- 34 minutes ago
Do you know Linux has its own version of .EXE files? Yes, learn how to install .DEB, .RPM, and .PKG.TAR.ZST packages on any Linux distro.
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ℹ️ _**RELATED LINKS**_ 👇👇
- .deb packages: packages.debian.org
- .rpm packages: rpmfind.net
- .pkg.tar.zst packages: packages.archlinux.org
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📜 _**FULL VIDEO DESCRIPTION**_ 👇👇
Switching from Windows to Linux doesn't mean giving up familiar software installation habits. Linux has its own binary package formats - .deb, .rpm, and .pkg.tar.zst, that work similarly to Windows .MSI/.EXE installers.
In this complete step-by-step guide, you will learn what .deb, .rpm, and .pkg.tar.zst files are and how they compare to Windows .exe and .msi installers. You will also learn where to safely download Linux binary packages from official and trusted sources, how to install and uninstall .deb files on Debian and Ubuntu based distros using GNOME, KDE, GDebi, and terminal commands, how to install and uninstall .rpm files on Fedora and Red Hat based systems using both graphical tools and the DNF package manager, and finally, how to install and uninstall .pkg.tar.zst files on Arch-based distros like Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, CachyOS, and Garuda Linux using Pacman through the command line.
Whether you prefer clicking through a graphical interface or using terminal commands, this guide covers both methods for all three package formats, making it the only Linux binary package installation guide you will ever need as a beginner.
📹 _**RELATED VIDEOS**_ 👉👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFINRdpUVaqCtKH8TiUKwg6ml5UaPxT4f
📑 _**PREFER READING? HERE’S THE DETAILED ARTICLE**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/install-apps-and-software-on-linux-using-binary-packages
ℹ️ _**RELATED LINKS**_ 👇👇
- .deb packages: packages.debian.org
- .rpm packages: rpmfind.net
- .pkg.tar.zst packages: packages.archlinux.org
🔔 _**SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE INTERESTING VIDEOS LIKE THIS**_ 👉👉 https://www.youtube.com/@NixNexusYT?sub_confirmation=1
_**NIXNEXUS' V.O.D. CHANNELS**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/vod-channels/
_**FOLLOW NIXNEXUS ON DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/social-media/
_**SUBSCRIBE NIXNEXUS TO NEVER MISS AN UPDATE**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/subscribe/
_**NIXNEXUS' AFFILIATE PARTNERS**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/affiliate-links/
_**SUPPORT NIXNEXUS**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/support/
_**HARDWARE WE USE AT NIXNEXUS**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/hardware/
_**SOFTWARE WE USE AT NIXNEXUS**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/apps-and-software/
🎬 _**CREDITS & ATTRIBUTION FOR STOCK MEDIA**_ 👉👉 https://nixnexus.org/credits-and-attribution
📜 _**FULL VIDEO DESCRIPTION**_ 👇👇
Switching from Windows to Linux doesn't mean giving up familiar software installation habits. Linux has its own binary package formats - .deb, .rpm, and .pkg.tar.zst, that work similarly to Windows .MSI/.EXE installers.
In this complete step-by-step guide, you will learn what .deb, .rpm, and .pkg.tar.zst files are and how they compare to Windows .exe and .msi installers. You will also learn where to safely download Linux binary packages from official and trusted sources, how to install and uninstall .deb files on Debian and Ubuntu based distros using GNOME, KDE, GDebi, and terminal commands, how to install and uninstall .rpm files on Fedora and Red Hat based systems using both graphical tools and the DNF package manager, and finally, how to install and uninstall .pkg.tar.zst files on Arch-based distros like Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, CachyOS, and Garuda Linux using Pacman through the command line.
Whether you prefer clicking through a graphical interface or using terminal commands, this guide covers both methods for all three package formats, making it the only Linux binary package installation guide you will ever need as a beginner.
Category
🤖
TechTranscript
00:00Hello Friend!
00:01Whenever a Windows user switches to GANU Linux, the question that always comes to their
00:07mind is how do I install software on Linux like I am used to doing on Windows?
00:13Because even though there are better ways to install programs on GANU Linux, Windows
00:18users are much more accustomed to visiting a website, downloading a .exe file and double
00:24clicking it to install.
00:25Now, if you are having the same question, then the good news is that you can do the
00:31same on Linux as well.
00:34And within the next 20 minutes, I will show you how to install apps on Linux using the
00:40.dev, .rpm and .pkg.tar.zst files.
00:45However, before proceeding, let's cover some basics first.
00:53First of all, Linux natively does not have anything similar to a .exe file.
00:59Rather, it has binary packages like .dev, .rpm or .pkg.tar.zst files which are much more closer
01:09to the model of .msi files that are also used for managing software in Microsoft Windows.
