Ubuntuzilla Installer Script

Nanotube — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:55:38 GMT

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Quick Start: jump to the [[#Installation|installation instructions]].
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=Welcome to Ubuntuzilla=

'''This is an archived page, describing the use of the Ubuntuzilla installer script, which has been superseded by the use of the Ubuntuzilla mozilla-repack repository.'''

'''Unless you have reason to use the old script, go to the [[Main Page]] for the current information.'''

This is the home of the Ubuntuzilla project, which is a [http://www.python.org python] script that allows the user to install the latest versions of [http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ Mozilla Firefox], [http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/ Mozilla SeaMonkey], and [http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/ Mozilla Thunderbird] on [http://www.ubuntu.com/ Ubuntu Linux]. It also works on other [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ubuntu-based_distributions Linux distributions that are derivatives of Ubuntu]. Ubuntuzilla has a [http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=251 support forum] on the [http://ubuntuforums.org Ubuntu Forums] in the 3rd party projects area, which you are encouraged to use if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.

You are encouraged to look through the source code to ascertain the safety of this script prior to running it. As a matter of general principle, it is a good practice to perform some verification prior to running anything from any unfamiliar website.

If you're ready go for it, jump right to the [[#Installation|installation instructions]].

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=Latest News=

==Firefox 3.5 info==

As an alternative to using the official Mozilla build, as installed by Ubuntuzilla, you can use the Firefox testing PPA repository to install Firefox 3.5. See [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FirefoxNewVersion this page] for details and instructions.

==Firefox 3 info==

If you are running Firefox 2, and want to upgrade to Firefox 3, it is strongly advised to back up your firefox profile, and start with a fresh one, since ff3 can have trouble swallowing the ff2 profile.

''Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron)'' uses Firefox 3 by default, so unless you installed firefox2 deliberately (either from the repositories, or using mozilla official build), things should work fine without having to start with a fresh profile.

''Ubuntu 6.06 (Dapper Drake)'' has problems running the mozilla build of Firefox 3, due to it depending on newer versions of libraries than are present in Dapper. If you are on Dapper, the easiest thing to do is to manually choose the latest Firefox 2 version when installing with Ubuntuzilla. There is also some info on compiling FF3 on Dapper, as well as links to some precompiled third-party .debs, on this [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=847484 ubuntuforums thread].

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=Background=

The official repositories for a particular version of Ubuntu are composed to contain the latest versions of software packages as of the date of release of that version of Ubuntu. After the release is made, newer versions of software packages do not get added to the repositories, with the exception of security fixes ([[Ubuntuzilla_FAQ#.5BThunderbird.2C_Firefox.5D_Why_doesn.27t_Ubuntu_just_release_the_latest_versions_in_the_official_repositories.3F|why?]]). So, for example, the latest version of Thunderbird during Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty) release was 1.5, so the repositories will contain 1.5, even though Thunderbird 2 was released afterwards. Furthermore, even the security patches are usually several days to a week or more behind the official Mozilla releases, due to the time it takes to test and package the software.

It is frequently desirable to get more timely security updates for Mozilla software, or run the latest version, which may not be available in the repositories, due to the new features and improvements. Thus, this update script was born.

This project was created by [http://ubuntuforums.org Ubuntu Forums] member [http://ubuntuforums.org/member.php?u=66474 nanotube], in collaboration with [http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu aysiu], who helped with testing, ideas, and motivation.

Read below for specific instructions for using this script to install Firefox, SeaMonkey, and Thunderbird.



=Script Features=

* Automatically detects and downloads the newest Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey release from the Mozilla servers
* Allows you to make a choice of language for Firefox or Thunderbird
* Verifies the GPG signature (assures package integrity against malicious tampering or corrupt download) for Firefox or Thunderbird
* Verifies the MD5 sum for SeaMonkey
* Makes a date-stamped back-up of your Firefox, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey profile data
* Automatically integrates Firefox plugins that you have installed from the Ubuntu repositories
* Installs the new Firefox in /opt/firefox, Thunderbird in /opt/thunderbird, SeaMonkey in /opt/seamonkey
* Creates a SeaMonkey menu item in ''Applications -> Internet'' menu
* Checks all steps for successful execution
* Has a 'remove' action to remove the official Mozilla build and restore system to pre-installation state.
* Installs an update checker job that periodically performs automatic checks for new versions of Firefox, Thunderbird, or Seamonkey.
* Automatically checks for the latest Ubuntuzilla release and updates itself, to keep up with possible changes in the Mozilla website and release servers.
* Comes conveniently packaged in a .deb for easy installation
* Includes a very helpful man page, for those who don't like to read websites.

