Can I run commercial linux software on linuxulator?

[HarryStottle]

I would like to run Agisoft Metashape on FreeBSD to build 3d point maps for photogrammetry.
I have a licensed copy that used to run on void linux without systemd.

I have read the handbook chapter about Linux Binary Compatibility and get the impression that I can only install linux programs from ports tree.
It this this true?

 

[tingo]

Nope. You can run commercial software on the linuxulator. However, the install program, and / or the startup scripts might not work unmodified on FreeBSD with the linuxulator.
Also, if the program in question requires one or more shared (linux) libraries that are not in FreeBSD ports / packages, you will have to manually copy that over to the correct place from a Linux machine.

 

[cracauer@]

I have read the handbook chapter about Linux Binary Compatibility and get the impression that I can only install linux programs from ports tree.
It this this true?

No. The things that ports/pkg install in the Linuxulator are not special in any way. Linux binaries will do regardless of where they come from as long as the Linux version is somewhat matching.

Unpacking and running it might be non trivial. I recommend starting with a tree of the application that is already unpacked.

What Linux is the commercial packet for?

 

[fahrenheit]

HarryStottle for reference the default linuxlator base on 15 is rocky linux 9.x, so if you get an rpm (and required dependencies if needed) you can follow the instructions on the handbook to install them. Another option is to install, manually, (micro)dnf, chroot into rocky and use dnf to install packages.

In doubt go with the first solution.

 

[grandpa]

HarryStottle for reference the default linuxlator base on 15 is rocky linux 9.x, so if you get an rpm (and required dependencies if needed) you can follow the instructions on the handbook to install them. Another option is to install, manually, (micro)dnf, chroot into rocky and use dnf to install packages.

In doubt go with the first solution.

Well, You can chose to use a Debian/Ubuntu base instead of Rocky or even an unsafe deprecated centos. It's in the handbook.

/grandpa

 

[T-Daemon]

I have a licensed copy that used to run on void linux without systemd.

You are not dependent on a Linux base from the ports, as some users' comments might suggest ( CentOS: emulators/linux-c7, Rocky Linux: emulators/linux-rl9, or Ubuntu: sysutils/debootstrap).

If the commercial software is running on Void Linux fine, configure the Linux binary compatibility as described in the handbook and extract a Void base system rootfs tarball [1] into /compat/linux (that's what the Linux bases from ports basically do).

Then chroot(8) /compat/linux, proceed with xpbs operations (upgrade system, eventually install required packages to run the commercial software).

In a test setup, I couldn't upgrade the system or install packages, with Void base under /compat/linux, though.

xpbs-install claims "No route to host" (host = https://repo-default.voidlinux.org/current), but ping(8) resolves just fine the address (voidlinux/etc/resolv.conf copied from the FreeBSD host), and xpbs-query -R <package_name> prints package informations.

I couldn't figure out what might be the cause of the issue. If you decide to run the software in the Linuxulator, and if you have the same problem, other forums users might know what's wrong.

However, I've succeeded operating xbps-install in a jail, configured as described in "VoidLinux in FreeBSD Jail; with init".

[1] https://repo-default.voidlinux.org/live/current/void-x86_64-ROOTFS-20250202.tar.xz