When I run 'apt upgrade', 'apt update' etc, I get the following error:

Setting up shim-signed (1.40.10+15.8-0ubuntu1)  
Mount /var/lib/grub/esp: special device /dev/sda1 does not exist  
Dpkg: error processing package shim-signed

I think this fails because the /boot/efi partition in /etc/fstab is a UUID which links to /dev/sdc1 (which is correct). (/dev/sda is a raw data disk with no partitions) The file /var/cache/debconf/config.dat has the following settings:

Name: grub-efi/install_devices  
Template: grub-efi/install_devices  
Value: /dev/sda1  
Owners: grub-common, grub-efi-amd64, grub-pc  
Flags: seen  
Variables:  
    CHOICES:  
    RAW_CHOICES  

Name: grub-efi/install_devices_disks_changed  
Template: grub-efi/install_devices_disks_changed  
Value: /dev/sda1, /dev/sdc1  
Owners: grub-common, grub-efi-amd64,   
Flags: seen  
Variables:  
    CHOICES:  
    RAW_CHOICES

My questions are: Can I just change the config.dat file to use /dev/sdc1? Is there a command to do this rather than just edit the file? What's caused this to happen in the first place when there are identical servers which behave correctly? I'm wary about reinstalling grub etc as I don't know if this will do anything with /dev/sda. Any help appreciated please.

Let's say I want to install mysql from a script without being asked any configuration questions like what root password I want to set by apt. I would then preset the debconf variables: echo mysql-server-5.5 mysql-server/root_password password xyzzy | debconf-set-selections echo mysql-server-5.5 mysql-server/root_password_again password xyzzy | debconf-set-selections I got this from a tutorial. What is unclear to me: How did the guy find out the variable names? How did he knew that he had to set mysql-server-5.5 mysql-server/root_password password and mysql-server-5.5 mysql-server/root_password_again respectively? I know I could extract the .deb package by issuing dpkg-deb -R package.deb EXTRACTDIR/ - but I don't see where those variables are stored. How would I find out the debconf variables for any other package?

When I install some software packages from Emacs in a non-interactive shell, say from an org-babel file some of the packages result in the message below:

debconf: unable to initialize frontend: Dialog
debconf: (Dialog frontend will not work on a dumb terminal, an emacs shell buffer, or without a controlling terminal.)
debconf: falling back to frontend: Readline

I know that in the case of mysql for instance it is to prompt for the root password, or some other stuff which the user's preferences or settings are sought. I take it that in such cases the installer may use some default settings and continue. So my main concerns are: 1. Can the consequences be that bad? 2. Are there some kind of response files related to each package that can be passed to the installer or some default files at some preset locations that can be used for this purpose?

Every time I try to update or install a new package, I get these errors:

┌──(mahdi㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo apt update                     
Hit:1 http://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code  stable InRelease                                                                                                                    
Hit:3 http://ppa.launchpad.net/obsproject/obs-studio/ubuntu  bionic InRelease                                                                                                       
Hit:5 https://packages.sury.org/php  buster InRelease                                                                                                                               
Hit:6 https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian  stable InRelease                                                                                                                          
Hit:7 https://download.mono-project.com/repo/debian  bionic InRelease                                                                                                           
Hit:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/uget-team/ppa/ubuntu  bionic InRelease                                                                                                           
Get:10 https://packages.microsoft.com/debian/11/prod  bullseye InRelease [10.5 kB]                                                                        
Hit:2 http://mirror.karneval.cz/pub/linux/kali  kali-last-snapshot InRelease                                                                      
Hit:4 http://wlglam.fsmg.org.nz/kali  kali-rolling InRelease                                                           
Hit:9 http://ftp.halifax.rwth-aachen.de/kali  kali-bleeding-edge InRelease          
Get:11 http://mirror-1.truenetwork.ru/kali  kali-experimental InRelease [23.0 kB]
Fetched 33.4 kB in 4s (7,728 B/s)    
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
All packages are up to date.
N: Skipping acquire of configured file 'main/binary-i386/Packages' as repository 'https://packages.microsoft.com/debian/11/prod  bullseye InRelease' doesn't support architecture 'i386'

┌──(mahdi㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo apt upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y
debconf: Perl may be unconfigured (syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 178, near "sudo exec"
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 182, near "} and"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 190.
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 191.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 196, near "else"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 197.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 199.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 202.
Global symbol "$kidpid" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $kidpid"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 203.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 212, near "}"
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm has too many errors.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open2.pm line 31.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
Compilation failed in require at (eval 1) line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at (eval 1) line 8.
) -- aborting
Setting up debconf (1.5.79) ...
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 178, near "sudo exec"
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 182, near "} and"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 190.
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 191.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 196, near "else"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 197.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 199.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 202.
Global symbol "$kidpid" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $kidpid"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 203.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 212, near "}"
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm has too many errors.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open2.pm line 31.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/debconf/frontend line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/debconf/frontend line 8.
dpkg: error processing package debconf (--configure):
 installed debconf package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 255
Errors were encountered while processing:
 debconf
needrestart is being skipped since dpkg has failed
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

I tried to reinstall the debconf but:

┌──(mahdi㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo apt install --reinstall debconf                                                                                                                          
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 reinstalled, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
E: Internal Error, No file name for debconf:amd64

Also fixing packages didn't work:

┌──(mahdi㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo apt --fix-broken install                                                                                                                                             100 ⨯
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
debconf: Perl may be unconfigured (syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 178, near "sudo exec"
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 182, near "} and"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 190.
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 191.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 196, near "else"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 197.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 199.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 202.
Global symbol "$kidpid" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $kidpid"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 203.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 212, near "}"
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm has too many errors.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open2.pm line 31.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
Compilation failed in require at (eval 1) line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at (eval 1) line 8.
) -- aborting
Setting up debconf (1.5.79) ...
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 178, near "sudo exec"
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 182, near "} and"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 190.
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 191.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 196, near "else"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 197.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 199.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 202.
Global symbol "$kidpid" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $kidpid"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 203.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 212, near "}"
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm has too many errors.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open2.pm line 31.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/debconf/frontend line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/debconf/frontend line 8.
dpkg: error processing package debconf (--configure):
 installed debconf package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 255
Errors were encountered while processing:
 debconf
needrestart is being skipped since dpkg has failed
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

