How to create .squash from .deb ???

[lizardidi]

Hi. May i ask what is the steps to create .squash form a .deb file?

In puppies, there will be various methods and tools for this, but i can't find one in debiandog.

Currently using DD bookworm 64 bit version.

Thanks all.

[wiak]

Hi. May i ask what is the steps to create .squash form a .deb file?

In puppies, there will be various methods and tools for this, but i can't find one in debiandog.

Currently using DD bookworm 64 bit version.

Thanks all.

Well, fredx181 is the best person to answer this since he wrote the utils for doing so, but since I'm here and know an answer I'll give it. Fact is, to my knowledge, DebianDogs have always, for over ten years now, been the best distro on the forum for the ability to create sfs files from deb files - better/more-straightforward than any Pup can even now IMO. You just need to go to:

Code: Select all

Start Menu > Module Tools > Apt2Sfs

All DDs from way back have had that facility/utility. Just try it.

I expect there are other, more manual utilities available in DD too, but I'll leave that for others to describe since I'm no longer so familiar with DD utils as I once was.

[fredx181]

Yes (thanks @wiak ) apt2sfs is a way, entering package name(s) (existing in repository) will create an SFS, including dependencies of the package(s).

For creating SFS from a single .deb (that you possibly downloaded) there's no program available, but I can give info on how to do it, but need to know if you are on a "usr-merged" system or not.
("usr-merged" is that e.g. /bin and /lib are symlinks to e.g. /usr/bin and /usr/lib).
And telling us which .deb package you have in mind would be good.

[lizardidi]

Hi @wiak, thanks for the input. I have to agree Apt2sfs is a great tool, aside from the PADS tool in puppy that i frequently use. It helped me create numerous .squash apps that i needed with a few key stroke. However, apt2sfs have its limitations.

Yes (thanks @wiak ) apt2sfs is a way, entering package name(s) (existing in repository) will create an SFS, including dependencies of the package(s).

For creating SFS from a single .deb (that you possibly downloaded) there's no program available, but I can give info on how to do it, but need to know if you are on a "usr-merged" system or not.
("usr-merged" is that e.g. /bin and /lib are symlinks to e.g. /usr/bin and /usr/lib).
And telling us which .deb package you have in mind would be good.

Indeed @fredx181 , you are right. I am trying to create a sfs from a .deb file. For my case, i am trying to install / create .squash file of latest wps office. The latest WPS Office Presentation would provide additional features "Morph" effect that I badly needed for creating / viewing slideshow made from Office365. Libreoffice Impress, as the alternative both to WPS and Microsoft office, lack such effect and hence unable to view the .ppt files correctly.

Btw, I am on a usr-merged system. Thanks for pointing me way.

[amethyst]

I use Uextract and Packit. Unpack with Uextract, repack as sfs with Packit. Note that uextract normally creates an extracted folder. You need to open this folder, select all items inside, right click any item and run Packit.

[lizardidi]

I use Uextract and Packit. Unpack with Uextract, repack as sfs with Packit. Note that uextract normally creates an extracted folder. You need to open this folder, select all items inside, right click any item and run Packit.

Tried the method you suggested.. Unfortunately Packit only can pack 1 file, although I selected all of the extracted files. This method does create a .sfs from the first file though.

[fredx181]

@lizardidi
First, I had a look at the wps-office .deb, and I think you would be better off installing it (right-click > Install .deb) because of possibly required missing dependencies (for me these are libglu1-mesa and libopengl0).
Also the .deb has postinst and preinst scripts that may take care of setting mimetypes etc..

But anyway, to make .squashfs from the .deb, extract it first (right-click > Extract .deb), remove the DEBIAN folder inside and if you have cr-squash script in /usr/local/bin (probably?):
From terminal where you extracted the .deb something like cr-squash <wps-office-extracted-deb> e.g.:
cr-squash wps-office_11.1.0.11704.XA_amd64
(and there's GUI choice for compression type)

[amethyst]

I use Uextract and Packit. Unpack with Uextract, repack as sfs with Packit. Note that uextract normally creates an extracted folder. You need to open this folder, select all items inside, right click any item and run Packit.

Tried the method you suggested.. Unfortunately Packit only can pack 1 file, although I selected all of the extracted files. This method does create a .sfs from the first file though.

You are doing it incorrectly, I use this method all the time. Again - open the extracted folder, select all the items in the extracted folder, right-click on any of the selected items and run Packit from the right-click menu.

[lizardidi]

@lizardidi
First, I had a look at the wps-office .deb, and I think you would be better off installing it (right-click > Install .deb) because of possibly required missing dependencies (for me these are libglu1-mesa and libopengl0).
Also the .deb has postinst and preinst scripts that may take care of setting mimetypes etc..

But anyway, to make .squashfs from the .deb, extract it first (right-click > Extract .deb), remove the DEBIAN folder inside and if you have cr-squash script in /usr/local/bin (probably?):
From terminal where you extracted the .deb something like cr-squash <wps-office-extracted-deb> e.g.:
cr-squash wps-office_11.1.0.11704.XA_amd64
(and there's GUI choice for compression type)

Thanks for mentioning the dependencies. Aside from those, in my BookwormDog (build from script) will need to install "qtbase5-dev" for the office suite to run successfully.
Currently playing with the script, will report back once successfully build .squash..

edit 01.12.2023: sorry my bad, its not qtbase5-dev, instead you need to install "python3-pyqt5" in order for wps to run

[fredx181]

need to install "qtbase5-dev"

As far as I know "..-dev" packages are for compiling, so I don't understand why you'd need it.

Btw, if you want to include the dependencies e.g. libs you can add them to the .squashfs by downloading the packages e.g. apt download package1 package2 , extract them and add the libs to usr/lib or usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu in the folder from which you create the .squashfs.