11

How can I create a bash script that checks if a program is already installed, and if it isn't, installs it?

Thanks for your help.

Here's the code I have so far:

#/bin/bash

PS3="choose an option"

select opcion in "Installing_Youtube"  "exit"

do

    case $opcion in


        "Installing_Youtube")

            youtube-dl > /usr/bin
            if [ $? -eq 127 ] ; then
                echo "installing youtube"
                 apt-get update
                 apt-get install youtube-dl
                mkdir Videos
            else
                echo "Youtube already installed"
            fi

        ;;


        "exit")
            exit
8
  • 10
    Do you intend to overwrite /usr/bin ? Dec 23, 2018 at 0:51
  • 1
    Are you differentiating between package names, and executable filenames? Or want to check both? Only George's answer currently checks for executables
    – Xen2050
    Dec 23, 2018 at 3:27
  • Why do you want to check it? What's the purposed use of this script?
    – Braiam
    Dec 23, 2018 at 11:11
  • @Braiam At least with apt, installing an already installed package will change its status from automatic to manual if it was only installed as a dependency of another package. If that other package is later removed, this package will no longer be marked for auto removal. I have a script to install an edited list of packages from a previous install into a new one. This technique keeps it from making a mess of the new system.
    – Joe
    Dec 27, 2018 at 0:42
  • @Joe which is a bad solution. You should instead just get the list of installed packages with apt-mark showmanual then installing with something like apt-get install "$(< package.list)".
    – Braiam
    Dec 27, 2018 at 13:02

5 Answers 5

13

you can do this:

dpkg -s <packagename> &> /dev/null

then check exit status.only if the exit status of the above command was equal to 0 then the package installed.

so:

   #!/bin/bash

    echo "enter your package name"
    read name

    dpkg -s $name &> /dev/null  

    if [ $? -ne 0 ]

        then
            echo "not installed"  
            sudo apt-get update
            sudo apt-get install $name

        else
            echo    "installed"
    fi
4
  • Except it doesn't? What happened to the line with sudo apt install $name? The command needs to go on the next line... Otherwise, nice work...
    – Zanna
    Dec 22, 2018 at 21:30
  • 4
    Note that software could be installed in a variety of ways, and dpkg is only relevant for installed debian packages. In OP's particular case, youtube-dl for instance could be also installed via python's package manager pip Dec 22, 2018 at 21:36
  • 3
    Why not if dpkg -s “$name” &> /dev/null ; then ? Same effect, cleaner/clearer imo. Dec 23, 2018 at 0:52
  • indeed, checking the exit status is exactly what if does...
    – Zanna
    Dec 23, 2018 at 10:35
5

This line of command will check using the which program and will return 0 if installed and 1 if not:

which apache | grep -o apache > /dev/null &&  echo 0 || echo 1

Of course you will use it in this manner in your script:

which "$1" | grep -o "$1" > /dev/null &&  echo "Installed!" || echo "Not Installed!"

A simple usage would be:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -e

function checker() { 
        which "$1" | grep -o "$1" > /dev/null &&  return 0 || return 1 
}

if checker "$1" == 0 ; then echo "Installed"; else echo "Not Installed!"; fi

Note several things:

  1. You will have to deal with dependenciy issues while installing
  2. To avoid interaaction with script during install see here for examples.
  3. You can catch the return values from that function an use it to decide whether to install or not.
2
  • which is super non-portable. I frequently use command -v instead, but it depends heavily on the type of name you’re looking for (alias, function, executable, &c.) Dec 23, 2018 at 0:54
  • Super non-portable for a question that is for an Ubuntu machine? This is isn't Unix & Linux site! If i were answering it on Unix & Linux site that would be a different matter! Dec 23, 2018 at 13:15
4

Here's a function I wrote for the purpose that I use in my scripts. It checks to see if the required package is installed and if not, prompts the user to install it. It requires a package name as a parameter. If you don't know the name of the package a required program belongs to you can look it up. Information on that available here.

function getreq {
dpkg-query --show  "$1"
if [ "$?" = "0" ];
then
    echo "$1" found
else
    echo "$1" not found. Please approve installation.
    sudo apt-get install "$1"
    if [ "$?" = "0" ];
    then echo "$1" installed successfully.
    fi
fi
}
2

One easy way to check for installed packages using apt-mark:

apt-mark showinstall will list all packages marked install (already installed, or queued for installation). After that, it's a simple matter of grepping the package(s) you care about.

Example: apt-mark showinstall | grep -q "^$PACKAGE_NAME$" && echo "installed" || echo "not"

2
  • You're on the right track! Just change it to this to eliminate the false positives: apt-mark showinstall | grep -q "^$PACKAGE_NAME$" && echo "installed" || echo "not"
    – Eric Mintz
    Dec 22, 2018 at 21:13
  • @EricMintz - thanks for the improvement! Edited.
    – user535733
    Dec 23, 2018 at 1:31
2

Why do you want to check it in the first place? Unless you have a good reason for it, don't do it, just apt-get install package over. If it's already installed it will be updated if there is a newer version available, if it is installed and it is up to date, nothing will happen. In case you have some configuration that needs to be applied, there are other options, like building an configuration package which depends on the package or using configuration management software like ansible.

2
  • 1
    Something will often happen: At least with apt, installing an already installed package will change its status from automatic to manual if it was only installed as a dependency of another package. If that other package is later removed, this package will no longer be marked for auto removal. I have a script to install an edited list of packages from a previous install into a new one. This technique keeps it from making a mess of the new system.
    – Joe
    Dec 27, 2018 at 0:45
  • This is an irrelevant answer. It is like asking why do you want to add 5 Dollar for apple juice and 6 dollars for bread, just give the guy a 20 and he will give you back the right amount.
    – Max
    Feb 16, 2022 at 7:22

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .