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How to Install the Scripts
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Well, you can't very well run these scripts if they aren't installed on your system, can you? Here's how you install them all, one by one.
NOTE: to copy any command, just highlight the whole command string, and then paste it into your console with a center mousewheel click. Who needs typing! This is Free Software, and you're free to not type if you so choose!
Also note that all these scripts must be installed in the /usr/local/bin directory, except for inxi, which you can install anywhere, but you really should install that one in /usr/local/bin too to keep things simple.
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Installing smxi / sgfxi / svmi
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There are several ways to install smxi and related scripts sgfxi and svmi:
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Installing with smxi.zip
I'll start with the easiest. Download and extract the smxi.zip package. This requires the unzip utility. So first let's check if you have it:
# type this command: which unzip # if it gives you an answer, you have it. # If nothing happens when you do that, just do this: apt-get update && apt-get install unzip # or, if you prefer aptitude, do: aptitude update && aptitude install unzip
Ok, so now we're ready to get the file, which contains smxi, svmi, and sgfxi.
# as root, run the following command cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/smxi.zip && unzip smxi.zip && smxi
If everything worked as expected, it should, if you are X (KDE, Gnome, etc), ask if you want to turn off X and start again.
This method installs smxi, svmi, and sgfxi, all ready to go.
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Installing single scripts
If you only want one of those, here's how you do it. Just copy and paste which ever command you want:
Arch Linux users, install to: /usr/bin
# to install just smxi, as root, do: cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/smxi && chmod +x smxi && smxi # same for the others: sgfxi cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/sgfxi && chmod +x sgfxi && sgfxi # and svmi cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/svmi && chmod +x svmi && svmi
smxi and sgfxi can't really be run in X, but svmi and of course, inxi, can be.
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Installing with the smxi stub installer
A few lucky users (for example, antiX 8.0 and later) are running distros that are using the smxi stub installer (svn source page). This lets you install any of the supported scripts by simply typing in the following commands, as root:
smxi # or for sgfxi sgfxi # or for svmi svmi
The stub installer downloads and starts the scripts if they are missing, otherwise it just runs the script directly. This is by far the most pleasant, and the easiest, way to install and start the scripts, but it requires a preinstalled smxi stub installer to work.
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inxi installation options
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inxi can be installed via smxi
Debian Based Distros Only
Installing inxi via smxi is as easy as can be. And it's a good way to install it too, because if you use smxi to install it, it will install any useful apps it needs as well, as well as creating Konversation native built in script symbolic links automatically, if needed.
You can find the inxi installer here:
Post Upgrade Options -> Package Install -> Utilities -> inxi
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Installing inxi from apt
Debian Based Distros Only
Some distros now also have Cathbard's Debian deb package available as well, to see if your's does, simply do this:
apt-get update && apt-get install inxi
If it installs, your distro has it, if it doesn't see above for install options.
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Generic manual inxi install method (all distros)
Simply install the script directly, like so (ArchLinux and Pardus users, change /usr/local/bin to /usr/bin):
# get it (it actually comes from code.google.com, but this is a shortcut) cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/inxi && chmod +x inxi && inxi
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rbxi installation options
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rbxi is slightly different than the other scripts, because it comes in a zip file containing rbxi, and a sub-directory rbxi-data, and you have to manually configure, one time, the included rbxi-data/rbxi-values user variables. But it includes an HTML readme (rbxi-data/readme-rbxi.htm) that explains how to do it, so it's quite easy. You can also access the rbxi setup readme at the smxi.org documentation pages.
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Installing with rbxi.tar.bz2
To get the script, download it to your preferred location. I like using /usr/local/bin because it is in most system default PATHs (ArchLinux and Pardus users, change /usr/local/bin to /usr/bin), so let's say that's where you download it. Simply execute the following commands in shell, as root (if /usr/local/bin), otherwise as regular user if you are going to install it in say: /home/username/bin or something. For this example, let's assume it's going to /usr/local/bin
cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/rb && tar xjvf rbxi.tar.bz2
You will need to do some editing of the USER VARIABLES file rbxi-data/rbxi-values to have the script work on your machine.
