Questions tagged [configuration]
Questions related to configuration of Ubuntu software.
1,635
questions
241
votes
10
answers
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Terminal 'incognito mode'?
I use Terminal a lot, and sometimes I am running commands, which aren't things I don't want others to see, but more commands that if I accidentally arrowed up to and accidentally executed would cause ...
user364819
205
votes
3
answers
225k
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Whats the .local folder for in my Home Directory
What is the ~/.local folder good for and is it safe to remove the content within this folder?
- 2,645
203
votes
1
answer
274k
views
How do I override or configure systemd services?
Many sysv init scripts used a corresponding file in /etc/default to allow the administrator to configure it. Upstart jobs can be modified using .override files. How do I override or configure systemd ...
- 198k
194
votes
25
answers
369k
views
How to fix "W: Duplicate sources.list entry"?
I keep getting this warning whenever I try to run sudo apt-get update.
W: Duplicate sources.list entry http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise-updates/main i386 Packages (/var/lib/apt/lists/archive....
- 3,190
175
votes
11
answers
1.5m
views
Where is .bashrc?
I feel stupid asking, but I can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere. I'm trying to follow these instructions to edit my bash prompt, but there is no .bashrc in either my user directory (~/....
- 3,602
157
votes
6
answers
445k
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How do I change my timezone to UTC/GMT?
Currently when I execute the date command from bash I get the following displayed
Thu May 17 12:21:00 IST 2012
Below is my timezone config based on executing dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
Current ...
- 1,673
151
votes
6
answers
56k
views
How can I change or hide the ~/snap directory?
I'm not particularly fond of apps cluttering my $HOME directory with their own files or directories. It's rarely a problem, because most apps have the courtesy to hide their data by prefixing it with ...
- 4,949
149
votes
7
answers
175k
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How can I restore configuration files?
I would like to restore LightDM to its default state, because for some reason
/etc/lightdm/unity-greeter.conf is now an empty file.
Deleting /etc/lightdm/unity-greeter.conf and then running sudo apt-...
- 59.4k
132
votes
9
answers
144k
views
How do I disable automatic remote printer installation?
In Raring, everytime I connect to the network, Cups installs all the printers in the network automatically, some more than once.
Furthermore, I connect a USB printer to the laptop every now and then. ...
- 15.5k
132
votes
2
answers
243k
views
How can I allow SSH password authentication from only certain IP addresses?
I'd like to allow SSH password authentication from only a certain subnet. I see the option to disallow it globally in /etc/ssh/sshd_config:
# Change to no to disable tunnelled clear text passwords
#...
- 76.8k
120
votes
9
answers
302k
views
How do I reset GNOME to the defaults?
I was playing around with some settings, and now I need to reset GNOME to it's defaults - how do I do that?
- 60.6k
107
votes
13
answers
59k
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Some fast way to save and restore tabs of Terminal?
I have a Terminal window with a dozen named tabs open.
I would like to save the current configuration and have it restored with names and directories.
Is there a way to do this?
- 1,852
98
votes
4
answers
74k
views
How to set custom lock screen time in Ubuntu 18.04
The maximum lock time in Ubuntu 18.04, when set via GUI, is 15 minutes. This can be set in Settings → Power → Power Saving → Blank screen.
I'd like to increase this to 30 minutes for ...
- 4,000
96
votes
14
answers
301k
views
How do I enable auto-login in LightDM?
I want user foo to auto-login using LightDM (which has been used by Ubuntu since version 11.10). How would I do that?
- 64.8k
85
votes
5
answers
301k
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What is the virbr0 interface used for?
virbr0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr a2:17:ea:e3:47:7e
inet addr:192.168.122.1 Bcast:192.168.122.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 ...
- 869
81
votes
5
answers
116k
views
How to use https with apt-get?
Does apt-get use https or any kind of encryption? Is there a way to configure it to use it?
- 11.9k
75
votes
4
answers
297k
views
Switching window manager/desktop environments?
In general what is the approach to switch the desktop environment or window manager on Ubuntu? The main difference between stock Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Lubuntu is supposedly the use of Unity vs. KDE vs. ...
- 5,720
73
votes
3
answers
284k
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Configure screensaver in Ubuntu
How do I configure the screensaver in Ubuntu? I can see that gnome-screensaver is running.
