Ask Ubuntu General Room

Q: Set environment variable for all login scenarios

10:11 AM

0

I'm using Microsoft's dotnet in linux (ubuntu), and it has dial-home telemetry. I want to disable it, and the instructions say: The .NET Core tools collect usage data in order to help us improve your experience. The data is anonymous and doesn't include command-line arguments. The data is collec...

linux bash ubuntu environment-variables login

David Foerster

11:18 AM

25k! WHOOHOOO!

10

@DavidFoerster Grats David, every single one is well deserved :)

11:46 AM

what does this command do mkdir ~/.npm-global

create a hidden directory npm-global but where ?

@DavidFoerster congrats!

@user716691 in your home directory, the one shown by echo ~, with the format /home/YOURUSERNAME

@dessert oh thanks but suppose if I want to create a directory at root then what should I type

@user716691 then you should do e.g. sudo mkdir /.npm-global

@dessert ok thanks , I already have a directory but its not hidden ,can i make it hidden directly or do i need to delete it and then create a new hidden directory of same name ?

however, as you can see by the sudo, creating a directory there is nothing a user normally needs to do or should do without knowing what they do

you can do mv your_non_hidden_directory .your_now_hidden_directory

11:52 AM

actually installing node ,going through the steps given here : docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/fixing-npm-permissions

the problem is i need a hidden directory of same name

.npm-global

i have a npm-global directory in my home folder

following steps i need to follow :

Make a directory for global installations:

mkdir ~/.npm-global
Configure npm to use the new directory path:

npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
Open or create a ~/.profile file and add this line:

export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
Back on the command line, update your system variables:

source ~/.profile

then why do that in /? it seems like a good idea to install under ~/…

@dessert yeah ,i just asked for curiosity but actually intended to install it in home so ,need to know how to make a regular directory already existing into a hidden one

so you have a directory npm-global and want to rename it to .npm-global? that’d be:

mv npm-global .npm-global

assuming you’re working in your home directory, else first change to there with cd ~

@dessert but as I know mv is used to move a directory ,is it also for renaming it ?

or give absolute paths: mv ~/npm-global ~/.npm-global

12:01 PM

??

@user716691 there’s actually no moving if you stay in the same filesystem, it’s all renaming :)

@dessert oh thanks i didn'

so yes, mv also renames

t know this before

@dessert oh ok thanks i didn't know it before

:)

happy to help :)

12:04 PM

@dessert but further have a query why it is suggested to have a hidden directory ,i mean why not a normal one ?

can you suggest any reason ?

@user716691 that’s just because you don’t really need to alter this directory directly any more once the installation is done, so why see it every time you open your file browser?

Q: How to install heirloom-mailx on Ubuntu 14.04

0

I want to install heirloom-mailx on Ubuntu 14.04 My current /etc/apt/sources.list reads like this deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty main restricted deb-src http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty main restricted deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty-updates main restricte...

ubuntu apt mailx

the same with the .config directory: it’s a good thing to store config data in your home directory, but you don’t need and presumably don’t want to see it

you can very well use a normal, un-hidden directory as well if you want, hiding it is just a convenience thing

ok got it .now the next step given is Configure npm to use the new directory path:

npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'

which can be done simply by giving upper command

then it says Open or create a ~/.profile file and add this line:

export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH

i don't know how to open a file and change something into it .

should i just use cd command and go into suggested dir

like cd .profile ?

??

Benny

it's easy to do it, simple open terminal and type

gedit ~/.profile

then edit, close, reboot. done.

12:16 PM

@Benny oh great thanks !

:)

@Benny i have a question i have installed my nodejs/npm at /opt/node-v8.11.2-linux-x64

what is suggested For many POSIX systems, this will be /usr/local.

DANGER: If the path is just /usr, change the default folder to a new one as described in the npm documentation.

so want to know should i continue with /opt/node-v8.11.2-linux-x64 or should i move it at /usr/local/ as given ?

which would be more apt

?

@dessert need your suggestions too here

Benny

it's ok /usr/local is in your PATH, just try to put it and see the results

TBH, I’d just follow the instructions…

ok

when i tried to use this command :

mv ~/opt/node-v8.11.2-linux-x64 ~/usr/local

it says no such directory exist so should i use

mv /opt/node-v8.11.2-linux-x64 /usr/local

??

@dessert please suggest

@Benny plz suggest

12:36 PM

Well did you install in ~/opt/… or /opt/…? That’s not the same!

the instructions talk about your root directory /, not your home directory ~/!

after giving command :

npm config get prefix

it says this :

/opt/node-v8.11.2-linux-x64

well why move it then?

so it seems its in root ,hope i am not wrong

it is indeed :)

means ,as par as its given it suppose to be at /usr/local rather /opt/??

i am getting confused here

@dessert isn't it ?

