How do I install a package set after install under OpenBSD operating systems? I forgot to add a file set comp52.tgz package. How do I install the same after installing the operating system?


OpenBSD recommends two methods as follows to install sets after the initial install:

Method # 1: Upgrade

1. Reboot your OpenBSD.
2. Inset your install media / CD-ROM (you can also boot using PXE network boot option)
3. Choose Upgrade rather than Install.
4. When you get to the lists of file sets to install, choose the sets you neglected to install first time around, select your source, and let it install them for you.

Method # 2: Use tar command

Use wget or ftp client to download a file set called comp52.tgz:
$ cd /tmp
$ wget http://mirror.switch.ch/ftp/pub/OpenBSD/5.2/i386/comp52.tgz
Type the following tar command:
# cd /
# pwd
# tar xzvphf /tmp/comp52.tgz
Sample outputs:

./usr/lib/libasn1.a
./usr/lib/libasn1_p.a
./usr/lib/libasn1_pic.a
./usr/lib/libc.a
....
...
...

The comp52.tgz file set is simply compressed tar file, and you can expand them manually from the root of the filesystem using the tar command. Do NOT forget the ‘p’ option in the above command in order to restore the file permissions properly.

References

• OpenBSD documentation.
• man pages – tar, wget, and ftp