tlmgr unable to set up TLPDB

[Nathan Skillen]

When attempting to use tlmgr on Ubuntu 13.10, the program fails. Different options produce slightly different output:

$ tlmgr --gui
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
Loading local TeX Live database;
this may take some time, please be patient ...
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/nskillen/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.
Compilation failed in require at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 4439.

$ tlmgr update --all
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/nskillen/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.

The commands also fails when using sudo to run as root, with exactly the same output.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.10
Package: texlive-base 2013.20130722-1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.11.0-12.19-generic 3.11.3
Uname: Linux 3.11.0-12-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
ApportVersion: 2.12.5-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
Date: Mon Oct 21 14:16:50 2013
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-10-17 (4 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Beta amd64 (20130925.1)
MarkForUpload: True
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_CA:en
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=en_CA.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: texlive-base
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Norbert Preining (preining)]

On Mo, 21 Okt 2013, Nathan Skillen wrote:
> $ tlmgr --gui
> (running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
> Loading local TeX Live database;
> this may take some time, please be patient ...
> cannot setup TLPDB in /home/nskillen/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.
> Compilation failed in require at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 4439.

Please read
 tlmgr --help
or
 man tlmgr
and in particular the section on
 USER MODE

Please anyone close this bug.

Norbert

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PREINING, Norbert http://www.preining.info
JAIST, Japan TeX Live & Debian Developer
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[Yihui Xie (xie)]

I understand the option --gui does not work for tlmgr, but I feel actually nothing works for tlmgr at all (except `tlmgr help`):

$ tlmgr --usermode init-usertree
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/yihui/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.

$ tlmgr init-usertree
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/yihui/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.

$ tlmgr --usermode check
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/yihui/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.

$ tlmgr --usermode install hyperref
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/yihui/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.

I'm curious if anyone has really succeeded with tlmgr --usermode on Ubuntu 13.10. BTW, the message "running on Debian" is apparently misleading, when I'm running on Ubuntu, despite of its Debian heritage.

[Norbert Preining (preining)]

> actually nothing works for tlmgr at all (except `tlmgr help`):

Indeed, because ...

> $ tlmgr --usermode init-usertree

THis does not work. THat is a bug upstream that has been fixed
in the meantime but needs to go through a new Debian package
until it arrives in the Debian derivative from Canonical that cannot
be named without problems [1].

Thanks

[1] http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/canonical-abused-trademark-law-to-target-a-site-critical-of-ubuntu-privacy/

Norbert

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PREINING, Norbert http://www.preining.info
JAIST, Japan TeX Live & Debian Developer
DSA: 0x09C5B094 fp: 14DF 2E6C 0307 BE6D AD76 A9C0 D2BF 4AA3 09C5 B094
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[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[chbrosso (chbrosso)]

It is quite disappointing to see that no one can add packages to TeX in 13.10 because of this. Was a bug fix considered, instead of waiting 14.04?

[Norbert Preining (preining)]

On Di, 14 Jan 2014, chbrosso wrote:
> It is quite disappointing to see that no one can add packages to TeX in
> 13.10 because of this. Was a bug fix considered, instead of waiting

THat is *supposed* to be like it.

> $ tlmgr --gui
> (running on Debian, switching to user mode!)

tlmgr *always* runs in user-mode. You have to set up user mode
according to the manual.

Norbert

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PREINING, Norbert http://www.preining.info
JAIST, Japan TeX Live & Debian Developer
DSA: 0x09C5B094 fp: 14DF 2E6C 0307 BE6D AD76 A9C0 D2BF 4AA3 09C5 B094
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[erickfis (erickfis)]

Same here:

>erickis@erickis-K45A:~/install-tl-20131130$ tlmgr gui
>(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)

>Loading local TeX Live database;
>this may take some time, please be patient ...
>cannot setup TLPDB in /home/erickis/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.
>Compilation failed in require at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 4439.
>erickis@erickis-K45A:~/install-tl-20131130$

More info:
>erickis@erickis-K45A:~/install-tl-20131130$ lsb_release -a
>No LSB modules are available.
>Distributor ID: Ubuntu
>Description: Ubuntu 13.10
>Release: 13.10
>Codename: saucy

Please! I need tlmgr!!!

[Kev (kevinrse)]

This issue affects me as well. Linux Mint 16 Cinnamon 32-bit on a 64-bit Lenovo e420.

me@me-pc / $ sudo tlmgr install hyperref
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/me/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.
me@me-pc / $ tlmgr init-usertree
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
cannot setup TLPDB in /home/me/texmf at /usr/bin/tlmgr line 5308.

