How to install rpms

General Discussion
1

Hi,
is there a general guide how to install rpms, when using clear linux? I tried to inform myself but did not find any comprehensible guide (am not a professional more an interested linux user) on how to install rmps… I would appreciate, if someone could help me out with this problem.

2

It’s not supported, which is why there is only casual info on this forum that explain how you can “abuse” RPM’s to “install”.

Clear Linux uses bundles. You can request new ones to be created if you are missing something and it meets our guidelines for inclusion.

What software are you looking for?

3

Sure - not here to “abuse” the OS :wink: For me there is a printer driver, I would like to use and I would like to be able to install NordVPN on my Laptop. Thats maybe not the stuff, you guys prepare as bundles…

4

Which printer driver is this?

5

Brother HL-3040CL
Would it be possible for you to also create a bundle for the Onlyoffice Desktop Editor?

6

@HeikoS, you can request new bundles on the clear Linux GitHub page here.

7

I can’t find mention of that one. Is it by chance the HL-3040CN? If so, doesn’t look promising:
http://www.openprinting.org/printers/manufacturer/Brother

More reading:

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/5xx49k/how_did_we_let_open_source_printing_support_get/

Old, but might be a starting point:

Might help with other Brother printers:

8

Thanks - sorry for my misspelling - you are right with the suggested model. I am also not very optimistic to get this old machine working again. A pitty cause it still functions…

9

Thanks for the info!

10

This is the important part for anyone shopping for a printer:
https://support.brother.com/g/b/spec.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=hl3040cn_all

Emulation N/A(Host-Based only)
Notes: *1 Windows Host-Based only

If you download the Linux RPM, you can extract the contents, including the binary printer filter and the PPD, and probably find a way to get it to work, so you don’t necessarily have to give up on this printer. Thankfully Brother at least provides those, while some manufacturers don’t even bother with non-Windows support for host-based printers. But for anyone in the market for a new one, choosing a printer that specifically supports PostScript, PCL, or maybe PJL emulation will give you a much better chance of getting it working without having to wrangle a binary package.

11

Are bundles added by the Clear Linux team or is there a way for users to add their own bundles? In Ubuntu there are 3rd party repos. In Gentoo users can create overlays, among other things.

Let’s take Anydesk as a specific case. Clear Linux has a flatpak of Anydesk. The flatpak can’t be started automatically with “systemd enable anydesk.service” while the regular anydesk can be managed by systemd. Flatpak Anydesk does not seem to provide unattended remote access. Probably anydesk can be installed with the unofficial rpm -i -nodeps method. Are there some tools to help users to create their own packages, maintain them, and check dependencies?

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12

We are working on improving support for 3rd party software, allowing users to create their own packages. Stay tuned!

Chris

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