I even tried to install debconf manually:

┌──(mahdi㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo dpkg -i '/home/mahdi/Downloads/Applications/debconf_1.5.73_all.deb'                                                                                                  100 ⨯
dpkg: warning: downgrading debconf from 1.5.79 to 1.5.73
(Reading database ... 543793 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../debconf_1.5.73_all.deb ...
Unpacking debconf (1.5.73) over (1.5.79) ...
Setting up debconf (1.5.73) ...
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 178, near "sudo exec"
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 182, near "} and"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 190.
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 191.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 196, near "else"
Global symbol "$stat_w" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_w"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 197.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 199.
Global symbol "$stat_r" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $stat_r"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 202.
Global symbol "$kidpid" requires explicit package name (did you forget to declare "my $kidpid"?) at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 203.
syntax error at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm line 212, near "}"
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open3.pm has too many errors.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/perl-base/IPC/Open2.pm line 31.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/ConfModule.pm line 7.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/perl5/Debconf/AutoSelect.pm line 8.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/share/debconf/frontend line 8.
BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /usr/share/debconf/frontend line 8.
dpkg: error processing package debconf (--install):
 installed debconf package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 255
Processing triggers for kali-menu (2021.4.2) ...
Errors were encountered while processing:
 debconf

Even dist-update doesn't work:

┌──(mahdi㉿kali)-[~]
└─$ sudo apt dist-upgrade                                                                                                                                                       1 ⨯
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
You might want to run 'apt --fix-broken install' to correct these.
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 debconf-i18n : Depends: debconf (= 1.5.79) but 1.5.73 is installed
E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt --fix-broken install' with no packages (or specify a solution).

Heeeeelp:(

I've been trying to generate a deb file for a personal project of mine. The project uses sbt and sbt-native-packager to generate a deb file which I will install on my server. I added a templates, config, and postinst script to my control archive (and confirmed that they are unpacked) but they debconf doesn't seem to detect the new templates. sudo debconf-show t-budget comes up blank and every db_input returns 10 "t-budget/" doesn't exist. Is there something I need to do to add these templates to the database besides have the files in my control archive? Side note: I mentioned sbt-native-packager because it might be relevant that I'm not directly using the deb creation tools, but it looks like what I have should work and if this is a limitation of the tool, I'd like to know what the problem is so I could fix it. These are the config files I'm trying to use: $ ls -lht /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.* -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 27K Sep 4 21:54 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.md5sums -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 20K Sep 4 21:54 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.list -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1.1K Sep 4 20:51 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.conffiles -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 815 Sep 4 20:51 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.config -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 2.9K Sep 4 20:51 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.postinst -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 100 Sep 4 20:51 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.postrm -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1.9K Sep 4 20:51 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.preinst -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 2.9K Sep 4 20:51 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.prerm -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1.6K Sep 4 20:51 /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.templates /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.templates: Template: t-budget/database/ip Type: string Default: localhost Description: What is the host of your PostgreSQL server? T-Budget needs a postgresql server to store it's data. You can host one locally or have it connect over the network. Enter the host's domain name or IP address. Note: If the database is not the localhost, the install script will not be able to configure it automatically. Template: t-budget/database/name Type: string Default: budget Description: What is the name of your database? A single postgres server can host several isolated databases. It is recommended that T-Budget run on it's own database to maximize security and data integrity. Template: t-budget/database/username Type: string Default: t-budget Description: What is the PostgreSQL username? T-Budget should use an isolated username with limited permissions to the rest of the system. To create a new user, enter a username which is not yet in use. Template: t-budget/database/password Type: password Description: What is the PostgreSQL password? If creating a new user, it will be created with this password. If using an existing user, this password will need to match the current password of that user. Template: t-budget/hostnames Type: string Description: What is the hostname of your server? What is the domain name of the server users will use to access T-Budget? Used for security protocols. You can input multiple hostnames seperated by a space. You can also prefix your hostname with a '.' to include all subdomains in addition to the hostname. /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.config: #!/bin/sh set -e # Source debconf library. . /usr/share/debconf/confmodule db_version 2.0 echo "configuring..." 1>&2 db_clear echo "CLEAR: $RET" 1>&2 db_purge echo "PRUGE: $RET" 1>&2 db_input high t-budget/database/ip || true echo "INPUT high t-budget/database/ip: $RET" 1>&2 db_input high t-budget/database/name || true echo "INPUT high t-budget/database/name: $RET" 1>&2 db_input high t-budget/database/username || true echo "INPUT high t-budget/database/username: $RET" 1>&2 db_input critical t-budget/database/password || true echo "INPUT critical t-budget/database/password: $RET" 1>&2 db_go echo "GO: $RET" 1>&2 db_input critical t-budget/hostnames || true echo "INPUT critical t-budget/hostnames: $RET" 1>&2 db_go echo "GO: $RET" 1>&2 # TODO: validate input /var/lib/dpkg/info/t-budget.postinst: #!/bin/sh # Source debconf library. . /usr/share/debconf/confmodule # generate config files...

The python3-debconf package (from Ubuntu bionic) installs a debconf.py module, which defines a Debconf class. The class does not explicitly define many methods, instead adding a generic handler for a list of command names, e.g. get, input, etc; these handlers issue the corresponding debconf command (GET, INPUT). One element in that list is visible. I cannot find any documentation for debconf's VISIBLE command. Playing around with DEBCONF_DEBUG I discovered it accepts two arguments; the second argument is a question ID, but I don't know what the first argument is.

I would like to install chef via apt non-interactively, but by default, apt installation brings up this prompt: Is there a way to skip this step during installation or pass a value to apt install? I'm only using chef-solo, so don't actually need the server component, so simply press return on this prompt.