[Yonatan Yehezkeally (yonatany)]

@NorbertPreining have you noted the fact that this error is given in response to
> tlmgr init-usertree
as well? It seems one cannot set up user-mode. I presume that's not how it's *supposed* to work?

[Norbert Preining (preining)]

On Mo, 17 Feb 2014, Yonatan Yehezkeally wrote:
> @NorbertPreining have you noted the fact that this error is given in response to

Yes, but it fixed in the Debian packages, and that is my only
responsability.

Ubuntu has to pull new packages, but there is nothing I can do to
influence that.

> as well? It seems one cannot set up user-mode. I presume that's not how it's *supposed* to work?

Right, here it looks like:

[~] tlmgr init-usertree
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
[~] tlmgr install 12many
(running on Debian, switching to user mode!)
tlmgr: package repository ftp://ftp.riken.go.jp/pub/tex-archive/systems/texlive/tlnet
[1/1, ??:??/??:??] install: 12many [3k]
tlmgr: package log updated: /home/norbert/texmf/web2c/tlmgr.log
running mktexlsr ...
done running mktexlsr.
[~]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREINING, Norbert http://www.preining.info
JAIST, Japan TeX Live & Debian Developer
DSA: 0x09C5B094 fp: 14DF 2E6C 0307 BE6D AD76 A9C0 D2BF 4AA3 09C5 B094
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[Yonatan Yehezkeally (yonatany)]

@NorbertPreining: Ok, that's reasonable enough (though not clear from previous remarks; certainly, I see no reason to close this bug considering it is still present in Ubuntu).

If it helps anyone, this issue affected me on a machine which shouldn't have had `texlive-base' installed; something in the process of upgrading Ubuntu to 13.10 (from 13.04) created another instance of `tlmgr' in addition to the one present from a vanilla installation of texlive 2012. Purging texlive (by following the steps outlined in http://tex.stackexchange.com/a/95502/46339) and performing a clean install of vanilla texlive 2013 cleared the issue (as was to be expected, I suppose).

[Federico Vera (fedevera)]

I was actually able to workarround this bug, the problem seems to be an unmet dependency with 'xzdec' after installing it everything started working. And in order to use 'tlmgr --gui' there's another unmet dependency with 'perl-tk'.
Hope this helps

[Robert Bernecky (bernecky)]

I just installed kubuntu 13.10, and ran into exactly the same failure. I removed ALL texmf files,
and reinstalled from scratch. Same failure. Removed and reinstalled with "install-tl-ubuntu" and get
the same failure.

Perhaps someone can point me at where I can find a working copy of tlmgr?

[Yonatan Yehezkeally (yonatany)]

@Robert what response do you get when you type `whereis tlmgr`?

[Robert Blankenship (robertblankenship-r)]

I performed the purging steps exactly as descibed in http://tex.stackexchange.com/a/95502/46339, and did "sudo apt-get install texlive" afterwards.

Still getting the same error, unfortunately.

Installing xzdec or perl-tk did not improve the situation either.

output of whereis tlmgr:
"/usr/bin/tlmgr /usr/bin/X11/tlmgr /usr/share/man/man1/tlmgr.1.gz"

[Yonatan Yehezkeally (yonatany)]

@Robert yes, you would, as this bug appears in the version of TeXlive contained in the official repository.

Purge TeXlive again, but next time follow the instructions on https://www.tug.org/texlive/quickinstall.html to install a vanilla instance of TeXlive.

[Yihui Xie (xie)]

@Yonatan Of course, installing a vanilla instance of TeXLive will work, but that does not make much sense here for this bug report. Here we are talking about the Ubuntu problem, and the bug was not from TeXLive.

[Yonatan Yehezkeally (yonatany)]

@YihuiXie(xie) of course; I don't mean to imply the bug is any less important to address because of this workaround. Just to point @RobertBlankenship in the right direction (as he indicated he wishes).

[programaths (programaths)]

Definitely a show stopper and and seems that more and more of those bugs stay open then are closed because this specific user base find workarounds. Then they switch to vanilla Debian. Seems to be the safest move for us.

[Hasan Ali Khattak (hasanalikhattak)]

Seems as if the system gets confused between the system installed tlmgr and the vanila tlmgr.

i would suggest to make a solution which can update the PATH variables so this problems is avoided.

[Norbert Preining (preining)]

> Seems as if the system gets confused between the system installed tlmgr
> and the vanila tlmgr.

In your email I din't see any confusion, solely a manner of the PATH environment variable.

> i would suggest to make a solution which can update the PATH variables
> so this problems is avoided.

This is your responsability if you have installed a vanilla TL, nothing the distribution can do for you.

I suggest editing your .profile.

Norbert

------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREINING, Norbert http://www.preining.info
JAIST, Japan TeX Live & Debian Developer
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