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I'm trying to install a printer driver (from Epson if it matters) but when I try to unpack the .tar.gz file I'm getting a directory called epsonscan2-bundle-6.6.42.0.x86_64.deb instead of a file.

I tried just installing with dpkg or apt as per How do I install a .deb file via the command line? however apt reasonably responds E: Read error - read (21: Is a directory) -- dpkg's objection is that the directory is not a Debian format archive

There are a dozen different questions about installing .deb files in general, but none that I can find that address a file that is actually a directory.

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  • The file you want is probably inside the directory
    – PonJar
    Jul 18, 2022 at 17:41
  • @PonJar apt and dpkg definitely want a .deb file, which is the whole directory.
    – Amanda
    Jul 18, 2022 at 17:41
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    Have you looked inside the directory? There is probably a file with the same name as the directory
    – PonJar
    Jul 18, 2022 at 17:43
  • 2
    I have. There is not.
    – Amanda
    Jul 18, 2022 at 17:44

1 Answer 1

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This is really weird how Epson packs this driver.

It is really a directory, not a deb file. The directory contains other directories with real deb files and an install.sh script.

The script installs required dependencies and the debs.

Start install.sh script from that directory to install the driver.

So copy that epsonscan2-bundle-6.6.42.0.x86_64.deb to your Home and run:

cd epsonscan2-bundle-6.6.42.0.x86_64.deb
sudo ./install.sh
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  • 7
    This offends me, just on principle. But I believe you.
    – Amanda
    Jul 18, 2022 at 22:04
  • As it turns out there are just two directories in here, core and plugins in addition to the install.sh script. And each of those includes an actual .deb file. So I'm going to try installing those directly.
    – Amanda
    Jul 18, 2022 at 23:04
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    @Amanda if you look through the install.sh script it just runs dpkg --install for the .deb files in the subdirectories.
    – John Rennie
    Jul 19, 2022 at 4:57
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    .x86_64.deb is their platform ID (64-bit Debian-ish), it just happens to look a lot like the filename of a deb package.
    – hobbs
    Jul 19, 2022 at 6:29
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    Appending a filename extension (or something that looks alike) to a directory name is really confusing, shame on Epson who did this.
    – rexkogitans
    Jul 19, 2022 at 9:12

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