Questions tagged [ubuntu]

Free, open-source operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. Ubuntu questions are on topic here, but if you prefer an Ubuntu-only audience there is Ask Ubuntu (https://askubuntu.com/).

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411 votes
11 answers
537k views

How to check which apache modules are enabled/installed?

Which is the most elegant way to check which apache modules are enabled?
udo's user avatar
  • 8,011
397 votes
7 answers
277k views

Find what package a file belongs to in Ubuntu/Debian?

I frequently find myself missing a program, man page, or other file when working on my Ubuntu 8.04 system. Is there any simple way to look up what package contains a given file (whether it is ...
Jay Conrod's user avatar
  • 5,620
395 votes
21 answers
544k views

How do I detach a process from Terminal, entirely?

I use Tilda (drop-down terminal) on Ubuntu as my "command central" - pretty much the way others might use GNOME Do, Quicksilver or Launchy. However, I'm struggling with how to completely detach a ...
user avatar
300 votes
10 answers
766k views

How can I list all IPs in the connected network, through Terminal preferably?

Using Ubuntu 10.10 command line, how can I list all IPs connected to my home network? Ideally, it needs to be a CLI command as I will be running it from C++.
Christopher Gwilliams's user avatar
290 votes
5 answers
233k views

Zsh not hitting ~/.profile

I've just installed zsh on my Ubuntu system. It seems zsh isn't executing ~/.profile on init. To my best understanding, this should be an automatic behavior. What am I missing?
shmichael's user avatar
  • 3,263
288 votes
8 answers
851k views

How do you add a certificate authority (CA) to Ubuntu?

My work has decided to issue their own certificate authority (CA) to handle different aspects of our work securely without paying for certificates. Cryptographically sign emails Encrypt email ...
Xeoncross's user avatar
  • 4,592
238 votes
5 answers
261k views

What does the asterisk mean after a filename when you type `ls -l`?

I've done an ls -l inside a directory, and my files are displaying like this : james@nevada:~/development/tools/android-sdk-linux_86/tools$ ll total 9512 drwxr-xr-x 3 james james 4096 2010-05-07 ...
user155695's user avatar
  • 3,619
228 votes
2 answers
359k views

How to reload /etc/environment without rebooting?

/etc/environment is officially the correct place for system wide environment variables. But how can I reload the assignments in this file without rebooting or relogging? Interestingly enough google ...
fgysin's user avatar
  • 2,938
199 votes
5 answers
483k views

How to mount a HFS partition in Ubuntu as Read/Write?

I plugged in my external harddrive (which was formatted on my Mac into HFS+ journaled) to my Ubuntu desktop 9.04 64bit. I am not able to get the drive to mount with write capability, how do I do that?...
GiH's user avatar
  • 4,017
184 votes
6 answers
82k views

How to tell from what Ubuntu or Debian repository a package comes?

On a Debian-based system, including Ubuntu, how can one tell which repository a package will be downloaded from, without actually beginning the download? aptitude show and apt-cache info will show the ...
gotgenes's user avatar
  • 2,426
176 votes
7 answers
302k views

How to password protect gzip files on the command line?

I want to create some tar.gz (and possibly tar.bz2) files, using the tar command on Ubuntu 10.04. I want to password protect the file. What is the command to do this (I have Googled, but found ...
morpheous's user avatar
  • 4,333
174 votes
16 answers
356k views

How to wipe free disk space in Linux?

When a file is deleted, its contents may still be left in the filesystem, unless explicitly overwritten with something else. The wipe command can securely erase files, but does not seem to allow ...
Alex B's user avatar
  • 2,077
165 votes
7 answers
227k views

No USB devices available in VirtualBox

Oracle VirtualBox is unable to list/filter the USB devices attached to my system. As a result, the guest OS is not able to see any USB device either. This is my configuration: Host: VirtualBox 5.0.0 ...
mguassa's user avatar
  • 1,864
160 votes
4 answers
132k views

How can I launch the GNOME image viewer from the terminal?

It's the default image viewer for Ubuntu, and apparently it's called Eye of Gnome. I would like to be able to launch it from the command line, passing it a file name to open.
James's user avatar
  • 5,099
155 votes
3 answers
186k views

What does the -p flag do in "mkdir -p"?

What does the -p flag do in mkdir -p?
user27449's user avatar
  • 6,910
153 votes
3 answers
330k views

What does /dev/sda in Linux mean?

What does /dev/sda stand for? What does it mean? I have both Fedora and Ubuntu installed and if I explore them using Ext2explore from Windows, I see these names: /dev/sda6 /dev/sda9 Please ...
saplingPro's user avatar
  • 1,689
147 votes
9 answers
231k views

How do I make Bash my default shell on Ubuntu?

I have a .bash_profile in my home directory, but it isn't getting run on login. If I do the following, then things seem to be as I expect: ssh myhost bash source ~/.bash_profile But normally that ...
James A. Rosen's user avatar
145 votes
10 answers
31k views

Ubuntu crashes on windows: 0x80040326 Wsl error

I have Ubuntu 22.04 app installed on top of Windows. It worked fine until one day it crashed and now all I get is this error code when I try to start Ubuntu on windows. Error: 0x80040326 Error code: ...
user avatar
145 votes
9 answers
75k views

Running upstart jobs as unprivileged users

What's the canonical way to have an upstart job change its userid and run the script as an unprivileged user? Obviously one can use su or sudo, but this seems hacky (and can generate needless log ...
aaronsw's user avatar
  • 1,647
142 votes
8 answers
344k views

How can I monitor the CPU temperature under linux?

How do I monitor and display the CPU temperature using Linux?
chris's user avatar
  • 9,365
140 votes
16 answers
207k views

How to synchronize the home folder between multiple computers?

I have three computers at home, and would like to have the /home/ folder tree synchronized between the three. Any files/folders (except those hidden) that are modified/added/removed in one of the ...
138 votes
7 answers
122k views

Is there a way to show notification from bash script in Ubuntu?

Most of the application can show nicely formatted notification on events that appear on top right corner of the screen. I'm about to write a bash script that will do fairy long processing in the ...
vava's user avatar
  • 5,878
137 votes
12 answers
471k views

How to upload one file by FTP from command line?

I need to upload a single file to FTP server from Ubuntu. This operation should be done in a script (in non-interactive mode). What is the right syntax for ftp? I'm trying this, to no avail: $ ftp -...
yegor256's user avatar
  • 1,671
136 votes
12 answers
48k views

How to disable Ctrl+Shift+U?

Ctrl+Shift+U is a combined shortcut in Eclipse. But when I press it, it shows up a u, just like input with an underline. I guess this shortcut has been declared by Ubuntu, so I can't use it. I used to ...
Frank Cheng's user avatar
  • 1,463
135 votes
8 answers
211k views

VirtualBox to use dual monitors

I am running Kubuntu Hardy Heron, with a dual monitor setup, and have VirtualBox on it running Windows XP in seamless mode. My problem is, I can't get VirtualBox to extend to the second monitor.  How ...
fnord_ix's user avatar
  • 3,192
134 votes
16 answers
364k views

How do I move files and directories to the parent folder in Linux?

In Linux (Ubuntu), how do you move all the files and directories to the parent directory?
user avatar
132 votes
1 answer
118k views

Cannot decompress .tar.xz file, getting "xz: Cannot exec: No such file or directory" from tar

Per How do I uncompress a tarball that uses .xz?, I tried tar xf php-5.6.0RC4.tar.xz and tar -xJf php-5.6.0RC4.tar.xz and in both cases I get the following: tar (child): xz: Cannot exec: No such file ...
neubert's user avatar
  • 7,092
130 votes
9 answers
208k views

How do I add a user to multiple groups in Ubuntu?

What's the command line utility and the arguments it requires?
quackingduck's user avatar
  • 3,171
130 votes
6 answers
433k views

How do I log out of `sudo su`?

I'm using sudo su to start mysql and do some homework with it. When I finish with mysql (or any other command), then I'm still in sudo. How do I "log out", so my prompt changes back from # to $?
KDecker's user avatar
  • 2,251
129 votes
2 answers
120k views

How to add a mp3 handler to sox?

I want to play music in the terminal with sox. # install sox/lame sudo apt-get install sox sudo apt-get install lame # play music play music.mp3 # play FAIL formats: no handler for file extension `...
kev's user avatar
  • 12.7k
128 votes
12 answers
150k views

Change default text editor for crontab to vim

I'm using ubuntu 9.10 and the default text editor is nano, which i hate. (doesn't everyone?) Normally it's not a problem as i just vi or gedit everything but crontab -e is opening with nano. I ...
Max Williams's user avatar
  • 2,989
127 votes
11 answers
131k views

Run VirtualBox in background, without a window?

I was wondering if it's possible to run an Ubuntu virtual machine using VirtualBox in background, I mean, without any window open. The idea is to connect via SSH to the Linux host, that would be ...
user avatar
118 votes
2 answers
72k views

How to remove/reset Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows Insider Build 14316

I installed the Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14316. Now I would like to remove it or, better, revert to its factory defaults i.e. as it was when just installed. I ...
shub's user avatar
  • 1,430
114 votes
10 answers
307k views

Play MP3 or WAV file via the Linux command line

I would like to make an alarm system backed by a Ubuntu (no graphical interface) box, which plays various announcement and alarm audio tracks (.mp3 or .wav) via the command line. For example: $ root&...
c2h2's user avatar
  • 2,423
112 votes
3 answers
220k views

How can I change shell in Ubuntu? [duplicate]

I have a Ubuntu Server VPS and I want to use /bin/bash/ as my shell. How can I change my shell? I have root access but I don't work as root. So dash is my default shell now. I have read How do I make ...
Jonas's user avatar
  • 27.5k
109 votes
6 answers
163k views

How can I recover the original file from a .swp file?

I tried opening the .swp file using vi and cat but it displays junk.
zarna's user avatar
  • 1,191
108 votes
9 answers
186k views

Opening a .msg file in Ubuntu [closed]

Someone sent me a .msg file on Skype, and somehow I just can't open this in Ubuntu. Is there any app in which I could open the .msg file?
Elitmiar's user avatar
  • 3,144
108 votes
8 answers
279k views

tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors

I have written a little script that tars and compresses a list of directories + files. The script appears to run succesfully, in that a useable .tar.gz file is created after the script runs. However,...
morpheous's user avatar
  • 4,333
105 votes
4 answers
65k views

Convert a PDF to greyscale on the command line in FLOSS?

I have a colour PDF file, and I'm going to print it out and then photocopy it in black and white. I'd like to know what it's like in B&W before photocopying it. Is it possible to 'greyscale' a PDF ...
Amandasaurus's user avatar
  • 1,977
103 votes
10 answers
974k views

Updating Python on Ubuntu system

I want to update the Python build on my Linux box, but the only way I know how to do it is uninstalling the current version and installing the new one. My system is already up to date (I updated ...
efficiencyIsBliss's user avatar
101 votes
5 answers
380k views

How to update Google chrome in Ubuntu?

How to update Google chrome in Ubuntu?
OscarRyz's user avatar
  • 4,121
101 votes
8 answers
183k views

How can I view results of my cron jobs?

I see so many guides on how to run crontab, but what I need right now is to learn how to Find log files about cron jobs Configure what gets logged
Zombies's user avatar
  • 3,812
100 votes
3 answers
189k views

How do I install the Sun/Oracle Java SDK on Ubuntu?

Since 11.10 Ubuntu does not provide the sun-java-jdk, how do I install it?
Rodja's user avatar
  • 1,167
97 votes
7 answers
184k views

How to update snap-store linux.. How to update this?

How to update snap-store . I don't have Ubuntu advantage subscription.
Ctf Ctf's user avatar
  • 1,083
97 votes
5 answers
55k views

Aptitude vs. apt-get: Which is the recommended (aka the "right") tool to use?

Some time ago I read that aptitude is the preferred tool for installation on Debian-based systems. But when you search around on how to administer a Debian-based system, then aptitude is rarely ...
Vokuhila-Oliba's user avatar
96 votes
2 answers
219k views

How can I filter out unique results from grep output?

In linux, I can grep a string from a file using grep mySearchString myFile.txt. How can I only get the result which are unique?
hap497's user avatar
  • 2,959
96 votes
4 answers
69k views

How do I "identify with services" on IRC?

I am using irrsi as my irc cilent on ubuntu I have entered "/join #android-dev" in my command window. But I am getting this error message: 22:05 -!- #android-dev Cannot join channel (+r) - you need ...
hap497's user avatar
  • 2,959
95 votes
2 answers
153k views

Rename user's group name

I just did usermod -l login-name old-name to change the username, but the group name is still the old one. Any way of renaming the group name? I can't find any info to do so.
w0rldart's user avatar
  • 2,983
95 votes
5 answers
153k views

How do I change the DNS settings for WSL2?

As far as I've been able to work out, the official process for changing which DNS server is used by WSL2 on Windows 10 is as detailed below. (WSL2 is the new release of the Windows Subsystem for Linux,...
Bevan's user avatar
  • 2,653
94 votes
14 answers
226k views

Mouse clicks suddenly stopped working in Ubuntu

This is a weird one. For some reason, last night my mouse partially stopped working. Movement is fine, but the mouse buttons don't work. Mainly it's the left button, but occasionally the right click ...
DisgruntledGoat's user avatar

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