you would organize your package structure is up to you, I can think of /opt/<prog_name>/ if it is just a list of binaries.






    share|improve this answer


























    • I am afraid that Team Speak 3 guys made the program in such a way that everything it needs sits just in one folder (binaries,config files, logs), so It doesn't use /bin or /etc or /var/log

      – Eiver
      Apr 29 '14 at 11:36



















    1














    I had the same question while installing Eclipse via the Eclipse installer.



    I noticed that Gimp, Perl and Vim are installed in the /usr/share folder and decided to install it there.






    share|improve this answer

































      0














      There are two ways programs can be installed, depending on how they are packed.




      1. Via the software manager (apt, synaptic, Gdebi etc.) – the program is in a form of package, usually .deb or rpm. Software managers in most cases handles dependencies and will install binaries usually into /usr/bin, config files into /etc and so on. They may also create a config file for the program in your home, usually ~/.foo. If you can edit this file, you can also easily change settings for your session this way. When you remove the package, the manager will find all the files and cleanly remove them (it stored all the locations in a special text file). But it may preserve some config files, for example the one in your home folder.


      2. You download a program (usually compressed) in a form of pre-compiled binary files for your architecture. The executable file of the program is usually in a single folder next to other files (dynamically linked libraries etc.) This whole folder can be copied, with root privileges, either to /opt or /usr/bin and could, if permissions allow, be used by any user. I myself put the folders with binary files into my home folder to ~/bin. Now you should be able to run the program by invoking its bin file.







      share|improve this answer

























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        6 Answers
        6






        active

        oldest

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        6 Answers
        6






        active

        oldest

        votes









        active

        oldest

        votes






        active

        oldest

        votes









        19














        The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.



        As you said TeamSpeak just put everything in one folder (and may not be easy to reorganise), yes /opt/ is probably best.



        (But, for instance, in Archlinux, the package manager can install there, so I'd still make a PKGBUILD to install in /opt.)



        Also distributions usually try to follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, so this is where to look for more generic convention.






        share|improve this answer


























        • is there some alias to know where are located each directory by usage? (for example, where to put root configurations, where to put binaries, dependencies, templates...)

          – Sandburg
          Feb 5 at 11:09
















        19














        The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.



        As you said TeamSpeak just put everything in one folder (and may not be easy to reorganise), yes /opt/ is probably best.



        (But, for instance, in Archlinux, the package manager can install there, so I'd still make a PKGBUILD to install in /opt.)



        Also distributions usually try to follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, so this is where to look for more generic convention.






        share|improve this answer


























        • is there some alias to know where are located each directory by usage? (for example, where to put root configurations, where to put binaries, dependencies, templates...)

          – Sandburg
          Feb 5 at 11:09














        19












        19








        19







        The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.



        As you said TeamSpeak just put everything in one folder (and may not be easy to reorganise), yes /opt/ is probably best.



        (But, for instance, in Archlinux, the package manager can install there, so I'd still make a PKGBUILD to install in /opt.)



        Also distributions usually try to follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, so this is where to look for more generic convention.






        share|improve this answer















        The "more correct" depends on your distribution. You should check your distribution's guidelines on where to put software that isn't managed by the package manager (often /usr/local) OR on how to create your own package for it.



        As you said TeamSpeak just put everything in one folder (and may not be easy to reorganise), yes /opt/ is probably best.



        (But, for instance, in Archlinux, the package manager can install there, so I'd still make a PKGBUILD to install in /opt.)



        Also distributions usually try to follow the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, so this is where to look for more generic convention.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited Apr 29 '14 at 12:11

























        answered Apr 29 '14 at 11:55









        LeiazLeiaz

        2,4341614




        2,4341614













        • is there some alias to know where are located each directory by usage? (for example, where to put root configurations, where to put binaries, dependencies, templates...)

          – Sandburg
          Feb 5 at 11:09



















        • is there some alias to know where are located each directory by usage? (for example, where to put root configurations, where to put binaries, dependencies, templates...)

          – Sandburg
          Feb 5 at 11:09

















        is there some alias to know where are located each directory by usage? (for example, where to put root configurations, where to put binaries, dependencies, templates...)

