How to install tar.gz or tar.bz2 file in Ubuntu

In modern Linux distribution, almost softwares are available to install from Software application where user only need to click Install button. Command line package manager management system like apt, yum or dnf also provide one command installation.

Still there are few softwares which are not avaialble to install from the above option. Also when user wants to download latest version which are not released publicly, will have to download from official website. In that cases we need to download and install software from website.

In Linux, mostly software files are .tar extension which called as tarball. Tar files are the source code which you need to compile and install. Tarball files have common extensions .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 etc. These are compressed file of source code which you need to exract first.

When you extract tarball file, first you need to check the README file. This file contais installation process. If there are no file with instruction on how to install .tar.gz or tar.bz2 files, there is common way you can give a try.

In extract source code file, run the command:

tar -xzf package-name.tar.gz
tar -xjf package-name.tar.bz2

Now navigate to package directory

cd package-name

If you find filename "README" or "INSTALLATION" in the archive, read and follow instructions. Else run the below commands one by one.

./configure
make
sudo make install

That's it, the package will compile and install. I hope you liked the article and help you on your work.

Author : Harsukh Makwana