I'm writing a script that automates the installation of slapd and phpldapadmin. The script: #!/bin/bash # make sure to run script as sudo # LDAP # update first apt-get -q -y update # install maven apt-get install -y maven # Install php dependencies apt-get -y install php php-cgi libapache2-mod-php php-common php-pear php-mbstring a2enconf php7.0-cgi service apache2 restart # Pre-seed the slapd passwords export DEBIAN_FRONTEND='non-interactive' echo -e "slapd slapd/root_password password KappaRoss" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/root_password_again password KappaRoss" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/internal/adminpw password test" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/internal/generated_adminpw password test" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/password2 password test" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/password1 password test" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/domain string acu.local" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd shared/organization string IT410" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/backend string HDB" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/purge_database boolean true" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/move_old_database boolean true" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/allow_ldap_v2 boolean false" |debconf-set-selections echo -e "slapd slapd/no_configuration boolean false" |debconf-set-selections # Grab slapd and ldap-utils (pre-seeded) apt-get install -y slapd ldap-utils phpldapadmin # Must reconfigure slapd for it to work properly sudo dpkg-reconfigure slapd # Gotta replace the ldap.conf file, it comments out stuff we need set by default - first open it for writing chmod 777 /etc/ldap/ldap.conf cat /etc/ldap/ldap.conf # # LDAP Defaults # # See ldap.conf(5) for details # This file should be world readable but not world writable. BASE dc=acu,dc=local URI ldap://104.219.54.109 ldap://104.219.54.109:666 #SIZELIMIT 12 #TIMELIMIT 15 #DEREF never # TLS certificates (needed for GnuTLS) TLS_CACERT /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt EOF # Be safe again chmod 744 /etc/ldap/ldap.conf # Now change all values in /etc/phpldapadmin/config.php to their actual values from example, or .com or localhost (I use sed) # Line 286 sed -i "s@$servers->setValue('server','name','My LDAP Server');.*@$servers->setValue('server','name','Nathans_LDAP');@" /etc/phpldapadmin/config.php # Line 293 sed -i "s@$servers->setValue('server','host','127.0.0.1');.*@$servers->setValue('server','host','104.219.54.109');@" /etc/phpldapadmin/config.php # Line 300 sed -i "s@$servers->setValue('server','base',array('dc=example,dc=com'));.*@$servers->setValue('server','base',array('dc=acu,dc=local'));@" /etc/phpldapadmin/config.php # Line 326 sed -i "s@$servers->setValue('login','bind_id','cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com');.*@$servers->setValue('login','bind_id','cn=admin,dc=acu,dc=local');@" /etc/phpldapadmin/config.php # Prevent error when creating users sed -i "s@$default = $this->getServer()->getValue('appearance','password_hash');.*@$default = $this->getServer()->getValue('appearance','password_hash_custom');@g" /usr/share/phpldapadmin/lib/TemplateRender.php service apache2 restart echo ------------------------# echo 'PHPldapadmin installed.' echo ------------------------# echo "" echo ------------------------------------------------------------# echo 'Can now access phpldapadmin at http://your-ip/phpldapadmin .' echo ------------------------------------------------------------# echo "" echo ------------------------------------------------------------------------# echo 'Username should be acu.local, password is the adminpw set during setup.' echo ------------------------------------------------------------------------# S # Logging echo -e 'Maven installed -done by' $USER 'at time\n' $DATE '\n' >> /var/log/installs/log.txt echo -e 'slapd and ldap-utils configured and installed -done by' $USER 'at time\n' $DATE '\n' >> /var/log/installs/log.txt echo -e 'phpldapadmin install configured -done by' $USER 'at time\n' $DATE '\n' >> /var/log/installs/log.txt echo -e 'LDAP installed completed by' $USER 'at time\n' $DATE '\n' >> /var/log/installs/log.txt Everything runs great, except I think that the debconf set selections for pre-seeding the "dpkg-reconfigure slapd" portion aren't being fully applied. Specifically, when I try to log into phpldapadmin with the admin password I pre-seed, it fails. I have to run "dpkg-reconfigure slapd" again (manually this time) in the terminal and set another admin password, then I can log into phpldapadmin properly and everything works. Any help is appreciated, I need this application fully automated for my final and I'm really close as is.

I want to install MySQL 5.7 on Travis CI , which runs Ubuntu 12 virtual machines. I'm willing to use the official MySQL APT repo : wget http://dev.mysql.com/get/mysql-apt-config_0.2.1-1ubuntu12.04_all.deb sudo dpkg --install mysql-apt-config_0.2.1-1ubuntu12.04_all.deb But the problem is, installing this package opens an interactive menu asking the following question: Which Server version do you wish to receive? - mysql-5.6 - mysql-5.7-dmr As the installation is part of an automated script, I'm not behind the terminal to answer the question. The only thing I can find in the doc is: > Selecting a Major Release Version > > By default, all installations and upgrades for your MySQL server and the other required components come from the release series of the major version you have selected during the installation of the configuration package (see Adding the MySQL APT Repository). However, you can switch to another supported major release series at any time by reconfiguring the configuration package you have installed. Use the following command: shell> sudo dpkg-reconfigure mysql-apt-config But again, this opens an interactive menu. **How to install this APT repository and configure it to use mysql-5.7-dmr, on a non-interactive shell?**

As a follow up to this question , I am trying to fully automate the Debian (squeeze) installation procedure. I have so far managed to mount an ISO image of the main Debian DVD and serve it over FTP to the client. The thing is, the client freezes while trying to detect hard drives. After a certain timeout interval, it presents me with a (blank) list of the partitions it detected and gives me the choice to either edit the partitions or continue. Both choices of course fail since no partitions are ever detected. To try and debug, I booted the host from the Debian DVD itself and opted for an Expert Install with low debconf priority. One of the steps done during that install seems to be the magical one: it's called "Download Installation components from CD". This seems to retrieve many more modules than my preseeded attempt does, eventually leading to a successful disk detection. In particular, it seems that this step scans the "pool" directory of the Debian mirror that's on the DVD, which the preseeding does not. I have already tried walking through the whole installation manually and retrieving the d-i selections with debconf-get-selections --installer > installer_sels.txt but nothing I found there was particularly helpful. The messages in VT 4 (/var/log/syslog) are not much help either because in both cases (the actual DVD and the FTP ISO mount) the messages and complaints about missing modules are the same. What am I missing here? Is there something I can add to the preseeding file to let it load additional modules from the DVD? Any advice from someone who's tried this before? Relevant lines from my preseeding file: d-i mirror/protocol string ftp d-i mirror/ftp/hostname d-i mirror/ftp/directory //debian --- EDIT: Additional Details - I followed this HowTo - I'm serving the Debian squeeze DVD over FTP. I did the following to make an ISO image of it: dd if=/dev/cdrom of=/path/to/debian_amd64.iso - I'm booting from the amd64 netboot/netboot.tar.gz image. - My boot parameters are ... linux26 append ... auto=true priority=critical preseed/url=ftp://path to preseed I added the linux26 deliberately to overcome the old kernel issue based on an answer I read somewhere else (can't remember where at the moment).

I am trying to preseed installing grub dynamically with to two disks with an early_command. I am using IPXE. Here is the relevant part: d-i partman/early_command string \ DISKA=$(realpath /dev/disk/by-id/ata-SuperMicro_SSD_* /dev/disk/by-id/ata-SATA_SSD_*|grep -o '/dev/sd[a-z]'|uniq|sort|head -n1); \ DISKB=$(realpath /dev/disk/by-id/ata-SuperMicro_SSD_* /dev/disk/by-id/ata-SATA_SSD_*|grep -o '/dev/sd[a-z]'|uniq|sort|head -n2|tail -1); \ if [ "${DISKA}" == "" ]; then DISKA="/dev/sda"; fi; \ if [ "${DISKB}" == "" ]; then DISKB="/dev/sdb"; fi; \ debconf-set partman-auto/disk "$DISKA $DISKB"; \ debconf-set partman-auto-raid/recipe "1 2 0 ext4 / ${DISKA}2#${DISKB}2 . 1 2 0 lvm - ${DISKA}4#${DISKB}4 ."; \ debconf-set grub-installer/bootdev "$DISKA $DISKB"; I tried the above with multiple variations (true, false) of the following and without them as well: d-i grub-installer/only_debian boolean false d-i grub-installer/with_other_os boolean false I even tried it within the early_command: debconf-set grub-installer/only_debian false; \ debconf-set grub-installer/with_other_os false; Unfortunately the Install the GRUB boot loader on a hard disk dialog still showing up with the correct disk as shown below, so I need to confirm and continue. Can I preseed this automatically?

I want to try installing cdebconf-udeb in a Debian Buster Docker container, however apt search cdebconf-udeb turns up empty. How could I try to install this package if I really wanted to. ### Context I'm building a Docker image. One of my dependencies is tzdata which itself is dependent on debconf-2.0 (or debconf). Now debconf-2.0 can be provided by cdebconf, debconf, or cdebconf-udeb. Both cdebconf and debconf have a (recursive) depencency on perl-base. I want to minimize the size of my container and get rid of the Perl dependency. I thought I could try this by installing cdebconf-udeb, which doesn't have the Perl dependency and would still provide debconf-2.0. However, it seems I can't find the package in aptitude. I do know that cdebconf-udeb is intended for the use in building debian-installer images only, and is not intended for a normal Debian system. However I still wanted to try if I could use it to minimize my Docker image. Could I install cdebconf-udeb to minimize my Docker container? I'm aware of this similar question , however It was suggested to me in the comments to ask a new question.

I try to clone a Debian10 computer in a VM automatically via [tag:vagrant]. I start from scratch with [tag:packer] then reinstall all the packages and configurations. So, I tried from hardware computer: dpkg --get-selections > dpkg debconf-get-selections > debconf then import them from the VM : debconf-set-selections confold: If a conffile has been modified and the version in the package did change, always keep the old version without prompting, unless the --force-confdef is also specified, in which case the default action is preferred. But I get prompted, even with this switch. msmtp debconf: $ grep msmtp debconf # Action souhaitée pour le fichier de configuration modifié msmtprc : msmtp msmtp/auto_from boolean true msmtp msmtp/tls boolean on on on /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt msmtp msmtp/host string smtp.foobarmail.com msmtp msmtp/maildomain string msmtp msmtp/port string 587 msmtp msmtp/sysconfig boolean true phpldapadmin debconf: $ grep phpldapadmin ../../files/debconf.db phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/restart-webserver boolean true phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/ldap-authtype select session phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/ldap-server string 127.0.0.1 phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/ldap-basedn string xxxx phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/ldap-bindpw string secret phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/ldap-tls boolean false phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/reconfigure-webserver multiselect apache2 phpldapadmin phpldapadmin/ldap-binddn string xxxx

Recently I inherited a lab but unfortunately the person who had setup has left the organization. I am finding trouble in understanding the pxe installation flow at the point where the debconf variables are initialized in the preseed configuration. part of preseed configuration:

### Account setup
d-i passwd/user-fullname string TEST User
d-i passwd/username string test
d-i passwd/user-password-crypted password xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
d-i user-setup/allow-password-weak boolean true
d-i user-setup/encrypt-home boolean false

### Boot loader installation
d-i grub-installer/only_debian boolean true
d-i grub-installer/with_other_os boolean true

### Finishing up the installation
d-i finish-install/reboot_in_progress note

### Custom stuff, update pre-late.sh if creating new variables
base-config	     test/http/server	    string 
base-config	     test/ubuntu/release	string 16.04 
base-config	     test/nfs/server		string 10.44.55.5
base-config	     test/nfs/config		string /export/vol01/ubuntu/config
base-config	     test/nis/domain		string ccd
base-config	     test/nis/server		string 10.44.55.100 10.44.55.101

#### Advanced options
d-i preseed/late_command   string wget http://10.44.55.5/ubuntu/config/pre-late.sh  -O /tmp/pre-late.sh; sh -x /tmp/pre-late.sh
d-i     preseed/run     string classes.sh

The above mentioned debconf variables test/ubuntu/release, test/nfs/server, test/nfs/config, test/nfs/domain and test/nis/server are being extracted and set the environment variables as shown below in the pre_late-sh script that is executed with preseed/late_command in the above preseed configuration.

#!/bin/sh

#Source debconf library
. /usr/share/debconf/confmodule

db_get test/ubuntu/release
export RELEASE="$RET"
db_get test/nfs/server
export NFS_SERVER="$RET"
db_get test/nfs/config
export NFS_CONFIG="$RET"
db_get test/nis/domain
export NIS_DOMAIN="$RET"
db_get test/nis/server
export NIS_SERVER="$RET"

I tried to google a lot about the way of initializing the debconf variables but not able to understand the way they are getting initialized here using base-config. Can someone help me to understand how is this being done?

I tried to install docker on my raspbian install and accidentally broke apt-get If I run apt-get install or upgrade, I get the following error: E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. I've tried all the suggested solutions I could find online, some examples: Command: apt-get -f install debconf Result: root@raspberrypi:~# apt-get -f install debconf Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. Command: dpkg-reconfigure debconf Result: root@raspberrypi:~# dpkg-reconfigure debconf /usr/sbin/dpkg-reconfigure: debconf is broken or not fully installed Command: apt-get install --reinstall debconf Result: root@raspberrypi:~# apt-get install --reinstall debconf Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. Command: dpkg --remove --force-remove-reinstreq debconf Result: root@raspberrypi:/var/cache/apt/archives# dpkg-reconfigure debconf /usr/sbin/dpkg-reconfigure: debconf is broken or not fully installed root@raspberrypi:/var/cache/apt/archives# sudo dpkg --configure -a Setting up libc6-dbg:armhf (2.19-18+deb8u10) ... dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of debconf-i18n: debconf-i18n depends on debconf (= 1.5.56+deb8u1); however: Version of debconf on system is 1.5.56. dpkg: error processing package debconf-i18n (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of debconf-utils: debconf-utils depends on debconf (= 1.5.56+deb8u1); however: Version of debconf on system is 1.5.56. dpkg: error processing package debconf-utils (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured Setting up python-software-properties (0.92.25debian1) ... Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/bin/pycompile", line 35, in from debpython.version import SUPPORTED, debsorted, vrepr, \ File "/usr/share/python/debpython/version.py", line 24, in from ConfigParser import SafeConfigParser ImportError: No module named 'ConfigParser' dpkg: error processing package python-software-properties (--configure): subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1 Setting up perl-modules (5.20.2-3+deb8u8) ... Setting up perl (5.20.2-3+deb8u8) ... Setting up libtirpc1:armhf (0.2.5-1+deb8u1) ... Setting up libc-dev-bin (2.19-18+deb8u10) ... Setting up libperl5.20 (5.20.2-3+deb8u8) ... Setting up libc6-dev:armhf (2.19-18+deb8u10) ... Setting up rpcbind (0.2.1-6+deb8u2) ... insserv: warning: current start runlevel(s) (empty) of script `rpcbind' overrides LSB defaults (S). insserv: warning: current stop runlevel(s) (0 1 6 S) of script `rpcbind' overrides LSB defaults (0 1 6). Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.19-18+deb8u10) ... Errors were encountered while processing: debconf-i18n debconf-utils python-software-properties root@raspberrypi:/var/cache/apt/archives# sudo apt-get install -f Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. root@raspberrypi:/var/cache/apt/archives# sudo dpkg --configure -a dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of debconf-i18n: debconf-i18n depends on debconf (= 1.5.56+deb8u1); however: Version of debconf on system is 1.5.56. dpkg: error processing package debconf-i18n (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of debconf-utils: debconf-utils depends on debconf (= 1.5.56+deb8u1); however: Version of debconf on system is 1.5.56. dpkg: error processing package debconf-utils (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured Setting up python-software-properties (0.92.25debian1) ... Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/bin/pycompile", line 35, in from debpython.version import SUPPORTED, debsorted, vrepr, \ File "/usr/share/python/debpython/version.py", line 24, in from ConfigParser import SafeConfigParser ImportError: No module named 'ConfigParser' dpkg: error processing package python-software-properties (--configure): subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1 Errors were encountered while processing: debconf-i18n debconf-utils python-software-properties root@raspberrypi:/var/cache/apt/archives# apt-get -f install debconf Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. root@raspberrypi:/var/cache/apt/archives# cd root@raspberrypi:~# apt-get -f install debconf Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. root@raspberrypi:~# dpkg-reconfigure debconf /usr/sbin/dpkg-reconfigure: debconf is broken or not fully installed root@raspberrypi:~# apt-get install --reinstall debconf Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. root@raspberrypi:~# dpkg --remove --force-remove-reinstreq debconf dpkg: dependency problems prevent removal of debconf: tasksel depends on debconf (>= 0.5) | debconf-2.0; however: Package debconf is to be removed. Package debconf-2.0 is not installed. Package debconf which provides debconf-2.0 is to be removed. tasksel depends on debconf (>= 1.5.34) | cdebconf (>= 0.106); however: Package debconf is to be removed. Package cdebconf is not installed. tasksel depends on debconf (>= 0.5) | debconf-2.0; however: Package debconf is to be removed. Package debconf-2.0 is not installed. Package debconf which provides debconf-2.0 is to be removed. tasksel depends on debconf (>= 1.5.34) | cdebconf (>= 0.106); however: Package debconf is to be removed. Package cdebconf is not installed. locales depends on debconf (>= 0.5) | debconf-2.0; however: Package debconf is to be removed. Package debconf-2.0 is not installed. Package debconf which provides debconf-2.0 is to be removed. ca-certificates depends on debconf (>= 0.5) | debconf-2.0; however: Package debcon dpkg: error processing package debconf (--remove): dependency problems - not removing Errors were encountered while processing: debconf Command: dpkg --configure -a Result: root@raspberrypi:~# dpkg --configure -a dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of debconf-i18n: debconf-i18n depends on debconf (= 1.5.56+deb8u1); however: Version of debconf on system is 1.5.56. dpkg: error processing package debconf-i18n (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of debconf-utils: debconf-utils depends on debconf (= 1.5.56+deb8u1); however: Version of debconf on system is 1.5.56. dpkg: error processing package debconf-utils (--configure): dependency problems - leaving unconfigured Setting up python-software-properties (0.92.25debian1) ... Traceback (most recent call last): File "/usr/bin/pycompile", line 35, in from debpython.version import SUPPORTED, debsorted, vrepr, \ File "/usr/share/python/debpython/version.py", line 24, in from ConfigParser import SafeConfigParser ImportError: No module named 'ConfigParser' dpkg: error processing package python-software-properties (--configure): subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1 Errors were encountered while processing: debconf-i18n debconf-utils python-software-properties Command: dpkg -C Result: The following packages are in a mess due to serious problems during installation. They must be reinstalled for them (and any packages that depend on them) to function properly: debconf Debian configuration management system The following packages have been unpacked but not yet configured. They must be configured using dpkg --configure or the configure menu option in dselect for them to work: debconf-i18n full internationalization support for debconf debconf-utils debconf utilities The following packages are only half configured, probably due to problems configuring them the first time. The configuration should be retried using dpkg --configure or the configure menu option in dselect: python-software-properties manage the repositories that you install software f Command: apt-cache policy Result: root@raspberrypi:~# apt-cache policy Package files: 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status release a=now 500 http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/ jessie/ui armhf Packages release o=Raspberry Pi Foundation,a=stable,n=jessie,l=Raspberry Pi Foundation,c=ui origin archive.raspberrypi.org 500 http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/ jessie/main armhf Packages release o=Raspberry Pi Foundation,a=stable,n=jessie,l=Raspberry Pi Foundation,c=main origin archive.raspberrypi.org Pinned packages: Command: apt-get -f install Result: root@raspberrypi:~# apt-get -f install Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done E: The package debconf needs to be reinstalled, but I can't find an archive for it. Command: cat /etc/*-release Result: root@raspberrypi:~# cat /etc/*-release PRETTY_NAME="Raspbian GNU/Linux 8 (jessie)" NAME="Raspbian GNU/Linux" VERSION_ID="8" VERSION="8 (jessie)" ID=raspbian ID_LIKE=debian HOME_URL="http://www.raspbian.org/ " SUPPORT_URL="http://www.raspbian.org/RaspbianForums " BUG_REPORT_URL="http://www.raspbian.org/RaspbianBugs " Command: apt-cache policy debconf debconf-i18n debconf-utils Result: root@raspberrypi:~# apt-cache policy debconf debconf-i18n debconf-utils debconf: Installed: 1.5.56 Candidate: 1.5.56 Version table: *** 1.5.56 0 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status debconf-i18n: Installed: 1.5.56+deb8u1 Candidate: 1.5.56+deb8u1 Version table: *** 1.5.56+deb8u1 0 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status debconf-utils: Installed: 1.5.56+deb8u1 Candidate: 1.5.56+deb8u1 Version table: *** 1.5.56+deb8u1 0 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status Command: cat /etc/apt/sources.list Result: root@raspberrypi:~# cat /etc/apt/sources.list # Uncomment line below then 'apt-get update' to enable 'apt-get source' #deb-src http://archive.raspbian.org/raspbian/ jessie main contrib non-free rpi Command: ls -Al /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ Result: root@raspberrypi:~# ls -Al /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ total 4 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 193 Apr 10 09:58 raspi.list Command: cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list Result: root@raspberrypi:~# cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list deb http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/ jessie main ui # Uncomment line below then 'apt-get update' to enable 'apt-get source' #deb-src http://archive.raspberrypi.org/debian/ jessie main ui Anyone have any clue what to try next? Would love not to have to reinstall the OS.