        – Sandburg
        Feb 5 at 11:09





        is there some alias to know where are located each directory by usage? (for example, where to put root configurations, where to put binaries, dependencies, templates...)

        – Sandburg
        Feb 5 at 11:09













        5














        The Linux Standard Base and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard are arguably the standards of where and how you should install software on a Linux system and would suggest placing software that isn't included in your distribution either in /opt or /usr/local/ or rather subdirectories therein (/opt/<package> /opt/<provider> /usr/local/bin).



        Best practice is to convert software you download to a installable software package native to your distribution, for instance dpkg or rpm formats. That will facilitate reporting, upgrading and cleanly removing the software.






        share|improve this answer


























        • This pretty much just re-states the question rather than answering it. The OP was aware that /opt and /usr/local/ were the two available options but wanted specific information on which one of those options to use. This could be a valid answer if it instead made a claim that the two locations are interchangeable (although I would dispute that it would be a correct answer in such case).

          – JBentley
          2 days ago
















        5














        The Linux Standard Base and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard are arguably the standards of where and how you should install software on a Linux system and would suggest placing software that isn't included in your distribution either in /opt or /usr/local/ or rather subdirectories therein (/opt/<package> /opt/<provider> /usr/local/bin).



        Best practice is to convert software you download to a installable software package native to your distribution, for instance dpkg or rpm formats. That will facilitate reporting, upgrading and cleanly removing the software.






        share|improve this answer


























        • This pretty much just re-states the question rather than answering it. The OP was aware that /opt and /usr/local/ were the two available options but wanted specific information on which one of those options to use. This could be a valid answer if it instead made a claim that the two locations are interchangeable (although I would dispute that it would be a correct answer in such case).

          – JBentley
          2 days ago














        5












        5








        5







        The Linux Standard Base and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard are arguably the standards of where and how you should install software on a Linux system and would suggest placing software that isn't included in your distribution either in /opt or /usr/local/ or rather subdirectories therein (/opt/<package> /opt/<provider> /usr/local/bin).



        Best practice is to convert software you download to a installable software package native to your distribution, for instance dpkg or rpm formats. That will facilitate reporting, upgrading and cleanly removing the software.






        share|improve this answer















        The Linux Standard Base and the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard are arguably the standards of where and how you should install software on a Linux system and would suggest placing software that isn't included in your distribution either in /opt or /usr/local/ or rather subdirectories therein (/opt/<package> /opt/<provider> /usr/local/bin).



        Best practice is to convert software you download to a installable software package native to your distribution, for instance dpkg or rpm formats. That will facilitate reporting, upgrading and cleanly removing the software.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited Apr 29 '14 at 23:39









        Faheem Mitha

        23k1881136




        23k1881136










        answered Apr 29 '14 at 12:13









        HBruijnHBruijn

        5,5861525




        5,5861525













        • This pretty much just re-states the question rather than answering it. The OP was aware that /opt and /usr/local/ were the two available options but wanted specific information on which one of those options to use. This could be a valid answer if it instead made a claim that the two locations are interchangeable (although I would dispute that it would be a correct answer in such case).

          – JBentley
          2 days ago



















        • This pretty much just re-states the question rather than answering it. The OP was aware that /opt and /usr/local/ were the two available options but wanted specific information on which one of those options to use. This could be a valid answer if it instead made a claim that the two locations are interchangeable (although I would dispute that it would be a correct answer in such case).

          – JBentley
          2 days ago

















        This pretty much just re-states the question rather than answering it. The OP was aware that /opt and /usr/local/ were the two available options but wanted specific information on which one of those options to use. This could be a valid answer if it instead made a claim that the two locations are interchangeable (although I would dispute that it would be a correct answer in such case).

        – JBentley
        2 days ago





        This pretty much just re-states the question rather than answering it. The OP was aware that /opt and /usr/local/ were the two available options but wanted specific information on which one of those options to use. This could be a valid answer if it instead made a claim that the two locations are interchangeable (although I would dispute that it would be a correct answer in such case).

        – JBentley
        2 days ago











        4














        If you will be compiling your own software then you ultimately control the installation location. By convention, software compiled and installed manually (not through a package manager, e.g apt, yum, pacman) is installed in /usr/local. Some packages (programs) will create a sub-directory within /usr/local to store all of their relevant files in, such as /usr/local/openssl. Other packages will install their necessary files into existing directories such as /usr/local/sbin and /usr/local/etc. These are simply default locations and can be changed during compilation.



