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> You can't do that with a .deb! Pretty sure you can by doing "dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb" or something like that, long time ago I used dpkg, but it sh

> You can't do that with a .deb! Pretty sure you can by doing "dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb" or something like that, long time ago I used dpkg, but it should be possible with some flag. Otherwise I agree, Flatpak is a breath of fresh air!

johnchristopher 5y ago
Where does that put the Deb files ? edit: should have written "where does dpkg put the files of the package ?" or "where does that put the Deb's files ?", sorry.
- capableweb 5y ago
  The .deb file should remain where it was when you downloaded it, dpkg just installs the contents of the .deb file.
  - johnchristopher 5y ago
    Where is the contents of the .deb files put?
    - adwn 5y ago
      Is there a point you're trying to make, or are you asking for technical information which would be better answered by man dpkg or a quick Internet search?
      - johnchristopher 5y ago
        I am not trying to make any point, I am genuinely curious where dpkg is going to put those files since its the first time I read you can dot `dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb`. For instance I always do `python3 -m pip install --user wormhole` or `pip install --user wormhole` instead of sudoing my way to permissions hell. Python apps get installed in $HOME/.local/bin, so no cruft for other users. But stuff installed with deb packages often have hard coded pathways and assumptions of where and how their files are run. So I think it's fair to ask in reply to someone implying that `dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb` is as clean/same as a flatpack behaviour "It installs only in my profile, so another user on the same machine doesn't have access. You can't do that with a .deb!"... It's fair to ask "where do those files in the deb package go ?" because if it works as implied (no pollution of the OS) I am certainly going to start testing installing things that way.
    - foxfluff 5y ago
      --root=dir Set the root directory to directory, which sets the installation directory to «dir» and the administrative directory to «dir/usr/local/var/lib/dpkg».
kirbyfan64sos 5y ago
This often doesn't really work in practice on its own at least, since packages tend to hardcode their in installation directories. (You could try using an overlayfs, but at that point it's becoming pretty cumbersome.)
- goohle 5y ago
  You can recompile package from source to support installation into `~/.local` (see `man 7 file-hierarchy`), but burden to support this will be on you, including updates, protection from malware and viruses, firewalling, and so on. For example, rust's cargo can compile and install applications into `~/.local`, but it's pain to keep them up to date, so I prefer to use same tools from my OS (Fedora) distribution repo instead.
jasode 5y ago
>Pretty sure you can by doing "dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb" or something like that, As a sibling comment already noted, using "--root" doesn't always work and a q&a mentions the problems: https://askubuntu.com/questions/28619/how-do-i-install-an-application-by-deb-file-for-a-single-user-only https://askubuntu.com/questions/28619/how-do-i-install-an-ap... https://serverfault.com/questions/23734/is-there-any-way-to-get-apt-to-install-packages-to-my-home-directory https://serverfault.com/questions/23734/is-there-any-way-to-...

johnchristopher 5y ago

Where does that put the Deb files ? edit: should have written "where does dpkg put the files of the package ?" or "where does that put the Deb's files ?", sorry.

capableweb 5y ago
The .deb file should remain where it was when you downloaded it, dpkg just installs the contents of the .deb file.
- johnchristopher 5y ago
  Where is the contents of the .deb files put?
  - adwn 5y ago
    Is there a point you're trying to make, or are you asking for technical information which would be better answered by man dpkg or a quick Internet search?
    - johnchristopher 5y ago
      I am not trying to make any point, I am genuinely curious where dpkg is going to put those files since its the first time I read you can dot `dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb`. For instance I always do `python3 -m pip install --user wormhole` or `pip install --user wormhole` instead of sudoing my way to permissions hell. Python apps get installed in $HOME/.local/bin, so no cruft for other users. But stuff installed with deb packages often have hard coded pathways and assumptions of where and how their files are run. So I think it's fair to ask in reply to someone implying that `dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb` is as clean/same as a flatpack behaviour "It installs only in my profile, so another user on the same machine doesn't have access. You can't do that with a .deb!"... It's fair to ask "where do those files in the deb package go ?" because if it works as implied (no pollution of the OS) I am certainly going to start testing installing things that way.
  - foxfluff 5y ago
    --root=dir Set the root directory to directory, which sets the installation directory to «dir» and the administrative directory to «dir/usr/local/var/lib/dpkg».

kirbyfan64sos 5y ago

This often doesn't really work in practice on its own at least, since packages tend to hardcode their in installation directories. (You could try using an overlayfs, but at that point it's becoming pretty cumbersome.)

goohle 5y ago
You can recompile package from source to support installation into `~/.local` (see `man 7 file-hierarchy`), but burden to support this will be on you, including updates, protection from malware and viruses, firewalling, and so on. For example, rust's cargo can compile and install applications into `~/.local`, but it's pain to keep them up to date, so I prefer to use same tools from my OS (Fedora) distribution repo instead.

jasode 5y ago

>Pretty sure you can by doing "dpkg --root=$HOME -i mypackage.deb" or something like that, As a sibling comment already noted, using "--root" doesn't always work and a q&a mentions the problems: https://askubuntu.com/questions/28619/how-do-i-install-an-application-by-deb-file-for-a-single-user-only https://askubuntu.com/questions/28619/how-do-i-install-an-ap... https://serverfault.com/questions/23734/is-there-any-way-to-get-apt-to-install-packages-to-my-home-directory https://serverfault.com/questions/23734/is-there-any-way-to-...