How to install program/Application/Software from .tar.gz / .tar.bz2 / .sh / .deb in Ubuntu Linux

Usually, .tar.gz or .tar.bz2 files are compressed files (just like zip files in windows). so, first you need to extract the contents of the .tar.gz file.

Extract a .tar.gz or .tar.bz file:

Right-click on the file and select Extract. Optionally, you can extract using a terminal:

.tar.gz files:

tar xzvf filename.tar.gz

.tar.bz2 files:

tar xjvf filename.tar.bz2

Now examine the extracted files! Normally, .tar.gz files contain source-codes which should be compiled to executable files. This means extra work to do. Instead, if the contents are .deb files or shell script (.sh format), you are lucky.

Step 2: Copy all the contents to desktop. Use it just for simplification!

Now depending on the types of extracted files, choose one of the following method:

Install from a .deb file:

Just double-click to open it!

Install from .sh file:

Open terminal and press following codes:

sudo chmod a+x ~/Desktop/filename
sudo sh ~/Desktop/filename

Install from Source files:

How to understand if the contents of .tar.gz file are source files? If the .tar.gz contains too many files, possibly files with .c or .cpp extentions, you may assume that they are source codes. You may try following methods to make executable (binary) files from source code:

Terminal job once again! Press following code:

cd ~/Desktop
./configure
make
sudo make install

or,

cd ~/Desktop
sudo apt-get install checkinstall
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall

As you can see, it’s always troublesome trying with .tar.gz or .tar.bz files! So better try Add/Remove Application or Synaptic Package Manager to install new programs in Ubuntu.