How To Install shtool on Debian 11

One-liner install command

For those in a hurry, here's a one-line installation command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt -y install shtool

But if you are interested in the detailed steps with descriptions, the following information is for you.

What is shtool and what are the ways to install it?

Before beginning this tutorial, you will need access to a server or computer running Debian 11. This guide was written specifically with a server running Debian 11 in mind, although it should also work on older, supported versions of the operating system.

Also, make sure you are running a regular, non-root user with sudo privileges configured on your server. When you have an account available, log in as your non-root user to begin.

There are several ways to install shtool on Debian 11. You can use (links are clickable):

In the following sections, we will describe each method in detail. You can choose one of them or refer to the recommended one.

Install shtool using apt-get

First, update apt database with apt-get using the following command.

sudo apt-get update

After updating apt-get database, You can install shtool using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install shtool

Install shtool using apt

Because shtool is available in Debian 11’s default repositories, it is possible to install it from these repositories using the apt packaging system.

To begin, update apt database with apt using the following command.

sudo apt update

After updating apt database, You can install shtool using apt by running the following command:

sudo apt -y install shtool

Install shtool using aptitude

If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Debian 11. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.

sudo aptitude update

After updating aptitude database, You can install shtool by running the following command:

sudo aptitude -y install shtool

How to upgrade (update) a single package shtool using apt-get?

First, you will need to update packages index. Run update command as usual:

sudo apt-get update

Next, to upgrade only the shtool, e.g. single package, you should use the following format with the apt-get command/apt command:

sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install shtool

Note that this command will not install any new packages! If you wish to install the package if it doesn't exist you may leave out --only-upgrade part.

sudo apt-get install shtool

How To Uninstall shtool from Debian 11

To uninstall only the shtool package you can execute the following command:

sudo apt-get remove shtool

Uninstall shtool and all its dependencies

To uninstall shtool and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Debian 11, you can use the command below:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove shtool

Remove shtool with all configurations and data

To remove shtool configuration and data from your system you can run the following purge command:

sudo apt-get -y purge shtool

Remove shtool completely (configurations, data and all of its dependencies)

And lastly, you can run the next command to remove absolutely everything related to shtool package, e.g.: configurations, data and all of its dependencies. Just use this command:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge shtool

Extra info and code examples

GNU shtool is a tool for developers of software programs. It is a compilation of small but very stable and portable shell scripts into a single shell tool. All ingredients were in successful use over many years in various free software projects. The compiled shtool program is intended to be used inside the source tree of other free software packages. There it can overtake various (usually non-portable) tasks related to the building and installation of such a package. It especially can replace the old mkdir.sh, install.sh and related scripts. GNU shtool currently contains the following tools: echo, mdate, table, prop, move, install, mkdir, mkln, mkshadow, fixperm, rotate, tarball, subst, platform, arx, slo, scpp, version and path.

Conclusion

You now have a full guide on how to install shtool using apt, apt-get and aptitude tools. Also, we showed how to update as a single package and different ways to uninstall the shtool from Debian 11.

See also: