Cygwin
Cygwin is a fully separate (and native) unix system that can run within windows. Cygwin emulates tools that are exclusive to linux (fork, mmap, ioctl, ...) by passing those calls to the cygwin.dll library.
It's beautiful, you can even run an Xserver and have it integrate with your windows' windows. You can also run a full linux desktop within your Xwindow (although it is much faster to just use a terminal).
Cygwin comes without a CLI package manager, but packages can still be installed automatically using the cygwin installer's commandline arguments.
Install
chocolatey installs cygwin to C:\programdata\chocolatey\cygwin\tools\cygwin
Cygwin is built to be able to be run in a portable way. You install, update, and get new packages by re-running the cygwin installer.
Always install the 32 bit version of cygwin, unless you absolutely need it to be 64bit. It is much more supported. Cygwin doesn't seem to require any registry keys to be set, the only things that affect it's portability are some environment variables.
NOTE If you are using my package-setup script, always run it with a normal cygwin http-repo as a source, reboot, then run with the private key for a cygports repo. If you fail to do this, and run the cygports repo first, you may end up with corrupted packages.
Package Management
Best Sources http://lug.mtu.edu standard cygwin packages http://mirrors.kernel.org/sources.redhat.com/cygwinports/ precompiled cygports (https://sourceware.org/cygwinports/) ## Start Cygwin with GPG key for cygports /path/to/setup-x86.exe -K http://cygwinports.org/ports.gpg
CYGPORTS CONTAINS DWM, MPD, NCMPC, PYSIDE
Cygwin doesn't have a traditional package manager. There are a few terminal programs you can use to emulate apt-get, but since on Windows files cannot be deleted or overwritten while they are running it is best to quit cygwin, and install programs using the installer.Because of cygwin's limited options in the default repo, I find myself compiling packages myself quite a lot. I created a git repo for compiled (and attempts at compiling) programs for quick (manual) installations on new machines.
There is also a system loosely based on Gentoo's portage to assist in compilation. It is called cygports, and can be installed from the main package manager.
Common Problems
rebase
Almost all issues related to cygwin can be resolved by rebasing. You can do it the quick/dirty way:
C:/cygwin/bin/dash.exe /bin/rebaseallOr the full proper way:
- Open Task Manager and close any processes that look to be Cygwin related. - Open C:\Cygwin\bin in Windows Explorer - Verify that dash.exe, ash.exe, rebase.exe, and rebaseall exist in this folder - If any of them are missing, re-run Cygwin setup and select the dash, ash, and rebase packages - right-click your C:\Cygwin folder, uncheck Read-only (if its checked), and press OK. - When an error about not being able to switch some files comes up, select "Ignore All". Wait for this process to complete. - Browse to C:\Cygwin\bin in Windows Explorer - Right click dash.exe and click "Run as Administrator". A command Prompt should appear with nothing but a $ - Type /usr/bin/rebaseall -v, hit enter, and wait for the process to complete. - If you get errors about Cygwin processes running, try Step 1 again. If that still doesn't work, Restart your computer into safe mode and try these steps again. - A commenter noted that, depending on your settings, you may have to type cd /usr/bin && ./rebaseall -v instead. - Try opening Cygwin again.
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9300722/cygwin-error-bash-fork-retry-resource-temporarily-unavailable http://cygwin.wikia.com/wiki/Rebaseall
Programs
Cygwin does not by default include a CLI package manager. Instead, you run cygwin.exe with the flag 'config', which updates your existing cygwin (labeled as installation, but only checks for missing/out of date files). I have included the option of running 'CygwinPers.bat --config'. There are package managers available for cygwin, such as apt-cyg, but they're pretty awful. It is much better to just use the default installer.