- 912
69
votes
10
answers
25k
views
How can I disable Ctrl+Q for all applications (system wide)?
A lot of applications like Firefox, Chrome etc, get closed when I accidentally press Ctrl+Q instead of Ctrl+W because of the proximity of the Q and W keys on the keyboard. Is there a way this shortcut ...
- 1,300
67
votes
6
answers
186k
views
How to switch the editor in mc (midnight commander) from nano to mcedit?
Using ubuntu 10.10 the editor in mc (midnight commander) is nano. How can i switch to the internal mc editor (mcedit)?
- 1,590
67
votes
9
answers
196k
views
How to create folder shortcut in Ubuntu 14.04?
I have a folder in my Dropbox and I want to add a shortcut of that folder on my Desktop. I guess this should be extremely easy as in Windows OS :) However, I have no idea how to do it in Ubuntu 14.04.
...
- 1,407
67
votes
2
answers
85k
views
How do I configure irssi?
I am using the irssi client for IRC chat, and I would like to know how to configure the ~/.irssi/config file so that I can put in my username and password (I have a registered nickname in the IRC).
...
- 22.2k
63
votes
10
answers
106k
views
How to set the Default Browser from the Command Line?
Tried to set the default browser using the GUI tools but this didn't work overall. Is there a way to configure the system wide default browser from command line?
- 1,590
59
votes
11
answers
70k
views
Where are gedit's preferences?
This is incredibly weird. I don't see "preferences" in any of my gedit menus. I'm running Version 3.8.3. All I want to do is show line numbers, but I can't do that without preferences.
Where the heck ...
- 9,363
58
votes
6
answers
262k
views
Is this a correct way to enable htaccess in Apache 2.4.7
In almost every solution of "How to activate htaccess", they say that the /etc/apache2/sites-available/default file needs to be edited. But there isn't such file in Apache 2.4.7
I read somewhere ...
- 2,285
54
votes
2
answers
102k
views
Where is syslog.conf?
I tried to move my stuff from CentOS to Ubuntu. Here is a problem I met: I would like find the corresponding CentOS /etc/syslog.conf file in Ubuntu? Basically, the file is used to control where those ...
- 643
53
votes
2
answers
93k
views
Cannot find curl-config in Ubuntu 13.04
I am installing package RCurl in R and getting an error
checking for curl-config... no
Cannot find curl-config
ERROR: configuration failed for package ‘RCurl’
I have tried to install libcurl ...
- 643
53
votes
8
answers
319k
views
How do I get permissions to edit system configuration files?
I can't seem to edit and save config files in the root system (eg: /etc/dhcp/dhcpd.config); it just says "permission denied" or the save option is blocked in the text editor.
I'm pretty sure I'm a ...
- 845
50
votes
4
answers
81k
views
Do files at /etc/apt/sources.list.d need to have an extension '.list'?
In /etc/apt/sources.list.d I have several files for custom repositories. All the names of those files end with .list.
Is it obligatory that files in that folder should end with that extension? If yes,...
- 2,002
47
votes
9
answers
9k
views
Is it bad practice to git init in the $home directory to keep track of dot files?
I want to backup and sync my dotfiles using github. Since all the dotfiles resides in $home by default, should I just git init in my $home folder, or is that a bad idea?
Having performed git init in $...
47
votes
6
answers
73k
views
How can I delay a specific program on startup?
How to delay a program such as cairo-dock (No openGL) or Firefox?
Sometimes programs crash when started with other startup apps. I want programs to start 10 seconds late to avoid a crash.
user11701
40
votes
5
answers
38k
views
How do I configure Unity 2D?
There are several options to configure Unity 3D via "CompizConfig Settings Manager" respectively its "Ubuntu Unity Plugin".
But how do I access Unity 2D's settings?
If you are looking to ...
- 461
39
votes
5
answers
107k
views
C++ preprocessor "/lib/cpp" fails sanity check
I need to compile HDF5 ,and after configure process ,i receive this error:
configure: error: C++ preprocessor "/lib/cpp" fails sanity check
And I know i have cpp installed on my ubuntu
Any help ...
- 401
38
votes
3
answers
88k
views
How to set all locale settings in Ubuntu
A remote installed application has some encoding problems and on my local machine it is running fine.
What is the best way to "copy" my locales to the remote machine?
The locales on my personal ...