=Usage Instructions=

==Installation==

First, install the ubuntuzilla script. The best method is to add the ubuntuzilla repository to your sources.list - that way you'll automatically get any updates as they come up.

===Repository method===

* Add the ubuntuzilla repository to your ''/etc/apt/sources.list'', either using your favorite editor, or by simply running the following command:
echo "deb http://switch.dl.sourceforge.net/project/ubuntuzilla/apt all main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list > /dev/null
* Then add the package signing key to your keyring, by running the following command:
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com C1289A29
* Finally, update your package list and install ubuntuzilla, with the following commands:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntuzilla

===Manual method===

* Download .deb package of the latest release [http://sourceforge.net/projects/ubuntuzilla/files/ (follow this link to the file release servers)], and save it to your disk.
** Users of 64 bit Ubuntu, get the amd64 package (and see this [[Ubuntuzilla_FAQ#.5BThunderbird.2C_Firefox.5D_For_64-bit_Ubuntu_users|note for 64 bit users]]); users of 32 bit Ubuntu get the i386 package. To determine which one you have, run command
uname -m
:64 bit users would see ''x86_64'', 32 bit users would see ''i686''.
* Double-click on the .deb to start the graphical package installer to install Ubuntuzilla. Once that is complete, you are ready to use the script to install the Mozilla software of your choice.
** If double-clicking doesn't start a package installer for you (as might happen if you are using Kubuntu, e.g.), or if you just like using the terminal, use the following commandline procedure to install ubuntuzilla:
sudo dpkg -i /path/to/ubuntuzilla*.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

===Run the installer===

Now we are ready to use ubuntuzilla to actually install the Mozilla software of your choice.

* If you happen to have already downloaded the appropriate Thunderbird, Firefox, or SeaMonkey tar.gz archive to your drive, and want to avoid another download, place your downloaded tar.gz into /tmp (without changing the original filename). The script will still ask you questions about the version, localizations, etc., but will not actually make another download.
* Completely exit Firefox or Thunderbird prior to installation.
* Open a terminal

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Note: do '''not''' run ubuntuzilla with ''sudo''. That will mess up the ownership of some of the files in your home directory (e.g., the stuff in ''~/.gnupg'').
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* Enter one of the following commands to run the script (choose one depending on which software you want to install; copy and paste to avoid typos):
ubuntuzilla.py -a install -p firefox

ubuntuzilla.py -a install -p thunderbird

ubuntuzilla.py -a install -p seamonkey
* Read the instructions and follow the prompts.

Note: after installation, do '''not''' remove the repositories version of Firefox, as doing so will break a lot of Gnome packages that depend on the Gecko rendering engine.

As an alternative to using the script, instructions for manually installing the official builds of Mozilla software are available on the Ubuntu wiki:
* [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FirefoxNewVersion Manual Install of Mozilla Firefox]
* [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ThunderbirdNewVersion Manual Install of Mozilla Thunderbird]
* [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SeaMonkey Manual Install of Mozilla SeaMonkey]

==Removal==

Here are the steps to use this script to uninstall the Mozilla build of Firefox, Thunderbird, or SeaMonkey:
* Completely exit Firefox or Thunderbird prior to installation (just in case).
* Open a terminal
* Enter this command to run the script (choose one depending on which software you want to remove; copy and paste to avoid typos):
ubuntuzilla.py -a remove -p firefox

ubuntuzilla.py -a remove -p thunderbird

ubuntuzilla.py -a remove -p seamonkey
* Read the instructions and follow the prompts.