01:16Like the .msi files, Linux binary packages are essentially a form of an structured archive
01:23that contains pre-compiled binaries, configuration files and metadata of packages.
01:29And unlike a .exe file which can only be used to install packages, with these archive formats
01:35you can do multiple things, like installing, repairing and removing the software from your
01:41system.
01:42But unlike in Windows, where you can use both .exe and .msi files simultaneously, in Linux,
01:50the file formats are not interchangeable.
01:52They can only be used within a branch of distros.
01:56For example, a .dev file can only be used on Debian or Ubuntu-based distros, .rpm files
02:03are only used on Fedora or Red Hat-based distros and .pkg.tar.zst files can only be used on
02:11Arch-based systems.
02:13And in GNU Linux, these are not the only ones.
02:16There are even more formats.
02:17But, we will focus on only these three, because these are the most commonly used ones.
02:23So without further ado, let's start.
02:29To download software on Microsoft Windows, traditionally we type its name on a search engine, then go
02:36to a listed website, and then download the installer file.
02:40But the problem with this process is that, you can easily land on a malicious website and
02:46end up infecting your system with viruses, malware and spyware.
02:51Therefore, to mitigate this risk, in GNU Linux, all major distributions maintain an official
02:57repository or database of their packages.
03:01For example, you will find .dev packages on packages.debian.org and .pkg.tar.zst packages
03:09on packages.archlinux.org.
03:13However, RPM packages are a bit different.
03:16As there are lots of independent distros like Fedora, OpenSUSE, Rocky Linux that uses .rpm
03:24packages out of the box, a package created for a particular distro does not work on other.
03:30And maintaining a single official repository for all these distros is not possible for distro maintainers.
03:37So, here, a trusted third-party repository like rpmfind.net solves the issue.
03:44Here you can find all kinds of RPM packages and you can even filter them according to your distribution
03:50and hardware architecture.
03:56To download a .dev package, first visit packages.debian.org.
04:04Then scroll down a bit until you find the search packages directory field.
04:10Here type the name of the software you want to install.
04:14I will search for the open source email client Thunderbird and then hit enter.
04:21In the results page, you will find two separate sections.
04:25The first one is the exact match and the second one is others.
04:30Which typically includes related plugins, themes, language packs and so on.
04:36To proceed ahead, just select the exact match option and it will take you to the main downloads page.
04:43On the download page, scroll down to the bottom of the page until you find the download option.
04:50Here, select your preferred option according to your hardware architecture.
04:55Most modern PCs are AMD64. So, I will go with that.
04:59And this will lead us to the mirrors page.
05:04Here, all you have to do is select the download mirror closest to your location and it will download
05:10the .dev package for you.
05:13By the way, you might also see a browser warning pop-up about the file type just like I got
05:19here.
05:19But there is nothing to worry about as long as you are using the official or entrusted source.
05:25So, I will allow the download.
05:28And the downloading process is complete.
05:31Now, let's see how you can install .dev packages using different methods.
05:41On GNOME desktop environment, you can easily install .dev packages with the help of the GNOME software center.
05:49First, open GNOME's file manager, then locate the downloaded file.
05:53Usually, it will be in the Downloads directory.
05:56And then, double click the .dev file.
06:00Then click Install.
06:03Now, the software manager will ask for your password.
06:06So, enter it and wait for the app to get installed.
06:11And it is done.
06:13When the installation is completed, you can search for the newly installed app in the application menu.
06:19And there is Thunderbird.
06:22Now, at the time of recording this video, graphical removal of manually installed .dev packages
06:29is not supported by GNOME software center.
06:32So, to uninstall this package, you can simply use this terminal command.
06:37sudo apt remove followed by the package name.
06:42Then hit enter.
06:44Then enter your password.
06:48And Thunderbird is gone.
06:56Now, if you are using the KDE desktop environment,
07:00then in that case, your software management experience will be much more pleasant.
07:05Because, KDE supports both graphical installation and removal of .dev packages
07:10using the KDE Discover Software Center.
07:13Let me show you how.
07:16Here, I am installing the disk partitioning tool called Gparted.
07:20At first, double click the .dev file.
07:23And wait until the Software Center checks for the required dependencies.
07:28And then, click Install.
07:30Then enter your password.
07:33And the installation is complete.
07:37And here, we have Gparted.
07:40Now, you can see that there are two options on the top.
07:44From here, you can either launch the app or remove it if you want.
07:49And to remove or uninstall the software later,
07:52all you have to do is double click the .dev file again.
07:56Then click Remove.
07:58Then reconfirm by selecting Proceed.
