package couchdb 0.10.0-1ubuntu1 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess new pre-removal script returned error exit status 1

[Matthew Paul Thomas]

Binary package hint: couchdb

Apport says:

ProblemType: Package
Architecture: i386
Date: Wed Mar 24 15:05:27 2010
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
ErrorMessage: subprocess new pre-removal script returned error exit status 1
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
Package: couchdb 0.10.0-1ubuntu1
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-13.18-generic
SourcePackage: couchdb
Title: package couchdb 0.10.0-1ubuntu1 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess new pre-removal script returned error exit status 1
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-13-generic i686

[George Beranek (gberanek)]

In my case the probelm was a missing "couchdb" group:

                          Errors were encountered while processing:
 couchdb-bin
 couchdb
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
A package failed to install. Trying to recover:
Setting up couchdb-bin (1.0.1-0ubuntu3~lucid1) ...
chown: invalid group: `couchdb:couchdb'

To "fix" the problem do something like the following:

root@cowputer:~# grep couchdb /etc/passwd
couchdb:x:107:116:CouchDB Administrator,,,:/var/lib/couchdb:/bin/bash

The add the following line to /etc/group:

couchdb:x:116:couchdb

remove and reinstall couchdb

It worked for me.

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

The error in the logs is:

Preparing to replace couchdb 0.10.0-1ubuntu1 (using .../couchdb_0.10.0-1ubuntu2_all.deb) ...
 * Stopping database server couchdb
/usr/bin/couchdb: 38: xulrunner-1.9.2: not found
   ...fail!
invoke-rc.d: initscript couchdb, action "stop" failed.

This has been fixed in later releases with the move from xulrunner to libmozjs.