===Uninstall Ubuntuzilla===

If you decide to uninstall Ubuntuzilla itself, you can use the usual procedure using your package manager of choice. For example, with apt-get, you can run command
sudo apt-get remove --purge ubuntuzilla

To remove the automatic update checking job for Mozilla software, edit your user's crontab file and comment out or delete the relevant "ubuntuzilla" lines. To edit your crontab, enter command
crontab -e

==Updates==

Ubuntuzilla will let you install an automatic update checker job, which will periodically check for updates to your Mozilla software, and alert you with an unobtrusive notification. (See image at right for a sample. It shows up for a few seconds at the bottom right corner of your screen, when a new release becomes available.)

[[File:firefoxupdatenotification.png|400px|thumb|right|Ubuntuzilla update notification]] To install the automatic update checker, just run the installation, follow the prompts at the end of installation and choose 'yes' to enable automatic update checking. If you have already installed the Mozilla software at an earlier time, and just want to enable the automatic update checking, you can run Ubuntuzilla with action "installupdater" to install the updater job separately. Use the following command (choose one depending on which software you want to check for updates; copy and paste to avoid typos):
ubuntuzilla.py -a installupdater -p firefox

ubuntuzilla.py -a installupdater -p thunderbird

ubuntuzilla.py -a installupdater -p seamonkey

If you have installed the update checking job, and now want to remove it, you can use the following commands (choose one depending on which software you want remove the update checking job for; copy and paste to avoid typos):
ubuntuzilla.py -a removeupdater -p firefox

ubuntuzilla.py -a removeupdater -p thunderbird

ubuntuzilla.py -a removeupdater -p seamonkey

You can also use Ubuntuzilla to do a one-time check for availability of new releases of Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey. For text-mode update notification (message in the terminal or console), use the following command (choose one depending on which software you want to check for updates; copy and paste to avoid typos):
ubuntuzilla.py -a checkforupdatetext -p firefox

ubuntuzilla.py -a checkforupdatetext -p thunderbird

ubuntuzilla.py -a checkforupdatetext -p seamonkey

For GUI update notification (message pop-up in the bottom right corner of your desktop), use the following command (choose one depending on which software you want to check for updates; copy and paste to avoid typos):
ubuntuzilla.py -a checkforupdategui -p firefox

ubuntuzilla.py -a checkforupdategui -p thunderbird

ubuntuzilla.py -a checkforupdategui -p seamonkey

Read on in the next subsections for how to carry out the upgrade if a newer version is available.

===Update Official Mozilla Build of Firefox===

If you already have the official build installed (e.g., by using the Ubuntuzilla script to install at some point before), you don't have to go through a reinstall in order to update (though you could if you wanted to). You can use the built-in "Updates" functionality of Firefox.

'''Note: the "Update" functionality in Firefox won't upgrade you from FF2 to FF3, so if you want to do that, you'll have to do a fresh firefox install with Ubuntuzilla.'''

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Note: do '''not''' use the plain ''sudo'' here. That will mess up permissions in your profile.

If you did run with sudo and now your profile is messed up, see [[Ubuntuzilla_FAQ#.5BThunderbird.2C_Firefox.2C_Seamonkey.5D_Some_stuff_only_works_when_I_run_as_root.21|here]] for a fix.
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In order for Firefox to update itself, it will have to be run as root. So quit all Firefox windows, and in a terminal, type, if on GNOME:
gksudo firefox &
If on KDE (on earlier versions of Ubuntu, use ''kdesu''):
kdesudo firefox &
This will start Firefox as root. Select '''Help''' > '''Check for Updates''' from the menu, and it will find an update and download it. You will then get a message that says Firefox needs to be restarted to apply the update, and you can choose '''Later''' or '''Restart Firefox Now'''. Choose '''Restart Firefox Now'''. Firefox will restart again as root and tell you it's been updated. Now, you can close Firefox again, and then start it as normal from the menu, not as root. And you should be all good to go!

===Update Official Mozilla Build of Thunderbird===

If you already have the official build installed (e.g., by using the Ubuntuzilla script to install at some point before), you don't have to go through a reinstall in order to update (though you could if you wanted to). You can use the built-in "Updates" functionality of Thunderbird.

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Note: do '''not''' use the plain ''sudo'' here. That will mess up permissions in your profile.