        When you are compiling software, the installation location can be specified by using the --prefix= option when running ./configure. It is highly recommended that you look at all of the available options for your package by running $ ./configure --help | less. Additionally, browsing the INSTALL and README documents provided with your package is a good idea. They tend to include installation instructions and dependency information that is specific to the package.



        It should also be noted that although you can store software anywhere, according to the FHS, source code for locally installed software should be stored in /usr/local/src Standardizing where you store your source trees will allow you to easily locate a tree if you need to copy a stock configuration file or binary. Even though some packages use it, your source code should not be stored in /usr/src as that is designated for system software such as the kernel.



        Finally, you need to ensure that your installation location is included in your $PATH. If you decide to install your package in /opt but it's not in your $PATH your shell won't find the executables and you will have to use the absolute path to invoke your programs. Here are some great discussions from AU about configuring your $PATH



        Additional reading: man hier






        share|improve this answer






























          4














          If you will be compiling your own software then you ultimately control the installation location. By convention, software compiled and installed manually (not through a package manager, e.g apt, yum, pacman) is installed in /usr/local. Some packages (programs) will create a sub-directory within /usr/local to store all of their relevant files in, such as /usr/local/openssl. Other packages will install their necessary files into existing directories such as /usr/local/sbin and /usr/local/etc. These are simply default locations and can be changed during compilation.



          When you are compiling software, the installation location can be specified by using the --prefix= option when running ./configure. It is highly recommended that you look at all of the available options for your package by running $ ./configure --help | less. Additionally, browsing the INSTALL and README documents provided with your package is a good idea. They tend to include installation instructions and dependency information that is specific to the package.



          It should also be noted that although you can store software anywhere, according to the FHS, source code for locally installed software should be stored in /usr/local/src Standardizing where you store your source trees will allow you to easily locate a tree if you need to copy a stock configuration file or binary. Even though some packages use it, your source code should not be stored in /usr/src as that is designated for system software such as the kernel.



          Finally, you need to ensure that your installation location is included in your $PATH. If you decide to install your package in /opt but it's not in your $PATH your shell won't find the executables and you will have to use the absolute path to invoke your programs. Here are some great discussions from AU about configuring your $PATH



          Additional reading: man hier






          share|improve this answer




























            4












            4








            4







            If you will be compiling your own software then you ultimately control the installation location. By convention, software compiled and installed manually (not through a package manager, e.g apt, yum, pacman) is installed in /usr/local. Some packages (programs) will create a sub-directory within /usr/local to store all of their relevant files in, such as /usr/local/openssl. Other packages will install their necessary files into existing directories such as /usr/local/sbin and /usr/local/etc. These are simply default locations and can be changed during compilation.



            When you are compiling software, the installation location can be specified by using the --prefix= option when running ./configure. It is highly recommended that you look at all of the available options for your package by running $ ./configure --help | less. Additionally, browsing the INSTALL and README documents provided with your package is a good idea. They tend to include installation instructions and dependency information that is specific to the package.



            It should also be noted that although you can store software anywhere, according to the FHS, source code for locally installed software should be stored in /usr/local/src Standardizing where you store your source trees will allow you to easily locate a tree if you need to copy a stock configuration file or binary. Even though some packages use it, your source code should not be stored in /usr/src as that is designated for system software such as the kernel.



            Finally, you need to ensure that your installation location is included in your $PATH. If you decide to install your package in /opt but it's not in your $PATH your shell won't find the executables and you will have to use the absolute path to invoke your programs. Here are some great discussions from AU about configuring your $PATH



            Additional reading: man hier






            share|improve this answer















            If you will be compiling your own software then you ultimately control the installation location. By convention, software compiled and installed manually (not through a package manager, e.g apt, yum, pacman) is installed in /usr/local. Some packages (programs) will create a sub-directory within /usr/local to store all of their relevant files in, such as /usr/local/openssl. Other packages will install their necessary files into existing directories such as /usr/local/sbin and /usr/local/etc. These are simply default locations and can be changed during compilation.