I'm currently creating a custom live-image installer. Anyways, I'm taking a look at all other packages in the binary stage and many (if not all) are using debconf to show progress bars and take inputs, etc. My problem is none of the [debconf](https://manpages.debian.org/stretch/debconf/index.html) manuals states about commands like

nor are there any helpful information in

/usr/share/debconf/confmodule

. Not even a google search with quotes ["debconf" "db_progress"] would lead me to any valid information. Where do I find them?

I work at a place where all of our servers are Debian. Now, one of our customers have their own external server running CentOS 7. I've gotten the task to put all of our maintenance, update, monitoring, etc. scripts over to this CentOS server. One of those scripts is a very short one. It "backs up" the installed packages by putting the list of installed packages into a file, and thereafter the debconf database to a second file. Script below:

/usr/bin/dpkg --get-selections > /path/to/package.list
/usr/bin/debconf-get-selections > /path/to/debconfdb.backup

I want to figure out the equivalent of these for CentOS. I've only managed to cover the first command.

/usr/bin/rpm -qa > /path/to/package.list

I can't for the life of me figure out what the equivalent of debconf-get-selections (or debconf in general) is on CentOS, and if CentOS even has such a database. Could someone guide me in the right direction, or blindly tell me the equivalent of the second line?

I have a .deb installer for a Django system and there are questions I need to ask the person installing the software. I can see a few ways to do this, and I want to know what constitutes best practice for a Debian package. Now normally, debconf would be the obvious solution. However in this case I want to ask the question every time, rather than have Debian memorize them and apply them to every subsequent upgrade. The reason for that has to do with the nature of the questions. Specifically, the questions are "Do you want to apply database migrations now?" and "Do you want to set up a demo database?" Now, these could both be done manually after the install, but experience so far shows that this step is easy to forget, so I'd like to prompt for it. The Migration step I'd do automatically, except we occasionally need to migrate databases from other machines, and that's easier to do before migrations are applied. The "demo database" question would only usually be used on a first install and therefore depends on the migration case. BUT, we don't want Debian to remember that choice and apply it every time since it could damage existing, in-use databases. So I was wondering what the orthodox, Debian-ish approach might be. I can use a shell prompt from the postinst script, but if there's a better way I'd sooner do that. I should add that I know about "Ask Again", but that seems to only work as a global setting, and I'd sooner make this just for this package. One last thing: this is an in-house system and never going to be hosted on public repos, so I'm not unduly worried about considerations like unattended installs or non-bash installation environments. This has been bugging me for a couple of weeks now. Any help gratefully received.

