How to Update Software Packages on Interix, SUA/SFU
Short Introduction
After you have installed some (or all) of the software packages you may want
to check now or later if an update is available. The process is easy to do
and we describe it here in the basic terms. For more technical details
refer to the Packge Install web page.
It is a good idea to visit the Forum section
Software Announcements
to see which packages have been updated and when.
Want to know what is installed? Use the pkg_info command. (Link here)
Want to remove or delete a package? Use the pkg_delete command (Link here).
Basic Update
- Logon to your Windows machine as the Local Administrator. The Local
Administrator has special powers (aka root) that the accounts in the
Administrators Group do not. This is part of Interix/SUA being Unix-like.
- Open a shell window; it can be whatever your favorite is: csh, ksh, zsh or bash.
- Enter the command "pkg_update -L name" where name
is the name of the software package to update.
- If you do not have FTP access then add '-H' to the command above.
- You should see print on the screen showing the update happening, or be
told you have the most current package.
- You're done!
Sample screen. This is the utility named 'yes' being checked for an update. The result shows the most current version is already installed.
Check Everything for Updates
This is when you want to check all of the installed software packages to see
if there is an update. Please understand that this will take a long time
and may transfer a lot of files over the Internet.
- Logon to your Windows machine as the Local Administrator. The Local
Administrator has special powers (aka root) that the accounts in the
Administrators Group do not. This is part of Interix/SUA being Unix-like.
- Open a shell window; it can be whatever your favorite is: csh, ksh, zsh or bash.
- Enter the command "pkg_update -aL".
- If you do not have FTP access then add '-H' to the command above.
- You should see print on the screen showing the update happening, or be
told you have the most current package.
- You're done!
More Information
You can read more information about the installer tools on their manual
pages (aka "man pages"). This is where the most detailed information is
available. From a shell (as any user account) enter "man pkg_update",
"man pkg_info" or "man pkg_delete". Other tools are available but these
are the three main ones.
Need Help? Want to follow what's happening?
If you need help please read through the FAQ
or post a question into the Forums.
If you want to follow what is happening on this site you can follow our
Twitter account or
you can choose to get e-mails when a post happens in the
Software Announcements Forum.
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