If you did run with sudo and now your profile is messed up, see [[Ubuntuzilla_FAQ#.5BThunderbird.2C_Firefox.2C_Seamonkey.5D_Some_stuff_only_works_when_I_run_as_root.21|here]] for a fix.
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In order for Thunderbird to update itself, it will have to be run as root. So quit Thunderbird, and in a terminal, type, if on GNOME:
gksudo thunderbird &
If on KDE (on earlier versions of Ubuntu, use ''kdesu''):
kdesudo thunderbird &
This will start Thunderbird as root. Select '''Help''' > '''Check for Updates''' from the menu, and it will find an update and download it. You will then get a message that says Thunderbird needs to be restarted to apply the update, and you can choose '''Later''' or '''Restart Thunderbird Now'''. Choose '''Restart Thunderbird Now'''. Thunderbird will restart again as root and tell you it's been updated. Now, you can close Thunderbird again, and then start it as normal from the menu, not as root. And you should be all good to go!

===Update Official Mozilla Build of Seamonkey===

Unlike Firefox and Thunderbird, SeaMonkey does not currently have a built-in updater. So to update to the latest version, just use the instructions from the [[#Installation|Installation]] section and install the newest version over the old one.

'''Note: when upgrading from SeaMonkey 1.x to Seamonkey 2.0, first run the uninstall (or manually remove /opt/seamonkey). Otherwise you might run into crashing when running the new version.'''

If already running Seamonkey 2.0 build from Mozilla, follow a similar update procedure as for Firefox, in section above.

=Other options=

You can get help on the aforementioned options, and more, by running the script with option '-h', as follows:
ubuntuzilla.py -h
or by looking at the man page, with command
man ubuntuzilla
The other options are generally not needed by the average user, but they are there in case you need them, so you can check them out. The built-in help output is hereby reproduced for your convenience.

Usage
=====
ubuntuzilla.py [options]
or
python ubuntuzilla.py [options]

The Ubuntuzilla script can install the official Mozilla build of Firefox,
Thunderbird, or Seamonkey, on an Ubuntu Linux system, in parallel with any
existing versions from the repositories. For a more detailed usage manual, see
the project homepage: http://ubuntuzilla.sourceforge.net/

Options
=======
--version show program's version number and exit
--help, -h show this help message and exit
--debug, -d debug mode (print some extra debug output). [default:
False]
--test, -t make a dry run, without actually installing anything.
[default: False]
--package=PACKAGE, -p PACKAGE
which package to work on: firefox, thunderbird, or
seamonkey. [default: firefox]
--action=ACTION, -a ACTION
what to do with the selected package: install, remove,
installupdater, removeupdater, checkforupdatetext,
checkforupdategui, or updateubuntuzilla. [default:
install]
--skipgpg, -g skip gpg signature verification. [default: False]
--unattended, -u run in unattended mode. will not ask for user input.
note that even in unattended mode, it will still ask
for your input if you have a thunderbird profile both
in ~/.thunderbird and ~/.mozilla-thunderbird (it's ok
if the former is a symlink to the latter, though).
[default: False]
--localization=LOCALIZATION, -l LOCALIZATION
for use with unattended mode only. choose localization
(language) for your package of choice. note that the
burden is on you to make sure that this localization
of your package actually exists. [default: en-US]
--skipbackup, -b skip the backup of the user profile for the package
you are installing. if you already made a backup, or
do not have sufficient disk space, use this option.
[default: False]
--targetdir=TARGETDIR, -r TARGETDIR
installation/uninstallation target directory.
[default: /opt]
--mirror=MIRRORS, -m MIRRORS
add a mozilla mirror server to the default list of
mirrors. Use ftp mirrors only. (See
http://www.mozilla.org/mirrors.html for list of
mirrors). [default:
['releases.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/',
'mozilla.isc.org/pub/mozilla.org/',
'mozilla.ussg.indiana.edu/pub/mozilla.org/',
'ftp.osuosl.org/pub/mozilla.org/',
'mozilla.cs.utah.edu/pub/mozilla.org/',
'mozilla.mirrors.tds.net/pub/mozilla.org/',
'ftp.scarlet.be/pub/mozilla.org/', 'ftp.uni-
erlangen.de/pub/mozilla.org/',
'sunsite.rediris.es/pub/mozilla.org/']]
--keyservers=KEYSERVERS, -k KEYSERVERS
add a pgp keyserver to the default list of keyservers.
[default: ['subkeys.pgp.net', 'pgpkeys.mit.edu',
'pgp.mit.edu', 'wwwkeys.pgp.net',
'keymaster.veridis.com']]

==Unattended Mode==

''Note: the unattended mode function hasn't been tested since quite a few releases ago... so it may not work as advertised.''

