Install Programs in Tiny Core

Previous Versions of Tiny Core

Tiny Core 1

Tiny Core 2.1-3

Tiny Core

Install Programs

Install Programs While Connected to the Internet

To install programs while connected to the internet, open the App Browser.

Click "File," then "Connect."

You will then see a list of available extensions, and information about them.

Click on a extension you want to install. Then click "Install" or "Mount." The extension and its dependencies will then be downloaded and installed.

When a program is installed, there will be a new window saying it has been installed successfully.

Install or Mount

When installing programs you may select Install or Mount.

If Install is used, all programs are loaded to ram when the computer is started. If a lot of programs are installed using this method, the computer may use more ram than most other operating systems.

If Mount is used, programs are not loaded to ram until they are used. So the computer only uses the same amount of ram as most other operating systems.

You can select Install for some programs and Mount for others.

If using a computer with a small amount of ram, it is best to select Mount when installing programs.

Change What is Installed or Mounted

If you select "Install" when downloading programs, they are listed in a file called "tcz2ram.lst." This is in the tce directory.

If you want other programs to be loaded to ram when the computer is started, include their names in tcz2ram.lst.

If you want programs to be mounted when the computer is started, delete their names from tcz2ram.lst. If you want all programs to be mounted when the computer is started, delete the file tcz2ram.lst.

tcz2ram.flg

If you want all extensions loaded to ram every time the computer is started, you can add a file called tcz2ram.flg (with nothing in it) to the tce directory. If you have both tcz2ram.lst and tcz2ram.flg, tcz2ram.flg takes precedence, and all programs will be loaded to ram when the computer is started.

Download Only

There is another option, "Download Only." If you use this, programs are downloaded to another directory in the tce directory, called optional.

Before using these programs, you need to open the App browser, select "File" then "Install Local." Select a file, then click "OK." You can then start the program in the normal way.

This may be used for programs which you do not use often.

You can cut and paste extensions using a Root File Manager from the /tce directory to the /tce/optional directory, or from the /tce/optional directory to the /tce directory. Any programs in the /tce directory must have all dependencies.

To start Xfe file manager as root, open the terminal and type:

sudo xfe

Change Mirror

If you want to download extensions from a different mirror. Open the Control Panel. Click "Select Mirror." Type in a different mirror. Click "OK."

Another option is to edit /opt/.tcrc using a Root Text Editor. Use the same format as the existing. Leave off http:// at the beginning, and put 2.x at the end. That will be 3.x in the future. Change the protocol to ftp where appropriate.

To start Leafpad text editor as root, open the terminal and type:

sudo leafpad

If you are using leafpad, to open hidden files, click on the square at the top left, and type the name of the file following "Location."

Extensions may be downloaded from various internet sites. Examples include:

The official Tiny Core host

North Carolina, U.S.A.

ftp://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/tinycorelinux/

Some other mirrors are:

Greece

http://ftp.cc.uoc.gr/mirrors/linux/tinycorelinux/

ftp://ftp.cc.uoc.gr/mirrors/linux/tinycorelinux/

Netherlands

http://ftp.nluug.nl/os/Linux/distr/tinycorelinux/

http://ftp.vim.org/os/Linux/distr/tinycorelinux/

Be aware, when something is added or updated on the official site, there may be some time before it appears on the other mirrors.

Install Programs While Not Connected to the Internet

To install programs on a computer which is not connected to the internet, download the extensions, including all dependencies. Then copy and paste them to the "tce" directory.

Include .dep files, as these ensure dependencies are loaded in the appropriate order when starting Tiny Core. If the computer will be connected to the internet in the future, include .md5.txt files, as these are used to determine which programs have been updated, when updating extensions. You can also check if any extensions have been corrupted.

Restart Tiny Core for the programs to be loaded.

TCE Directory

The name of the directory where extensions go is "tce."

You can use a different directory for extensions if you specify it in the start commands. If you use Grub these are in menu.lst.

Copy Programs to Other Computers

If you install Tiny Core on another computer, you don't need to download the extensions again. You can just copy them.

The extensions are in the "tce" directory. Using the Root File Manager, copy and paste them to something which can be used to transfer them, such as a usb drive. Then copy and paste them to the "tce" directory in the other computer.

Be aware, certain files and directories contain personal files and settings. If you want to copy these to the other computer, include them. If you don't want to copy them to the other computer, exclude them. These are the /home and /opt directories if you use persistent home and opt, and the file mydata.tgz, normally in the tce directory, if you use backup.

Examples of Programs

File Manager	Xfe
Text Editor	Leafpad
Office	Open Office
Internet Browser	Firefox or Opera
Image Viewer	Xfi
PDF Viewer	Epdfview
FTP	Filezilla
Firewall	Iptables

There are many others.

Incompatible Programs

Mozilla Firefox may be installed, as well as a number of other internet browsers based on Mozilla Firefox. Some of these are incompatible with each other. Install only one of these.

If you install Xfe, Mozilla Firefox or Minefield

If you install Xfe, Mozilla Firefox or Minefield, see Backup.

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