RedtamarinWindowsEnvironmentSetup

Redtamarin Windows Environment Setup

Simply put the command-line environment under Windows is subpar.

On other systems like Linux and Mac OS X we can rely on a POSIX environment.

Because we needed to replicate the same environment for Windows, we created simple Batch script redtamarin-setup.bat.

The Redtamarin Windows Environment Setup
install and configure the following

• Cygwin
  https://cygwin.com/
• Cygwin packages
  bash,bash-completion,mintty,ncurses,which, nano,wget,hostname,openssh
• apt-cyg - Cygwin Package Manager
  https://github.com/transcode-open/apt-cyg
• wpkg - Microsoft Windows Packager
  http://windowspackager.org/

You need to run redtamarin-setup.bat only once and after that you can install and upgrade as many redtamarin installations as you want.

Before Installing

The Cygwin installer use by default this mirror
http://mirrors.kernel.org/sourceware/cygwin/
which maybe not the fastest for you.

A list of other mirrors can be found here
https://cygwin.com/mirrors.html

If you want to use another mirror
in redtamarin-setup.bat

edit the following line
SET SITE=http://mirrors.kernel.org/sourceware/cygwin/

and replace the URL, for example
SET SITE=http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/sourceware.org/pub/cygwin/

Install

• download redtamarin-setup.bat
  from the repository extras/windows/redtamarin-setup.bat
  or from the releases page
• either double click the file to run it
  or open command-prompt (cmd.exe)
  go to the directory
  type "redtamarin-setup.bat" then ENTER
• this will open a command-prompt
  that will stay open for the duration of the setup
• at each step of the process
  you will need to type any key
  (or simply ENTER) to continue
• most of it is automated but you will
  still have to approve the installation
  of some programs by clicking "yes"
• at the end of the installation
  the command-prompt stays open
  but you will see something like
  *** Redtamarin Windows Environment Setup
*** COMPLETE for Windows 64-bit

redtamarin-setup.bat has been tested
and is known to work for

• Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
• Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
• other?

Known Issues

• the Batch file should work for
  Windows 7, 8, 8.1 in 32-bit and 64-bit
  but it only been tested on
  Windows 8.1 64-bit
• if you right click redtamarin-setup.bat
  and "Run as administrator"
  it will crash the cygwin setup

If you run successfully the redtamarin-setup.bat
under either Windows 7 32-bit, Windows 7 64-bit,
Windows 8 32-bit, Windows 8 64-bit, Windows 8.1 32-bit
or any older (Windows 2000) or newer (Windows 10)
please, create an issue and tell us on which system it worked

FAQ

Q: Why a Batch file?
A: we could have used numerous installer solutions
like NSIS, Inno Setup, WiX, etc.
we could have even used redtamarin to build our
own installer, but for security and transparency
we thought it was better to use a simple .bat file
of few lines that can be inspected and reviewed

Q: Is there manual instructions instead of the Batch file?
A: yes, just follow the instructions here

Q: How long will it take to install/setup ?
A: It mainly depends on your connection speed
over DSL it should take about 20mn or so

Q: My system is 32-bit and the setup download/install wpkg-1.0.0-amd64.exe ?
A: yes, its is confusing with a name containing "amd64"
you would expect a 64-bit executable, but it is a 32-bit one
proof: $ file wpkg-1.0.0-amd64.exe output

PE32 executable (GUI) Intel 80386, for MS Windows, Nullsoft Installer self-extracting archive

Manual Instructions

We take the script redtamarin-setup.bat and details how it would be done manually

• it is preferable to have a username without spaces
• Download Cygwin
  for your Windows operating system
  • for a 32-bit system get setup-x86.exe
  • for a 64-bit system get setup-x86_64.exe
• run the Cygwin installer
  • install in C:\cygwin
  • select the "Base" package
  • select bash, bash-completion, mintty, ncurses and which
  • select nano, wget, hostname, and openssh
  • select any other packages you may want
• launch Cygwin console
  (should use mintty by default)
  it will setup your HOME folder and the different profiles
• Download apt-cyg
  it will act as our Cygwin package manager
  the file is apt-cyg (right click "save as")
  • move the file to the cygwin /bin folder
  • make the file executable
    eg. $ chmod +x /bin/apt-cyg
  • you can test it if you want
    $ apt-cyg or $ apt-cyg list, etc.
• Download Wpkg
  another kind of Windows package manager
  this one will act as an equivalent of dpkg
  so we can install .deb packages manually
  • download wpkg-1.0.0
    evne if the file mention amd64, it is a 32-bit installer that will work everywhere
  • install wpkg in the default folder C:\WPKG
  • once installation is complete, you have to copy
    C:\WPKG\wpkg_static.exe to your cygwin /bin folder
    for ex: cp /cygdrive/c/WPKG/wpkg_static.exe /bin/wpkg.exe
  • you also have to modify
    your .profile and/or .bash_profile with the following
    export WPKG_OPTIONS='--root c:/cygwin --admindir c:/WPKG/var/lib/wpkg'
• all done :)