Base Packages:
## Cygwin Packages bc offlineimap msmtp mutt w3m ncurses abook xclip git, git-completion, gitk, tig openssh gcc automake python2 python3 xorg rxvt-unicode nc nc6 tmux zsh irssi rsync ## External Packages: urlview (win32) -- http://www.oocities.org/win32mutt/win32.html mutt with sidebar -- http://www.alexbr.com/wblog/?p=183Terminal Programs
mintty For the bulk of my regular the terminal programs (irssi, pyradio etc), see Archlinux documentation. This section is only for terminal programs that require more complicated or different configuration when run in cygwin.
sshd
Autostarting openssh in cygwin on windows:
## Pre Setup Tasks chmod +r /etc/passwd chmod +r /etc/groups chmod 555 /var#### From an ADMINISTRATOR cmd, start cygwin ssh-host-config # and deal with all warnings # YOU DO NOT WANT SEPARATED AUTHENTICATION ssh-user-config #generate all user keys chmod +rx /bin/bash #bash must be executable cygrunsrv -S sshd #test openssh### Troubleshooting # if cygwin is not starting, or crashing, you can check the logs in # /var/log/sshd.log # make sure your user has a password (in cygwin): # passwd will # if your user doesn't have a passwd entry, make one with # mkpasswd -l >> /etc/passwd # cygwin's openSSH requires that the account is an administrator # and that the windows user has a password in order for a user to login. # (at least this is what is documented, I have reasons to doubt this) # **NOTE** # DESPITE THE FACT THAT WINDOWS DOESN'T DISTINGUISH BETWEEN UPPER AND LOWER CASE # CYGWIN DOES. IF YOUR WINDOWS USER ACCOUNT HAS CAPITAL LETTERS, THE ENTRY IN # /etc/passwd WILL ALSO HAVE CAPITALS. THIS WILL DENY YOUR LOGIN ATTEMPTS. # ALSO, DESPITE WHAT IS SAID ON THE INTERNET/DOCUMENTATION, CYGWIN DOES NOT USE # YOUR WINDOWS USER CREDENTIALS, AND INSTEAD USES THE CYGWIN PASSWD ENTRIES. # make sure that bash is executable # test if you can login as cyg_server@localhost. If that's working, then # perhaps you should run ssh-host-config again without the privileged user # separation. It's only windows after all... if someone really wants in... ##openSSH will start automatically on the next windows boot. (using windows services)Mutt
Reuse config files from agnes arch setup. Install: mutt (source), msmtp, w3m, ncurses, libncurses-devel, abook, offlineimap, autobuild, autoconf, automake, make, makedepend, openssl, openssl-devel, libsasl2-devel gcc core, gdbm, libgdbm, libgdbm-devel patch, patch-devel, # Do not need procmailWhen installing mutt, check to install the source code {{{/usr/src/}}} copy the sideBar patch modified for cygwin: http://www.alexbr.com/wblog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/patch-cygwin-mutt-1.5.20-1-sidebar.txt save sidebar patch to /usr/src/mutt*/muttSideBar
recompiling mutt with sideBar
mutt-sidebar.patchmutt-sidebar.patch mutt sidebar patch tested and working in cygwin cd /usr/src/mutt*/ autoconf -f -Wall ./configure --enable-imap --enable-pop --with-ssl --enable-smtp --with-homespool=mailspool --enable-hcache --enable-debug --with-sasl patch -p1 < muttSideBar make ./mutt (to test) make install cp mutt.exe /usr/bin/mutt.exe
compile urlviewcd /usr/src git clone https://github.com/sigpipe/urlview cd urlview ./configure automake --add-missing #to correct missing depcomp make clean make install cp urlview.exe /usr/bin/
offlineimapOfflineimap requires certificate authentication, and cygwin uses a different certificate file than linux. Point offlineImap to cygwin's ca-certificate file:
/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt
gpg encryptionGPG (GnuPrivacyGuard), the open source version of PGP (pretty good privacy) is encryption software. It can be used on an entire disk, a directory, a set of files, or with emails for publickey authentication.
My use for gpg at work isn't encrypted emails, but rather an encrypted Maildir. The hard drive used at work will likely be used long after I am gone with all of my files intact, I would rather avoid snooping if possible.
- gnupg (cygwin package) -cygwinpers --config # search and install gnupg
- mysysgit - Before I found cygwin's gpg encryption, I used mysysgit for gpg encryption. Apparently cygwin comes installed with gpg, but I haven't been able to find it or use it. Instead I'm using gpg from the MySysGit installation. To get this to work:Setup:
# Download and Extract to git/bin directory (or same location as gpg.exe) ftp://ftp.gnupg.org/gcrypt/binary/libiconv-1.9.1.dll.zip # gpg should now run in regular windows # Will need to create shellscript to be able to run gpg in cygwin
Usage:gpg -c file.txt #encrypt file shred -z --remove file.txt #overwrite all file's bits, and delete gpg file.txt #decrypt file
fetchmail---NOT IN USE--- I had been having problems with ssl certificates using offlineimap, and I turned to fetchmail as an alternative. You can get emails with fetchmail, and then move them to their corresponding folder with procmail. This did not keep track of emails on the imap server however, and I started receiving duplicate emails.
Eventually I was able to fix offlineimap by pointing it to cygwin's ca-certificate file: {{{/etc/ssl/certs/ca-bundle.crt}}} Note that this was after using fetchmail. Perhaps this accepted the certificate for me?
pyradio
Pyradio requires the curses library. It does not work well under windows, but it works very well under cygwin. Make sure that VLC is copied to a location on '$PATH' so that it can do all of the legwork in decoding the audio streams.
## create get-pip.py with contents of: ## https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py /usr/bin/python2 get-pip.py pip2 install pyradio cp $portable/VlCPortable/App/vlc/vlc.exe /usr/bin/cvlc.exe
mpd, ncmpcpp
There is a lot of dependencies, nice person on internet made script to simplify grabbing all dependencies/compiling.
https://github.com/ahodesuka/getmpd/blob/master/getmpd ## Use Cygports (redhat mirror kernel.org) ## setup-x86.exe -K http://cygwinports.org/ports.gpg mpd, zzip, wrap, ncmpc, wavpack, libwavpack, libvorbisfile, vorbisenc, sndfile, shout, samplerate, pulse, alsa, opus, openal, dns_sd-1, audiofile-1, libao ## cygwin doesn't use ALSA, pulseaudio is available, ## and also portaudio is apparently available (although I'm unsure if ## mpd supports it )vim
Vim works perfectly, but some of the plugins have quirks that will need to be rewritten. These cygwin-specific issues will be tracked under vim.
NOTE
If you install a plugin, and get errors about ^M line endings in it's source files, You can fix in a very simple way. Simply open the sourcefile and execute::set ff=unix :wq
utimer
A little script for setting alarms from the commandline. I have it all integrated with tmux though, and especially at work it would be useful to force myself to checkup on people every now and then, or stretch.
cygwin --config --> pkgconfig, intltool ./configure make make install ## make install does install the manpage, but ## utimer doesn't seem to be in the correct place ## copy it to /usr/bin cp src/utimer.exe /usr/bin/unrar
curl -#O http://www.rarlab.com/rar/unrarsrc-5.2.4.tar.gz tar -xvf unrar* cd unrar* make -f makefile.cygmin (#doesn't exist) (I don't have this working yet...)vifm
vifm is a super awesome, and speedy terminal filemanager. I like it a lot.
curl -#O http://sourceforge.net/projects/vifm/files/vifm/vifm-0.7.8.tar.bz2/download tar -xvf vifm* cd vifm* ./configure make cp vifm.exe /usr/bin/ranger
Ranger is a vim-style, tabbed, terminal filemanager that lets you browse through your filesystem and preview files REALLY REALLY QUICKLY. Perfect for jumping through the script directory.
## Make sure python2.6+ is installed cd ~ curl -#O http://nongnu.org/ranger/ranger-stable.tar.gz tar -xvf ranger-stable.tar.gz cd ranger-X.XX python setup.py install --optimize=1 --record=install_log.txt cd .. rm -rf ranger*
sshfs/fuse
cygwin doesn't have sshfs per-se, however there are a couple of windows ports of fuse/sshfs that work marvelously (although require a GUI unfortunately...). Of the two, dokan is portable, so it will be my preference.