            When you are compiling software, the installation location can be specified by using the --prefix= option when running ./configure. It is highly recommended that you look at all of the available options for your package by running $ ./configure --help | less. Additionally, browsing the INSTALL and README documents provided with your package is a good idea. They tend to include installation instructions and dependency information that is specific to the package.



            It should also be noted that although you can store software anywhere, according to the FHS, source code for locally installed software should be stored in /usr/local/src Standardizing where you store your source trees will allow you to easily locate a tree if you need to copy a stock configuration file or binary. Even though some packages use it, your source code should not be stored in /usr/src as that is designated for system software such as the kernel.



            Finally, you need to ensure that your installation location is included in your $PATH. If you decide to install your package in /opt but it's not in your $PATH your shell won't find the executables and you will have to use the absolute path to invoke your programs. Here are some great discussions from AU about configuring your $PATH



            Additional reading: man hier







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:22









            Community

            1




            1










            answered Apr 29 '14 at 14:49









            CreekCreek

            3,74611229




            3,74611229























                1














                Binaries go in the bin folder by common conventions, how you would organize your package structure is up to you, I can think of /opt/<prog_name>/ if it is just a list of binaries.






                share|improve this answer


























                • I am afraid that Team Speak 3 guys made the program in such a way that everything it needs sits just in one folder (binaries,config files, logs), so It doesn't use /bin or /etc or /var/log

                  – Eiver
                  Apr 29 '14 at 11:36
















                1














                Binaries go in the bin folder by common conventions, how you would organize your package structure is up to you, I can think of /opt/<prog_name>/ if it is just a list of binaries.






                share|improve this answer


























                • I am afraid that Team Speak 3 guys made the program in such a way that everything it needs sits just in one folder (binaries,config files, logs), so It doesn't use /bin or /etc or /var/log

                  – Eiver
                  Apr 29 '14 at 11:36














                1












                1








                1







                Binaries go in the bin folder by common conventions, how you would organize your package structure is up to you, I can think of /opt/<prog_name>/ if it is just a list of binaries.






                share|improve this answer















                Binaries go in the bin folder by common conventions, how you would organize your package structure is up to you, I can think of /opt/<prog_name>/ if it is just a list of binaries.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited Apr 29 '14 at 12:12









                Raphael Ahrens

                7,02152846




                7,02152846










                answered Apr 29 '14 at 11:14









                bbsanembbsanem

                112




                112













                • I am afraid that Team Speak 3 guys made the program in such a way that everything it needs sits just in one folder (binaries,config files, logs), so It doesn't use /bin or /etc or /var/log

                  – Eiver
                  Apr 29 '14 at 11:36



















                • I am afraid that Team Speak 3 guys made the program in such a way that everything it needs sits just in one folder (binaries,config files, logs), so It doesn't use /bin or /etc or /var/log

                  – Eiver
                  Apr 29 '14 at 11:36

















                I am afraid that Team Speak 3 guys made the program in such a way that everything it needs sits just in one folder (binaries,config files, logs), so It doesn't use /bin or /etc or /var/log

                – Eiver
                Apr 29 '14 at 11:36





                I am afraid that Team Speak 3 guys made the program in such a way that everything it needs sits just in one folder (binaries,config files, logs), so It doesn't use /bin or /etc or /var/log

                – Eiver
                Apr 29 '14 at 11:36











                1














                I had the same question while installing Eclipse via the Eclipse installer.



                I noticed that Gimp, Perl and Vim are installed in the /usr/share folder and decided to install it there.






                share|improve this answer






























                  1














                  I had the same question while installing Eclipse via the Eclipse installer.



                  I noticed that Gimp, Perl and Vim are installed in the /usr/share folder and decided to install it there.






                  share|improve this answer




























                    1












                    1








                    1







                    I had the same question while installing Eclipse via the Eclipse installer.



                    I noticed that Gimp, Perl and Vim are installed in the /usr/share folder and decided to install it there.






                    share|improve this answer















                    I had the same question while installing Eclipse via the Eclipse installer.



                    I noticed that Gimp, Perl and Vim are installed in the /usr/share folder and decided to install it there.







                    share|improve this answer














                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer








                    edited Feb 5 at 11:56









                    Sandburg

                    8710




                    8710










                    answered Apr 3 '16 at 17:58









                    senpaisenpai

                    111




                    111























                        0














                        There are two ways programs can be installed, depending on how they are packed.