08:01Enter your password when prompted.
08:04And the app will be uninstalled within seconds.
08:12Now, let's say, for some reason, you are not using GNOME or KDE desktop environment,
08:18but a lightweight one like XFC, LXDE or LXQT, which by default does not come with a graphical software
08:27center.
08:27In that scenario, you can install a graphical installer called GDB in your system.
08:35GDB was specifically created to manage .dev packages.
08:39And you can use it on any Debian or Ubuntu-based distribution.
08:44To install GDB, use the following terminal command.
08:48sudo apt install gdb.
08:52Then enter your password.
08:55And then press Y to continue.
08:59Once GDB is installed, double click the .dev file you want to install.
09:05Here I am installing the open source video editing software called KedInLife.
09:09Then click Install Package.
09:12Next, authenticate by entering your password and wait for the app to get installed.
09:18And it is done.
09:20And here we have KedInLife installed.
09:24Now to uninstall the software, again double click the .dev file.
09:29But this time you have to click the Remove Package button.
09:33The Software Manager will again ask for your password,
09:36so enter it and the app will be uninstalled from your system.
09:46If you want to achieve absolute efficiency in managing these binary packages,
09:52then nothing come close to the command line interface.
09:55To install a .dev package through command line, first open your file manager and go to your
10:02Downloads directory.
10:03Then use the right click and select Open Terminal here.
10:08Alternatively, you can cd to your Downloads directory as well.
10:13Then use this terminal command to install the .dev file.
10:17sudo apt install dot forward slash followed by the package name.
10:24Here I am installing the open source image editor called GIMP.
10:27But keep one thing in mind, the package name has to match the name of the downloaded package file
10:33exactly along with its extension. Otherwise, the app won't be installed.
10:38So to be safe, you can copy the package name and paste it after the forward slash.
10:43Or else, after the forward slash, type the first letter of the package name and hit the tab button to
10:50autocomplete. Then hit enter and then authenticate by entering your password.
10:56And within a few minutes, the app will be installed in your system.
11:01And there we have GIMP.
11:05Now to uninstall a package, you can simply use this command.
11:10sudo apt remove followed by the package name.
11:14And while uninstalling, you do not have to type the full file name as you did during the installation
11:20process. Here, just type the actual package name and hit enter.
11:26And within few seconds, the app will be removed from your system.
11:35Okay, next, to download a .rpm package, first go to rpmfind.net.
11:42On this page, click the first link that says, go directly to the RPM database.
11:49This will take you to the RPM repository page.
11:52And here, you can use the search field to find your preferred app.
11:56Just type the name of the software you want to install.
12:00For example, I will search for pigeon messaging client.
12:04Then hit enter.
12:05In the results page, you can see that the results are aligned according to your distros.
12:12So, select the option according to your distro as well as hardware architecture.
12:17I am using Fedora 43 on an Intel machine.
12:21So, I will go with Fedora 43 for x86 underscore 64 option.
12:27You can also filter the results by entering the operating system and architecture of your choice.
12:34And the downloading process is complete.
12:41Just like the .dev packages, you can install .rpm packages with the help of Gnome Software Center very easily.
12:50First open the file manager and go to your downloads folder.
12:54Then double click the .rpm file.
12:56Then click install.
12:58Next enter your password and wait for few seconds.
13:03And the installation is done.
13:06And here we have the pigeon messaging client.
13:09Now, just like the .dev packages, at the time of recording this video,
13:14graphical removal of .rpm packages are also not supported by the Gnome Software Center.
13:20So, to uninstall the package, you can use this terminal command.
13:25sudo dnf remove followed by the package name.
13:33And pigeon messaging client is gone.
13:40Installing and removing binary packages with KDE Discover Software Center is much more straightforward,
13:47which we have already seen during the .dev package installation.
13:51So, for example, here I am installing the FTP application called FileZilla.
13:56At first, just open the Dolphin File Manager and double click the .rpm file.
14:02Then wait until the Software Center checks for the required dependencies.
14:07Then click install.
14:09Then type your password.
14:11And the installation is done.
14:14And there is FileZilla.
14:16Now, to remove or uninstall the software later, all you have to do is just double click the .rpm file.
14:23Then click Remove.
14:25And then reconfirm by selecting Proceed.
14:29And the app will be uninstalled in no time.
14:36Now, let's talk about the Standalone Installer.
14:40Unlike .dev packages, the RPM ecosystem does not have a universal GDB equivalent.
14:46An application called DNF Dragora exists, which comes pre-installed on Fedora's XFCE, LXDE and LXQT spins.
14:55And in theory, it should work as GDB does for .dev files.
15:00But in practice, it has two major drawbacks.