12:39 PM

could you provide a link to the instructions please?

generally, never touch a running system ;P

here are the instructions :

https://docs.npmjs.com/getting-started/fixing-npm-permissions

or otherwise i am stating everything here by copying ,just give me a sec

To minimize the chance of permissions errors, you can configure npm to use a different directory. In this example, it will be a hidden directory on your home folder.

Back-up your computer before you start.

Make a directory for global installations:

mkdir ~/.npm-global
Configure npm to use the new directory path:

npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
Open or create a ~/.profile file and add this line:

export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH
Back on the command line, update your system variables:

read that, but it doesn’t talk about /opt/ or /usr/local/ – or am I missing something?

the link was referred through another page which states the following :

Configuring npm
You will need to do this if you get a permission error when you try to install npm modules. If you don't have permission errors, then skip this configuration. You can come back to it and configure later.

Locate the path to npm's directory. It might differ depending on the OS. Execute the command below to find your path:

npm config get prefix
For many POSIX systems, this will be /usr/local.

DANGER: If the path is just /usr, change the default folder to a new one as described in the npm documentation.

here the npm documentation is actually a hyperlink referring to the upper instructions page as I said earlier

if you want it the apt way, install it using apt:

sudo apt install npm

problem solved :)

Hello guys,

12:44 PM

wow, it’s crowded in here today

hi :)

@dessert haha i know it sound easy but then you don't learn a lot , i prefer to install it on my own rather a third party package installation ,so i need your help here :(

I'm running a server, which I use as a host for a guest ubuntu 12 virtual machine. The memory of the guest was too small, so now I tried to increase the size

Hi Mitchell

@user716691 it doesn’t say you should move anything, or does it?

Now the VDI it's running on is 800 gb instead of the initial 200. I'm not sure how to proceed from there. If I log into the guest, it still thinks it's only 200gb.

12:46 PM

i think /opt/ is just fine :)

lsblk shows me that dva is still the original 200gb

@dessert what it suggest that it should be there at usr/local and i have it at /opt/ so want to move it from /opt/ to /usr/local

I though it was because the newly added 600gb was unallocated, I tried to use cfdisk, but it still shows the original 200gb only. Any thoughts?

@user716691 what makes you think that? this “many POSIX systems” thingy? well, it says nothing more than that…

~ Now all in one go~
Hello guys,
I'm running a server, which I use as a host for a guest ubuntu 12 virtual machine. The memory of the guest was too small, so now I tried to increase the size.
Now the VDI it's running on is 800 gb instead of the initial 200. I'm not sure how to proceed from there. If I log into the guest, it still thinks it's only 200gb.
lsblk shows me that dva is still the original 200gb.
I though it was because the newly added 600gb was unallocated, I tried to use cfdisk, but it still shows the original 200gb only. Any thoughts?

12:48 PM

don’t move directories around randomly in your root directory and expect your system not to break :)

Benny

@user716691, Hey, sorry, I am at work now and can't help so much.

oh ok , well i got your point ,and simultaneously i searched about the difference between /opt/ and /usr/local and i got this link :
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/11544/what-is-the-difference-between-opt-and-usr-local

where somebody said that /usr/local, for self, inhouse, compiled and maintained software. /opt is for non-self, external, prepackaged binary/application bundle installation area.

so i feel /opt is good enough to have node/npm no need to move it to /usr/local right ?

as it certainly unbundled means not part of OS

@MitchellvanZuylen you need to partition and format the drive after growing it. If you had not booted from it you can also grow the first partition. Both is best be done from gparted running a live system in the VM. Make a backup/snapshot before you start!

@Benny no problem , @dessert is available and helping me ,still thanks :)

@MitchellvanZuylen I’m not ignoring you, I just don’t know how to help you. ;)

12:54 PM

@dessert: too bad because I am at work too - this means very little to no time ;)

well I’m at (home office) work too

just that me being here means insufficient self control in my case :(

@dessert np, thanks anyway!

here it is a real office with many co-workers and a boss who may pop in any time. Me dead quiet then

@Takkat Thanks. Just to make sure I understand, I should run gparted from the guest, and not the host, right?

@user716691 right.

12:58 PM

Okay, I'll give that a try. Thanks!

@MitchellvanZuylen you run it in VBox from a live ISO mounted to your VM - then you can "see" your VDI

bit of letter shuffling here

@Takkat do you work with natural and/or computer languages?

