Arch Linux

libele

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Registered: 2021-07-27

Posts: 4

[SOLVED] pkgbuild best practice for installing folder with subdirs

sorry if this has been asked before, but the forum doesn't like it if i search for this.

is it possible to use the 'install' program to install a folder that has subdirectories? if not, how should one do this?

Last edited by libele (2021-07-28 02:52:54)

mpan

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Registered: 2012-08-01

Posts: 1,379

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Re: [SOLVED] pkgbuild best practice for installing folder with subdirs

install has the `-d and `-D` options, which creates a directory and all its parents. You may invoke install multiple times (core/systemd PKGBUILD as an example).

However, that is what makepkg is being asked to do by a PKGBUILD. See it as an extra step over what the upstream installation procedure does; a kind of Arch-specific tweaking. Normally it’s the installation code — for example `make install` — that handles creation of all of the relevant directories, placing files and so on.

Last edited by mpan (2021-07-28 02:16:43)

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libele

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Registered: 2021-07-27

Posts: 4

Re: [SOLVED] pkgbuild best practice for installing folder with subdirs

ah, i see that the systemd PKGBUILD uses mv to install a folder. i was under the impression that install should be used for everything!

Trilby

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Registered: 2011-11-29

Posts: 30,338

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Re: [SOLVED] pkgbuild best practice for installing folder with subdirs

If it's a single directory full of files, you can do it with two install commands: one to make the directory, and another using the '-t' flag for target directory and a shell glob for files to install.

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"UNIX is simple and coherent" - Dennis Ritchie; "GNU's Not Unix" - Richard Stallman

libele

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Registered: 2021-07-27

Posts: 4

Re: [SOLVED] pkgbuild best practice for installing folder with subdirs

but if it's a directory full of directories, it would okay to use mv instead of install?

Trilby

Inspector Parrot

Registered: 2011-11-29

Posts: 30,338

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Re: [SOLVED] pkgbuild best practice for installing folder with subdirs

You can use whatever you'd like.  But if it was me, I'd use `cp -a`.

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"UNIX is simple and coherent" - Dennis Ritchie; "GNU's Not Unix" - Richard Stallman

libele

Member

Registered: 2021-07-27

Posts: 4

Re: [SOLVED] pkgbuild best practice for installing folder with subdirs

okay, will do. i'm partial to `cp -a` as well. marking this as solved, thanks y'all!