15:03First of all, it only works on distros that uses the DNF Package Manager.
15:09Meaning, you cannot use it on OpenSUSE, Rocky Linux or even on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
15:16Secondly, no matter how much I tried, in my testing, it consistently froze the system.
15:22So, I could not get it to work reliably and I gave up on it.
15:26But if you get any success, please let me know how you did it.
15:31I will be more than happy to add it in my next video with proper credits.
15:35Therefore, the comment section is all yours.
15:42But even if other options fail, you can always rely on the good old command line interface.
15:49To install .rpm packages through command line, first open your terminal emulator and then cd to your
15:57downloads directory. However, if you want a simpler method, you can simply open your file manager and
16:04go to your downloads directory. Then use the right click and select open terminal here.
16:10Then use this following terminal command.
16:13sudo dnf install dot forward slash followed by the package name.
16:20Here, I am installing the open source digital painting app called Krita.
16:25Again, keep in mind, the package name has to match the name of the downloaded package exactly.
16:30So, you can either directly copy and paste the package name or else type the first letter
16:36of the package name and hit the tab button and it will fill the rest of the name for you.
16:41Then hit enter. Then authenticate by entering your password.
16:46And within few minutes, the app will be installed in your system.
16:50And here is Krita installed.
16:54Now to uninstall the package, you can simply use the following command.
16:59sudo dnf remove followed by the package name.
17:03And while uninstalling, instead of the full file name, just type the actual package name
17:09and hit enter. Then enter your password.
17:13And within few seconds, the app will be removed from your system.
17:21Finally, to download the .pkg.tar.gst packages, first open the Arch Linux package database by visiting
17:30packages.archlinux.org.
17:34Here on the top, type the name of the software you want to install in the empty search or keyword
17:40field.
17:40I will search for Genie IDE in this demonstration. And then hit enter.
17:46In the results page, you will find two separate sections, just like we had during the downloading of Debian packages.
17:54The first block is the exact match and below that we have matching packages, which generally includes
18:01related plugins, themes, language packs and so on.
18:05To proceed ahead, just select the exact match option and it will take you to the main downloads page.
18:12Here in the downloads page, go to the package action section on the top right hand corner.
18:18And then click on the last option, which is download from mirror.
18:22And this will download the .pkg.tar.gst packages for you.
18:31Okay, long story short. As far as I know, Arch Linux does not support binary package installation via
18:39graphical software center. And this is applicable over not only on Arch Linux, but all popular Arch-based
18:46distros like Garuda Linux, Endeavor OS or currently the most popular Linux distro, CacheOS as well.
18:54This mean you cannot install a .pkg.tar.gst file just by double clicking it.
19:01Neither you can install it using the GNOME or KDE software center.
19:05Because Arch Linux and its derivatives treat the .pkg.tar.gst files just as a compressed archive,
19:13rather than an installer file. But do not think that this is a drawback.
19:18Rather, it is a thoughtful design to keep these amazing GNU Linux distros minimal and bloat-free.
19:25Plus, as Arch and Arch-based distros generally target advanced users, their developers assume
19:32that their users will not need any hand-holding. And this is the very reason that these distros
19:38does not even come with any standalone installer like GDB either.
19:43However, there is an exception with Manjaro Linux. Because Manjaro uses the graphical helper tool
19:50called PAMAC over the traditional pacman package manager, here you can install the .pkg.tar.gst
19:57packages very easily just by double clicking it. But if you want a single solution for all these
20:04Arch-based distros, then nothing can match the efficiency of CLI tools.
20:12To install .pkg.tar.gst packages through command line, first open your file manager
20:19and go to your Downloads directory. Then use the right click to select Open Terminal here.
20:26Then use this following terminal command, sudo pacman hyphen capital U dot forward slash followed by the
20:35package name. And as always, keep in mind that the package name has to match the name of the downloaded
20:41package exactly along with its extension. So either copy and paste the package name after the forward slash,
20:47or else use the tab button to auto complete the package name. And then hit enter. Then authenticate by
20:55entering your password. And within few minutes, the app will be installed in your system. And to
21:01uninstall the package, you can simply use the following terminal command, sudo pacman hyphen capital R
21:09followed by the package name. Then re-authenticate by entering your password. And within a few seconds,
21:16the app will vanish from your system. So that's all. Now you have the complete guide on how to install
21:24common binary packages in Linux. And as you can see, installing software on Linux by downloading packages
21:32is not that scary as you might think. In fact, it is actually very similar to the Windows process.
21:39But if you want an even more beginner friendly guide, then check out my previous video on
21:44how to install software the easiest way. The link is in the description.
21:49Thanks for watching. See you in the next one.
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