• View
• Edit
• History
• Print

Add a package from PPA

#############################

Here I show you step by step how to install a package from PPA. This guide is based on http://www.webupd8.org/2009/11/what-to-do-when-keyserverubuntucom-is.html . As a concrete example, we'll install firefox-smooth-scaling.

Step 1

Locate the PPA page of the package. In our case it's https://launchpad.net/~firefox-smooth-scaling/+archive/ppa . Under the description you'll find the following line: ppa:firefox-smooth-scaling/ppa.

Now you have two options: (1) the easy way, and (2) the bit more complicated way. Let's start with the easy one.

Step 2 - The Easy Way

Execute the following command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:firefox-smooth-scaling/ppa

This script does two things: first it adds the appropriate PPA address to your sources.list, and then it fetches the required key from keyserver.ubuntu.com. However, if keyserver.ubuntu.com is down (which happens quite often), you will have to do these two steps manually. So go to Step 3.

Step 3 - The Bit More Complicated Way

If Step 2 was a success, then you can stop here :) Otherwise, do the following: Copy the text ppa:firefox-smooth-scaling/ppa and add it to your software sources (System → Administration → Software Sources, Other Software tab, Add…, paste, close, refresh).

Most probably you will get an error that the site you just added in not signed.

Step 4

Click on Technical details about this PPA and locate the signing key that looks like this: 1024R/EFC7A5D0. Here the important part is EFC7A5D0.

Step 5

Execute the following command:

sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keys.gnupg.net --recv-keys EFC7A5D0

By default the command above would use keyserver.ubuntu.com, but it's often down. In that case you can use one of the following addresses:

keyserver.ubuntu.com (default)
pool.sks-keyservers.net
subkeys.pgp.net
pgp.mit.edu
keys.nayr.net
keys.gnupg.net
wwwkeys.XX.pgp.net (replace XX with your country code (hu, fr, en, de, etc.))

To install this patched version of Firefox, launch the following command at the end:

sudo apt-get upgrade

Or

sudo apt-get install firefox