I am experiencing an error while I try to install or upgrade anything in a Debian 9.0 server. That is what the terminal returns to me. root@engelmar:~# apt-get upgrade Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done You might want to run 'apt --fix-broken install' to correct these. The following packages have unmet dependencies: cdebconf : Depends: libdebian-installer4 (>= 0.110) but it is not installed Depends: libtextwrap1 but it is not installed libc-bin : Depends: libc6 (< 2.25) but 2.28-10 is installed libc-dev-bin : Depends: libc6 (< 2.25) but 2.28-10 is installed libc6-dev : Depends: libc6 (= 2.24-11+deb9u4) but 2.28-10 is installed E: Unmet dependencies. Try 'apt --fix-broken install' with no packages (or specify a solution). root@engelmar:~# apt --fix-broken install Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Correcting dependencies... Done The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required: linux-libc-dev python-all sysstat Use 'apt autoremove' to remove them. The following additional packages will be installed: libdebian-installer4 libtextwrap1 The following packages will be REMOVED: build-essential g++ g++-6 libc-bin libc-dev-bin libc6-dev libexpat1-dev libpython-all-dev libpython-dev libpython2.7-dev libstdc++-6-dev python-all-dev python-dev python2.7-dev The following NEW packages will be installed: libdebian-installer4 libtextwrap1 WARNING: The following essential packages will be removed. This should NOT be done unless you know exactly what you are doing! libc-bin 0 upgraded, 2 newly installed, 14 to remove and 0 not upgraded. 5 not fully installed or removed. Need to get 0 B/201 kB of archives. After this operation, 102 MB disk space will be freed. You are about to do something potentially harmful. To continue type in the phrase 'Yes, do as I say!' ?] Yes, do as I say! perl: warning: Setting locale failed. perl: warning: Please check that your locale settings: LANGUAGE = "pt_BR:pt:en", LC_ALL = (unset), LANG = "pt_BR.UTF-8" are supported and installed on your system. perl: warning: Falling back to the standard locale ("C"). locale: Cannot set LC_ALL to default locale: Arquivo ou diretório não encontrado debconf: delaying package configuration, since apt-utils is not installed dpkg: error processing package debconf (--configure): package is in a very bad inconsistent state; you should reinstall it before attempting configuration Errors were encountered while processing: debconf E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) root@engelmar:~# Does someone know how to fix it?

(I have installed systemd-coredump) What would send a QUIT signal to debconf-communicate? Since the backtrace does not include raise() / kill(), I guess I can assume this fatal signal was sent to debconf-communicate by some other running program? man 7 signal says that signal QUIT was originally intended for "Quit from keyboard". The distinction from signal INT ("Interrupt from keyboard") is that QUIT deliberately dumps core. Presumably this was a debugging technique. SIGINT is sent by the key combination Ctrl+C. SIGQUIT is sent by Ctrl+\\. However I seem to be getting these core dumps without anyone pressing Ctrl+\\ on an apt command running in a terminal. It seems to be happening (sometimes?) when doing package upgrades with PackageKit. This is a Debian 9 desktop system (GNOME). I don't know what happens at the times when this crash occurs, other than to say the users have not reported any problem :-). The main user is generally good at applying updates, and understands their importance. Due to bugs in Debian which failed to deliver update notifications in the past, the system currently has installed pk-update-icon (with .desktop file patched to auto-start in GNOME) and gnome-packagekit / gpk-update-viewer, in addition to the usual gnome-software.

$ dpkg-query -l packagekit gnome-software gnome-packagekit pk-update-icon debconf dpkg apt
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name                 Version         Architecture    Description
+++-====================-===============-===============-==============================================
ii  apt                  1.4.9           amd64           commandline package manager
ii  debconf              1.5.61          all             Debian configuration management system
ii  dpkg                 1.18.25         amd64           Debian package management system
ii  gnome-packagekit     3.22.1-2        amd64           Graphical distribution neutral package manager
ii  gnome-software       3.22.5-1        amd64           Software Center for GNOME
ii  packagekit           1.1.5-2+deb9u1  amd64           Provides a package management service
ii  pk-update-icon       2.0.0-2         amd64           Displays an update-notification tray icon

$ sudo coredumpctl --no-pager
TIME                            PID   UID   GID SIG COREFILE EXE
Thu 2018-07-12 10:13:09 BST    5059  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
Sat 2018-07-14 11:16:38 BST    2346  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
...
Wed 2019-05-22 14:35:32 BST    2535  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
Thu 2019-05-23 11:39:52 BST    2311  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
Sat 2019-05-25 10:16:47 BST    2445  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
Thu 2019-05-30 08:16:50 BST    2497  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
Fri 2019-05-31 11:10:27 BST    2404  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
Thu 2019-06-06 15:47:50 BST    4282  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl
Fri 2019-06-07 10:16:49 BST    2640  1005  1009   3 missing  /usr/bin/perl

$ sudo coredumpctl info 2640
           PID: 2640 (debconf-communi)
           UID: 1005 (YYY)
           GID: 1009 (YYY)
        Signal: 3 (QUIT)
     Timestamp: Fri 2019-06-07 10:16:49 BST (4 days ago)
  Command Line: /usr/bin/perl -w /usr/bin/debconf-communicate
    Executable: /usr/bin/perl
 Control Group: /user.slice/user-1005.slice/session-2.scope
          Unit: session-2.scope
         Slice: user-1005.slice
       Session: 2
     Owner UID: 1005 (YYY)
       Boot ID: 37f2efd8086a42b5a39144b5411b1523
    Machine ID: 35fb9280fa2847946f17a060542fd617
      Hostname: drystone
       Storage: /var/lib/systemd/coredump/core.debconf-communi.1005.37f2efd8086a42b5a39144b5411b1523.2640.1559899009000000000000.lz4 (inaccessible)
       Message: Process 2640 (debconf-communi) of user 1005 dumped core.
                