                        1. Via the software manager (apt, synaptic, Gdebi etc.) – the program is in a form of package, usually .deb or rpm. Software managers in most cases handles dependencies and will install binaries usually into /usr/bin, config files into /etc and so on. They may also create a config file for the program in your home, usually ~/.foo. If you can edit this file, you can also easily change settings for your session this way. When you remove the package, the manager will find all the files and cleanly remove them (it stored all the locations in a special text file). But it may preserve some config files, for example the one in your home folder.


                        2. You download a program (usually compressed) in a form of pre-compiled binary files for your architecture. The executable file of the program is usually in a single folder next to other files (dynamically linked libraries etc.) This whole folder can be copied, with root privileges, either to /opt or /usr/bin and could, if permissions allow, be used by any user. I myself put the folders with binary files into my home folder to ~/bin. Now you should be able to run the program by invoking its bin file.







                        share|improve this answer






























                          0














                          There are two ways programs can be installed, depending on how they are packed.




                          1. Via the software manager (apt, synaptic, Gdebi etc.) – the program is in a form of package, usually .deb or rpm. Software managers in most cases handles dependencies and will install binaries usually into /usr/bin, config files into /etc and so on. They may also create a config file for the program in your home, usually ~/.foo. If you can edit this file, you can also easily change settings for your session this way. When you remove the package, the manager will find all the files and cleanly remove them (it stored all the locations in a special text file). But it may preserve some config files, for example the one in your home folder.


                          2. You download a program (usually compressed) in a form of pre-compiled binary files for your architecture. The executable file of the program is usually in a single folder next to other files (dynamically linked libraries etc.) This whole folder can be copied, with root privileges, either to /opt or /usr/bin and could, if permissions allow, be used by any user. I myself put the folders with binary files into my home folder to ~/bin. Now you should be able to run the program by invoking its bin file.







                          share|improve this answer




























                            0












                            0








                            0







                            There are two ways programs can be installed, depending on how they are packed.




                            1. Via the software manager (apt, synaptic, Gdebi etc.) – the program is in a form of package, usually .deb or rpm. Software managers in most cases handles dependencies and will install binaries usually into /usr/bin, config files into /etc and so on. They may also create a config file for the program in your home, usually ~/.foo. If you can edit this file, you can also easily change settings for your session this way. When you remove the package, the manager will find all the files and cleanly remove them (it stored all the locations in a special text file). But it may preserve some config files, for example the one in your home folder.


                            2. You download a program (usually compressed) in a form of pre-compiled binary files for your architecture. The executable file of the program is usually in a single folder next to other files (dynamically linked libraries etc.) This whole folder can be copied, with root privileges, either to /opt or /usr/bin and could, if permissions allow, be used by any user. I myself put the folders with binary files into my home folder to ~/bin. Now you should be able to run the program by invoking its bin file.







                            share|improve this answer















                            There are two ways programs can be installed, depending on how they are packed.




                            1. Via the software manager (apt, synaptic, Gdebi etc.) – the program is in a form of package, usually .deb or rpm. Software managers in most cases handles dependencies and will install binaries usually into /usr/bin, config files into /etc and so on. They may also create a config file for the program in your home, usually ~/.foo. If you can edit this file, you can also easily change settings for your session this way. When you remove the package, the manager will find all the files and cleanly remove them (it stored all the locations in a special text file). But it may preserve some config files, for example the one in your home folder.


                            2. You download a program (usually compressed) in a form of pre-compiled binary files for your architecture. The executable file of the program is usually in a single folder next to other files (dynamically linked libraries etc.) This whole folder can be copied, with root privileges, either to /opt or /usr/bin and could, if permissions allow, be used by any user. I myself put the folders with binary files into my home folder to ~/bin. Now you should be able to run the program by invoking its bin file.








                            share|improve this answer














                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer








                            edited Nov 4 '16 at 4:23









                            techraf

                            4,213102141




                            4,213102141










                            answered Nov 4 '16 at 3:51









                            Štěpán DoanŠtěpán Doan

                            11




                            11






























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