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Sled
Asked: 2010-11-05 12:33:13 +0800 CST

Can I use apt to install packages without root privelages?

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I am on a school computer (Ubuntu Lucid Lynx) and I would like to run some code that has dependencies on certain libraries. I would like to install those libraries into my user account using apt instead of having to compile them source, as I don't want to deal with dependency hell. Is this possible?

linux ubuntu apt

3 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    No, you cant use apt without root or superuser access.

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  2. The next best thing you can do is to download the packages manually, then use is dpkg-deb -x to extract their contents to your home directory. Obviously, there won't be any automatic dependency resolution, and you'll have to use $LD_LIBRARY_PATH or other tricks to make things work with non-standard paths.

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  3. You could be sneaky and set up a private RPM repository, but that's more trouble than it's worth and probably easier to add another system to the network, get permission, or have a virtual machine set up for you with a few additional privileges granted. Make friends with an authorized admin, being up front, and maybe they can open other doors for you.

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