                Stack trace of thread 2640:
                #0  0x00007fa8db86a210 read (libpthread.so.0)
                #1  0x00005598354afa7d PerlIOUnix_read (perl)
                #2  0x00005598354b2fcf PerlIOBuf_fill (perl)
                #3  0x00005598354b1658 Perl_PerlIO_fill (perl)
                #4  0x00005598354b2e80 PerlIOBase_read (perl)
                #5  0x00005598354b4e08 PerlIO_getc (perl)
                #6  0x000055983544b2a5 Perl_sv_gets (perl)
                #7  0x000055983542d376 Perl_do_readline (perl)
                #8  0x0000559835428aa6 Perl_runops_standard (perl)
                #9  0x00005598353ae8a9 perl_run (perl)
                #10 0x0000559835387a5d main (perl)
                #11 0x00007fa8db4db2e1 __libc_start_main (libc.so.6)
                #12 0x0000559835387a9a _start (perl)

$ sudo journalctl --since="2019-06-07"
...
Jun 07 10:16:05 drystone PackageKit: get-updates transaction /21666_bacedcbd from uid 1005 finished with success after 657ms
Jun 07 10:16:09 drystone PackageKit: new update-packages transaction /21669_aeeccbac scheduled from uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:10 drystone PackageKit: get-update-detail transaction /21667_cebbebab from uid 1005 finished with success after 5406ms
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: get-details transaction /21668_dabdcebe from uid 1005 finished with success after 395ms
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package evolution;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package evolution-common;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;all;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package evolution-plugins;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package libevolution;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package qemu-kvm;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package qemu-system-common;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package qemu-system-x86;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: in /21669_aeeccbac for update-packages package qemu-utils;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was updating for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: update-packages transaction /21669_aeeccbac from uid 1005 finished with success after 585ms
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone PackageKit: uid 1005 is trying to obtain org.freedesktop.packagekit.system-update auth (only_trusted:1)
Jun 07 10:16:11 drystone gnome-shell: JS LOG: polkitAuthenticationAgent: Received 2 identities that can be used for authentication. Only considering one.
Jun 07 10:16:16 drystone polkitd(authority=local): Operator of unix-session:2 successfully authenticated as unix-user:YYY to gain TEMPORARY authorization for action org.freedesktop.packagekit.system-update
Jun 07 10:16:16 drystone PackageKit: new update-packages transaction /21670_adbeabac scheduled from uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:16 drystone PackageKit: uid 1005 obtained auth for org.freedesktop.packagekit.system-update
Jun 07 10:16:38 drystone packagekitd: PARENT process running...
Jun 07 10:16:41 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:41:0610 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:41 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:41:0617 As  failed to rescan: Failed to parse /usr/share/applications/evolution.desktop file: cannot process file of type application/x-deskto
Jun 07 10:16:41 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:41:0642 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:41 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:41:0646 As  failed to rescan: Failed to parse /usr/share/applications/evolution.desktop.dpkg-tmp file: cannot process file of type text/plain
Jun 07 10:16:42 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:42:0406 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:42 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:42:0410 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:42 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:42:0410 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:42 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:42:0414 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:42 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:42:0414 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:44 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:44:0075 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:44 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:44:0078 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:44 drystone gnome-software-service.desktop: 09:16:44:0082 As  failed to rescan: No valid root node specified
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone packagekitd: Parent finished...
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-system-common;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package evolution-plugins;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package evolution;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package libevolution;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package evolution-common;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;all;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-kvm;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-system-x86;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-utils;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package evolution-common;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;all;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package libglib2.0-0;2.50.3-2;amd64;installed:debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-utils;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package libevolution;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-system-common;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-system-x86;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package evolution;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package evolution-plugins;3.22.6-1+deb9u2;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: in /21670_adbeabac for update-packages package qemu-kvm;1:2.8+dfsg-6+deb9u7;amd64;debian-stable-main was installing for uid 1005
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone PackageKit: update-packages transaction /21670_adbeabac from uid 1005 finished with success after 33545ms
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone gpk-update-view: Source ID 1825 was not found when attempting to remove it
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone systemd: Created slice system-systemd\x2dcoredump.slice.
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone systemd: Started Process Core Dump (PID 3620/UID 0).
Jun 07 10:16:49 drystone systemd-coredump: Process 2640 (debconf-communi) of user 1005 dumped core.
                                                 
                                                 Stack trace of thread 2640:
                                                 #0  0x00007fa8db86a210 read (libpthread.so.0)
                                                 #1  0x00005598354afa7d PerlIOUnix_read (perl)
                                                 #2  0x00005598354b2fcf PerlIOBuf_fill (perl)
                                                 #3  0x00005598354b1658 Perl_PerlIO_fill (perl)
                                                 #4  0x00005598354b2e80 PerlIOBase_read (perl)
                                                 #5  0x00005598354b4e08 PerlIO_getc (perl)
                                                 #6  0x000055983544b2a5 Perl_sv_gets (perl)
                                                 #7  0x000055983542d376 Perl_do_readline (perl)
                                                 #8  0x0000559835428aa6 Perl_runops_standard (perl)
                                                 #9  0x00005598353ae8a9 perl_run (perl)
                                                 #10 0x0000559835387a5d main (perl)
                                                 #11 0x00007fa8db4db2e1 __libc_start_main (libc.so.6)
                                                 #12 0x0000559835387a9a _start (perl)
Jun 07 10:16:50 drystone PackageKit: get-updates transaction /21671_baceadea from uid 1005 finished with success after 597ms
Jun 07 10:16:50 drystone gpk-update-view: gtk_widget_hide: assertion 'GTK_IS_WIDGET (widget)' failed
Jun 07 10:16:52 drystone PackageKit: get-updates transaction /21672_cdcdcbca from uid 1005 finished with success after 884ms
Jun 07 10:16:52 drystone gpk-update-view: gtk_widget_hide: assertion 'GTK_IS_WIDGET (widget)' failed
Jun 07 10:16:55 drystone gpk-update-view: g_application_release: assertion 'application->priv->use_count > 0' failed
Jun 07 10:16:57 drystone PackageKit: get-updates transaction /21673_bdabdecd from uid 1005 finished with success after 638ms
Jun 07 10:17:01 drystone CRON: pam_env(cron:session): Unable to open env file: /etc/environment: No such file or directory
Jun 07 10:17:01 drystone CRON: pam_unix(cron:session): session opened for user root by (uid=0)
Jun 07 10:17:01 drystone CRON: (root) CMD (   cd / && run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly)
Jun 07 10:17:01 drystone CRON: pam_unix(cron:session): session closed for user root
Jun 07 10:24:14 drystone systemd: Starting Cleanup of Temporary Directories...
Jun 07 10:24:14 drystone systemd: Started Cleanup of Temporary Directories.