@MitchellvanZuylen you can check this post of mine ,may be it can help

https://askubuntu.com/questions/938910/how-to-resize-root-to-increase-home-partition-size-in-ubuntu-16-04-with-gparted

@dessert oh thank you so much :) you are a great help :)

@dessert I take them all :D - no it is natural here at work.. Computer is only a tool.

@user716691 you’re welcome :)

1:01 PM

@Takkat @user716691 Thanks! If I do this, what happens to data currently on the disk?
E.g. it had 200gb of data, I increased the dvi to 800. If I use parted, does that retain the original 200gb of data?

Just checking before I accidentally delete all my data haha

@MitchellvanZuylen good thinking ;)

Fabby would say: Backup thrice before proceeding!

@MitchellvanZuylen well its recommended that you should back up your data but in my case when i did same i didn't backed it up and my data was safe but still would recommend to have a back up :)

@MitchellvanZuylen snapshot/Backup!!!

I think you got the picture. ;)

Cool, thanks guys! Installing gparted now.

1:04 PM

good luck :)

It's extra 'fun' since I only got terminal access to my guest (and host actually..) and all the guides are for the GUI's haha

admin@ubuntu12:/$ sudo gparted

(gpartedbin:2570): Gtk-WARNING **: cannot open display:

Lol, I guess I'll enable RDP

@MitchellvanZuylen gotta love man

Why again are you using an EOL version of Ubuntu?

or are you one of the exclusive “customers”? ubuntu.com/info/release-end-of-life

Using some old github repo, created for Ubuntu 12 with lotsa dependency. I tried getting it to run on newer versions but no avail

hi there, came from the stackoverflow question "Copy and paste doesn't work in the terminal" to this chat

@PiMathCLanguage well welcome then!

1:09 PM

@PiMathCLanguage it does work as I know

mhhh because I have still this problem, I am using Linux Mint 18.2 XFCE (which is based on 16.04)

cannot copy from terminal to somewhere else :-(

I mean pasting to terminal works, but copying from terminal not

@MitchellvanZuylen you don't have physical access to the host - then it is more complicated. Can you clone your VM?

@PiMathCLanguage did you try marking the text with the mouse and pressing Ctrl+Shift+C?

yes, I did

also something weird, when I open a new terminal, copying and pasting is working again

but in the previous opened one, copying still not woks

@PiMathCLanguage then simply leave that terminal ,its simple :D

1:17 PM

Hello :)

@Takkat, I only have access over SSH. I think I could clone it, why? (I need to run now, meeting starting in 5 min) THanks for all the help so far!

but I need to copy from the other terminal something because I need to copy some outputs from there

I mean, I will open another one, but this problem will still occure some time

any permanent solution to this?

@MitchellvanZuylen for CLI use parted to partition and mkfs to format. This will give you an extra partition which you will have to mount then to be able to use.

Hey @Takkat nice to see you ! :) Everything fine ?

If you want to grow the existing drive you can't boot from it - then you need to boot another Ubuntu VM to mount the drive to there. All not so convenient without a GUI or physical access-

@cl-netbox I am so extremely busy lately... no fun to chat, really. Hope it will be better some day.

1:21 PM

And not to forget @dessert ... good afternoon ! :)

@cl-netbox hi

And of course: Hi cl-netbox

@DavidFoerster Congratulations David ! :) Well done ! :) And deserved of course ! :)

@Takkat Same with me ... quite busy. :)

@PiMathCLanguage have you tried to copy outputs to some other file like text file ??

@user716691 you mean mark / copy from terminal and then paste to a text file (in an editor or so)?

I tried to paste it to some places, does not work

except for the new opened terminal, but I would really like to know, when and how this happens

1:36 PM

@PiMathCLanguage yes ,if that works then that way you will be capable of copying what you need and then simply close your old terminal , look sometimes system need to updated ,reboot to have changes in action , and you yourself said its not working in old terminal but working in new one so it might be something system not getting correctly in old one

probably, yeah

@PiMathCLanguage looks as if the clipboard functionality is (partly) broken on your system.

@cl-netbox that could be too

or the “C” key hangs ducks

@PiMathCLanguage does it work after rebooting the system ? might solve the problem.

1:38 PM

@cl

yes ?

@cl-netbox I have not tried it yet, because in the new terminal copying is working again

sorry my fault (was pressing enter too soon)

@PiMathCLanguage please check it out ... reboot the system and look if it works correctly afterwards.

okay, I will try it later on (have some work going on)

Q: Should the keys be written in uppercase?

@PiMathCLanguage good luck ! :) I hope it solves the problem ... often it does in such cases.

Ask Ubuntu Meta

1:49 PM

0

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support

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Q: Migrating /home from Ubuntu to Mint – which files to keep?

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