- 506
35
votes
3
answers
33k
views
Is there a tool for validating /etc/network/interfaces files?
I always like to test new config files before deploying them--with tools like apachectl configtest and named-checkconf.
It's rare that mistakes crop up, but catching them before deployment ...
- 3,356
34
votes
6
answers
189k
views
How to permanently configure keyboard
I use a Turkish keyboard which I have converted to English (Ubuntu server 12.04). My problem is that the single quote is not present on the keyboard but is instead represent by a comma in midair. To ...
- 2,698
33
votes
3
answers
51k
views
How do I set which PostgreSQL version is to be used by default?
I have 2 different versions of PostgreSQL installed on my system (Ubuntu Lucid):
/var/lib/postgresql/8.4
/var/lib/postgresql/9.0
By default, when I run a PostgreSQL command such as createdb or psql, ...
- 4,005
33
votes
3
answers
31k
views
Autoconnecting Bluetooth Devices
Is there a way to set the Bluetooth in Ubuntu to autoconnect to devices it is paired to when it is turned on. Furthermore, is there a way to automatically change the sound output to a Bluetooth ...
- 1,546
33
votes
3
answers
266k
views
How to setup static IP in Ubuntu Server 12.04?
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
ifconfig
sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.1.150
netmask 255.255.255.0
network 192.168.2.0
broadcast 192....
- 925
32
votes
4
answers
19k
views
"Unauthorized" error when adding printers through CUPS using Google Chrome in Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Update 2019-01-09: Please see answer below as there is a way to fix this with CUPS 2.2.8.
Update 2020-10-17: Upgrading from 18.04 LTS to 20.04 LTS will fix it as it upgrades the version of CUPS from ...
- 41.7k
32
votes
4
answers
216k
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Setting up proxy to ignore all local addresses [duplicate]
I am trying to bypass the proxy for all addresses that are local network addresses. Such as http://test/ and http://mymachine/ and http://theirmachine/
Is there an easy way to do that?
- 459
30
votes
7
answers
2k
views
What precautions should I take when exposing my desktop directly to the internet?
I've always used my Ubuntu desktop behind the security of a router with NAT, but there have been a few times when I've had to plug it directly into an active cable modem.
In general, what precautions ...
- 76.8k
30
votes
2
answers
51k
views
freshclam error, "clamd.conf" file not found
When I run the following command:
sudo freshclam
If there are found to be updates to the virus definitions etc then at the end of the output comes this error message
ERROR: NotifyClamd: Can't find ...
user364819
30
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How do I configure Ubuntu for a public computer?
How would you set up Ubuntu on a computer that will be used as public computer in a library?
I need the following features and user restrictions:
On boot, a guest user should automatically be logged ...
- 657
30
votes
2
answers
41k
views
How do I change Firefox's `about:config` from a shell script?
On of the first things I do when first using a fresh Firefox profile, is to set browser.urlbar.trimURLs to false (which really should be changeable though ‘Preferences’ or should have remained default)...
- 867
30
votes
8
answers
3k
views
How to keep "dot files" under version control?
Etckeeper is a great tool for keeping track of changes to your configuration files in /etc. A few key things about it really stand out. It can be used with a wide variety of VCSs: git, mercurial, ...
- 37.4k
29
votes
4
answers
11k
views
How to increase waiting time for non responding programs?
I have installed a Ubuntu GNOME and found that I am getting lots of PROGRAM is not responding messages.
I have either to "Force Quit" the program or "Wait" for it a little more.
I've noticed that ...
- 1,422
28
votes
6
answers
55k
views
How do I reset gnome font configuration?
How do I reset the font settings - actual font and size - to their default?
(I changed some values in System->Preferences->Appearance->Fonts)
This is particularly important with the new Ubuntu font ...
- 28.7k
26
votes
6
answers
16k
views
How can I revert a config file back to the originally installed version after I have edited it?
I want to revert a file in /etc/ back to its originally-installed form. I have edited the file since it was installed. How can I revert this config file? Apt is smart enough not to overwrite edited ...
- 4,426
26
votes
7
answers
62k
views
How can I make NetworkManager ignore my wireless card?
I do not want NetworkManager to list or manipulate my wireless card. Can I hide its interface from NetworkManager somehow?
I have tried adding this in /etc/network/interfaces,
iface wlan0 inet ...
- 76.8k