The unattended mode is there for you if you want to install Mozilla software without any user interaction at all (save for the necessary password entry for 'sudo'). It is not really useful for your average user, but if you are going to roll your own custom installation CD, or if you are installing this on a few dozen or hundred computers, that's when you will really appreciate this mode. To run in unattended mode, just add option '-u' to all the other options.

There are also some control options for use with unattended mode (since it is unattended, the script can't ask you about them in the middle, so you have to supply them in the beginning. One is '-l', for specifying the localization (language) you want for the installed software, and the other is '-b', to specify that you want to skip the backup of the user profile.

Generally, familiarize yourself with the operation of the script, and figure out what it is doing, before running it in unattended mode on a hundred machines. You don't want to wake up to any surprises. :)

Feel free to talk to us on the [http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=251 Ubuntuzilla support forum] if you have any questions.

=Some Tips=

==Customizing your Firefox install==

* If middle-click on tab to close it does not work, you can enable it by pointing Firefox to "about:config" and set ''middlemouse.contentLoadURL'' to false. Voila, middle-click to close works again.
* To enable the autoscroll (where you middle-click and a little arrow-graphic appears and you can scroll just by moving the mouse), go to "about:config" and set ''general.autoScroll'' to true.
* To automatically select the entire contents of the URL bar when you click there, open "about:config" and set ''browser.urlbar.clickSelectsAll'' to true. I find this a helpful usability improvement.

==Useful Firefox Extensions==

Here are some very highly recommended extensions. I personally can't imagine living without them. :)

* [http://adblockplus.org/en/ Adblock Plus] with [http://easylist.adblockplus.org/ EasyList] filters. Simply a must for improving your browsing experience.
* [http://noscript.net/ NoScript] blocks javascript and various plugins on a per-site basis. Very useful for security, AdBlock-resistant ads, and various javascript annoyances. Highly recommended.
* [http://flashblock.mozdev.org/ FlashBlock] blocks flash objects, until you explicitly click on them. A very good partner for NoScript (since when scripts are allowed, so are plugins, which you may not want).
* [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/951 Nuke Anything Enhanced] allows you to manually remove elements from a page. For those rare things that are missed by AdBlock + NoScript. :)

If you would like to suggest some other extensions for inclusion in this list, feel free to post a message in the discussion page.

==Useful Thunderbird Extensions==

Here are some very highly recommended extensions for Thunderbird.

* [http://enigmail.mozdev.org/home/index.php Enigmail]. Easy to use front-end for gnupg to encrypt and sign your email. A must for the security-conscious email user.
* [http://attachreminder.sourceforge.net/ Attachment Reminder] scans your outgoing email for keywords, and prompts you if it looks like you wanted to attach a file but didn't. Customizable keyword list, full regexp support, and other features make for a fairly robust scan. Full disclosure: I wrote this extension myself.

If you would like to suggest some other extensions for inclusion in this list, feel free to post a message in the discussion page.

=Help section/FAQ=

See the [[Ubuntuzilla FAQ]] for common questions and problems (and their solutions).

=Licenses=

* Ubuntuzilla code is licensed under the [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GPL v3 or later].
* Content of the Ubuntuzilla wiki (this site), is licensed under the [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/ Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License].

=Related links=

* ''nanotube'''s [http://wiki.df.dreamhosters.com/wiki/Ubuntu_Chronicles_Intrepid Ubuntu guide] and [http://wiki.df.dreamhosters.com/wiki/Ubuntu_Forums_FAQ Ubuntu Forums FAQ]
* ''aysiu'''s [http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/ Ubuntu tutorials]
* [http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=251 Ubuntuzilla Support Forum] (courtesy of the Ubuntu forums)
* Official Ubuntu resources:
** [http://ubuntuforums.org Ubuntu Forums]
** [http://www.ubuntu.com Main Ubuntu site]
** [https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/ Ubuntu bug and issue tracker]

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