Dokan does not accept command-line flags, but a forum user showed his autohotkey script that he used as a wrapper for it:
Run "C:\Program Files (x86)\Dokan\DokanSSHFS\DokanSSHFS.exe" sleep 1000 Send {tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}password{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{tab}{enter} sleep 4000 Send {enter}
http://dokan-dev.net/en/download/#sshfs https://code.google.com/p/win-sshfs/downloads/detail?name=win-sshfs-0.0.1.5-setup.exe&can=2&q= ipython
pip2 install ipython
PySide
## Cygwin Install: qt4 (check many packages) cp /usr/bin/qmake-qt4 git clone https://github.com/PySide/pyside-setup.git pyside-setup pip2 install wheel python2 setup.py bdist_wheel --qmake=/usr/bin/qmake-qt4 ## haven't had this work just yet
(python) schedule
This looks very promising as an alternative to cron that does not require the windows' task scheduler.
https://github.com/dbader/schedule
disused
statnot
statnot is another minimal notifications system. It has less dependencies still than dunst.
STATNOT REQUIRES X TO BE RUNNING, WHICH I DON'T WANT TO BOTHER WITH. INSTEAD I'M JUST USING MY PERSONAL TMUX NOTIFICATION SCRIPT RATHER THAN PASSING IT THROUGH NOTIFY-SEND. NOTIFY-SEND IS ONLY REALLY USEFUL IN LINUX ANYWAYS IF I'M LOOKING AT A WEB BROWSER. I CAN REWRITE MY ACTUAL NOTIFICATION SCRIPT TO CALL NOTIFY-SEND OR WINDOWS NOTIFICATIONS DEPENDING ON THE OSTYPE.
cygwin --config --> python2, python-dbus, python-gtkdunst
Dunst is a notification system. I use it to pass messages to all my tmux sessions so that I don't miss messages or important alarms. It can run headless (sweet).
DUE TO THE UNAVAILABILITY OF LIBXDG-BASEDIR IN CYGWN (ALTHOUGH BEING PORTED), I CANNOT USE DUNST.
cygwin --config --> dbus, libxinerama, libxft, libxss, libnotify # you'll also need to compile some other dependencies: libxdg-basedirX Programs
Xserver
CygwinX
%terminal%/cygwin/app/cygwin/cygwinXpers.batcygwinXpers.bat personal launcher script ~/.xstartwinrc.startxwinrc customize startup of xwin IMPORTANT NOTE IF YOU ARE RUNNING WINDOWS AS A DIFFERENT USER THAN 'will' (ex: willp). My workaround for both
.xinitrc
, and.config/openbox
. was to use symbolic links to their locations in will.ln -s /home/will /home/willp
# xorg-xerver # win-xorg-clipboard # There are options to customize startx and startxwin, # I prefer to leave startxwin blank because when left alone, # it can run ANY program as an argument, and it will create a # windows' window for it. #### ~/.startxwin ## Any instructions to be run every time startxwin is run #### ~/.xinitrc ## Any instructions to be run every time startx is run #### man xwin ## commandline flags for startxwin/startx startx (programs to run) -- (xwin flags) -rootless (no window decorations on xserver) -keyhook (cygwin sees keypresses before windows) (allows windows key to be used) ex: startx /usr/bin/openbox -- -rootless -keyhoook ## start openbox in same windowspace as windows
WINAPI
I'm not entirely sure what this is, or how it works but this is how DWM is able to run natively in windows, and manage win32 windows ( but not cygwin windows unless launched with startxwin /usr/bin/<progrm> )
Fonts
/usr/share/fonts/font.ttffont dir fc-listlist all fonts There is not a lot of options for fonts in the cygwin package repo, Here are the fonts that I use most frequently:
## Droid-Sans-Mono (preference) http://www.fontsquirrel.com/fonts/droid-sans-mono ## DejaVu http://sourceforge.net/projects/dejavu/ ## copy fonts to /usr/share/fonts/ fc-list ##List all currently available fonts Urxvt.font: xft:Droid Sans Mono-10 ##Setting font for urxvt in ~/.Xdefaultsfeh
feh is an awesome image viewer. requires imlib2
## CYGWIN DEPENDENCIES: # imlib2, libcurl, libcurl-devel, libpng, libX11, libXinerama, libXt-devel # make sure to install all imlib, imlib2, libiml, and devel packages from setup.exe # # note that when hunting down a package because of a compile error, you can use # cygcheck for more info ex: cygcheck -p x11/Intrinsic.h curl -#O http://feh.finalrewind.org/feh-2.12.tar.bz2 make make install cp feh.exe /usr/bin/