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I basically don't let anything but the package manager touch /usr. Too many mysteriously issues in systems that had gotten screwed up. It's extremely rare that
by rcxdude 6y ago
I basically don't let anything but the package manager touch /usr. Too many mysteriously issues in systems that had gotten screwed up. It's extremely rare that it's necessary for any project: if you need to build and install some other project you can generally just install in a directory dedicated to any single codebase you may be working (with appropriate PATH adjustments which can be sources from a shell script so they are isolated from the rest of the system). I really dislike tutorials and guides which encourage just blindly installing stuff into system managed areas but it's rife.
- zozbot234 6y ago> I basically don't let anything but the package manager touch /usr. That's the standard approach. Custom system-wide packages (as opposed to packages that are only installed for one user) should go in /usr/local/ or in a package-specific directory under /opt/.
- quietbritishjim 6y agoThe comment you're replying to is a bit ambiguous. Did they mean don't put anything directly in /usr (i.e. except /usr/local)? Or did they mean don't put anything anywhere under /usr? Both are consistent with my comment. Personally, I stopped using even /usr/local (or /opt) many years ago. If it's not managed by the operating system then it goes in my home directory (except a few things in /etc that have to go there).
- rcxdude 6y agoExactly. Stuff in /usr/local is very capable of messing with other parts of the system (plus it munges everything not package managed together, which is even worse).