Install Software In Linux Without Internet / Offline

Open source is getting more powerful day by day and Linux is the first synonyms to the Open-source. But the first problem most of the users who do not have internet connectivity face is a problem with installing new software. 

You cant just download and install any software with .exe file like the Windows OS.

Please note that it is considered that you don’t have the internet on the host PC but can go to the internet cafe.

Here are the steps:

1) Go to Software Manager or Mint Install (not to synaptic package
Manager, that’s different)

Software manager

2) Click on the software you want to install on your computer. Here we want to install “Font Forge” in the Graphics category. It will give a short description of the software you clicked. Now click on the “Install” button.

Software installs confirmation

3) When you click, the above window will appear. Again click on the install button. When you click on the 'install' button it will try to connect to the internet and download necessary packages but it will fail and show an error.

Error dialog

4) In the error box, all those required packages will be given. Click in that box and copy all those links to a text file

Copy error link

paste links in a separate text file

5) Now by using find and replace function deletes these lines “W:Failed to fetch” and “Could not resolve 'archive.ubuntu.com' and save the file with the name of the Software. 

6) Take that file to the computer with an internet connection and copy-paste

The links. It will directly download the files. Save those files in a separate folder with the name of Software.

Please note that if you want to download any software, use separate folders with appropriate names otherwise your installation may give error and many times this also happen that some of the dependencies required by the software you want to install have already been satisfied by any other related software which was not in the default installation.

So while installing software, use the same sequence as that of you used to copy the links in the above manner.

7) Now to install the software open the folders with the downloaded files.

Open a new “Terminal Window”. And browse to the folder with all those particular software files. Here if you have those three files in folder “Font Forge” we have to browse inside that folder. 

Use command “ls” without quotes. It should give you the list of files you have in that folder. 

Now use these commands.

>> su This will ask you your password. Give it. And then use

>> dpkg -i *.deb

This will install your software. If something goes wrong because of circular dependencies, you can use this command:

>> dpkg -i --force-depends *.deb

This must install your new software. Use the same commands to install other downloaded software.