When you unzip the package, there will be the following files and directory:
# main program file rbxi # main data directory: rbxi-data/ # root excludes list, should not need to be changed rbxi-data/root-excludes.txt rbxi-data/root-excludes-rsync.txt # blank, add paths for exclusion if required, do not delete rbxi-data/home-excludes.txt rbxi-data/home-excludes-rsync.txt # user script data values, set using directions in readme-rbxi.txt rbxi-data/rbxi-values # instructions on how to setup the script, in HTML for easy browser viewing rbxi-data/readme-rbxi.htm
Note that rsync has slightly different syntax for its exclude files than rdiff-backup.
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Installing with smxi
Smxi also has an option to automatically download, extract, and set executable the rbxi.tar.bz2 package into /usr/local/bin.
smxi -! 21
This will place rbxi directly in /usr/local/bin, and the rbxi-data directory here: /usr/local/bin/rbxi-data
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Script set up: read the included readme-rbxi.htm PLEASE! which is found in rbxi-data directory.
If you ask me how to do something that is explained in the readme file, I won't offer you any help. So read it before asking, that's why it's there!
I won't repeat what's in the readme file, just remember that you must setup your USER VARIABLES before running the script, this will assign correct directory names and backup locations.
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Updating rbxi using update option
No matter where you install rbxi, you can update it easily like this:
rbxi -U
This will get the latest version from svn without you having to do anything else. The rbxi-versions file will retain your personal user preferences between updates.
Hint: to make it easier to start rbxi if it's not in your system path, use this option, as root. It will create a symbolic link in /usr/local/bin to where-ever you installed rbxi.
rbxi -L
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switcher installation options
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Switcher is a little script designed to help you switch between local apt proxy sources.list and standard Debian sources.list files. It tests and quits if anything is missing. It also has optional support for a third type, using local file sources (-l).
Requires two files, I use /etc/apt/sources.list-proxy and /etc/apt/sources.list-standard to keep things simple, which will be alternately used to replace /etc/apt/sources.list, plus an optional third, for local apt-move, /etc/apt/sources.list-local. You can use any file names or paths you want, as long as you update the top variable paths first.
Installation is simple, just download it, then if you need to change from the default file names, or the apt-type (aptitude is default, apt-get the other choice) you just edit the top variables before you run it the first time.
cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/sm/switcher && chmod +x switcher
And that's it, just start it with -p (for proxy sources), -s (for standard Debian sources), or -l (for the optional apt-move type sources), and it will update your primary sources.list, then run your apt type update to sync your system.
For more information about setting up your apt-proxy (approx in this case) to use smxi compatible syntax, read the smxi manual, apt proxy setup.
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dws installation options
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dws is a little script designed to let you easily check one or more distro's rankings at distrowatch.com. Defaults to Debian 7 day rankings, but you can change the defaults by editing the top 2 variables.
Installation is simple, just download it, and set it executable (ArchLinux and Pardus users, change /usr/local/bin to /usr/bin):
cd /usr/local/bin && wget -Nc smxi.org/dws && chmod +x dws
Select which distro to check with -d option, and time frame with -t. See -h help menu for full directions. Note that the distro name cannot contain spaces, dashes, or /. Simply delete these, like so: PC-BSD becomes: PCBSD (not case sensitive).
dws -d arch # output: The arch distrowatch.com 7 day position is: 9 (1002+) # for multiple distros, comma separated, no spaces. 30 day stats. dws -d opensolaris,openbsd,freebsd -t 30 # output: The opensolaris distrowatch.com 30 day position is: 37 (268+) The openbsd distrowatch.com 30 day position is: 63 (148+) The freebsd distrowatch.com 30 day position is: 16 (579+)
The data in the (..) (for tty) or after :: (for irc clients) is the average number of hits per day for the time period selected, the + means it's gone up since yesterday, - means down, and ~ means unchanged.
If you want to make it easy to update, as regular user, then do:
chown [your user name] dws # for example chown john dws
After that you can update it if needed without being root, using the -U option.
To change the defaults the script uses when started without -t or -d, edit these variables (found at top of script) to suite your taste:
## user set defaults, change these you want something else here # distro: any distro you want, no spaces, dash, or / # case insensitive, sample: dw says: PC-BSD, make: pcbsd # can also have multiple, comma separated list, no spaces, like: # DISTRO='opensolaris,openbsd,pcbsd,arch' DISTRO='debian' # options: 7 30 (day) - 3 6 12 (month) # years: 2002-2009 # sample: TIME_SPAN='2008' # TIME_SPAN='6' TIME_SPAN='7'