# Shell with tools in appimage

**URL:** <https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455>\
**Category:** Creating AppImages\
**Created:** [October 8, 2019, 8:52am UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455 "2019-10-08T08:52:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![codan](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/codan/32/294_2.png) [@codan](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/codan)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 8:52am UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455/1 "2019-10-08T08:52:24Z")

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Hello all and @probono! Thank you for your answers in these threads! It helps to understand AppImage concepts!

Could you please advise me in my case. I’m trying to create portable stand alone shell along with couple of tools. It consists of:

1. [zsh shell](https://www.zsh.org/) — in general it requires home directory with .zshrc file with settings
2. [OMZ themes](https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/) — in general it’s just a directory in home dir and `.zshrc` contains `source` and settings of the files
3. python 3 with packages — installation via [conda](https://conda.io/en/latest/) for example as described in [AppImage/Bundling-Python-apps](https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/wiki/Bundling-Python-apps)
4. [autojump](https://github.com/wting/autojump) — python based tool for zsh — in general it’s just a directory in home dir and `.zshrc` contains `source` and settings of the files AND it can write cache to ~/.local

I already made first step and tried to create zsh AppImage via `linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-conda`. It was executed perfect and zsh was running but I faced with issues:

1] When I for experiment delete AppDir and try to use zsh AppImage it show the error:

```auto
zsh: failed to load module zsh/zle: /tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/zle.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

```

2] If I for experiment didn’t delete AppDir then zsh worked and I tried to include OMZ in .zshrc and I’ve faced with the errors:

```bash
$ mkdir /tmp/test/shell_home
$ git clone https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/
$ echo '...connect OMZ...' > /tmp/test/shell_home/.zshrc
$ export ZDOTDIR=/tmp/test/shell_home 
$ ./zsh-x86_64.AppImage
/tmp/test/shell_home/oh-my-zsh/oh-my-zsh.sh:72: compinit: function definition file not found
/tmp/test/shell_home/oh-my-zsh/lib/completion.zsh:23: command not found: zstyle
/tmp/test/shell_home/oh-my-zsh/lib/key-bindings.zsh:20: command not found: bindkey
/tmp/test/shell_home/oh-my-zsh/plugins/git/git.plugin.zsh:119: command not found: compdef

```

It looks like OMZ expects zsh in the current env and probably should be packed with zsh in the AppImage.

So I’m here and want to ask advice and start from basic questions to understand:

1. Can I pack all 1-4 items from my list in one AppImage and use from shell which run as AppImage OR I should create separate AppImages for zsh, python and autojump and run it together thru configs and scripting?

2. What is the best way to pack shell (zsh) into AppImage? If it helps: my experiments shows that zsh has absolute paths for libs inside zsh executable and should be rebuilded from source with appropriate PREFIX for non standard directory.

3. For python I’ve read [Bundling-Python-apps](https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/wiki/Bundling-Python-apps) and choose conda. Any advice on this with my case?

4. OMZ and autojump — it’s external scripts but they expect environment around. Should I pack them inside AppImage or for example I can place it to AppImage.home and write entrypoint script which will fix paths and then run zsh?

What use case I expect at the end of story: I have portable shell with tools — it’s one or couple of AppImages with scripting files around which I can place on any OS which supported AppImage and run without installation.

Thanks for answers!

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**Author:** ![probono](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/probono/32/81_2.png) [@probono](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/probono)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455/2 "2019-10-08T17:19:49Z")

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Hello @codan, welcome to AppImage.

What you are trying to bundle is much more than what we normally call an “application” - it is more a set of semi-related tools and components. As a rough guide, an `.AppImage` is supposed to do what a single-file (“portable”) `.exe` would do on Windows and, more closely, what an `.app` would do on the Mac.

That being said, with some patience and debugging of the AppDir and trial and error it should be possible to do what you are intending.

Some notes:

> [@codan](#):
>
> zsh: failed to load module zsh/zle: /tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/zle.so: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

This means that `zsh` is trying to load `zle.so` from inside the AppImage (which is good - it would be worse if it was trying to load it from `/usr` in the system). Why does it fail, though? Does the file exist at `/tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/zle.so`? What happens if you run `ldd /tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/zle.so`?

> [OMZ themes](https://github.com/robbyrussell/oh-my-zsh/) — in general it’s just a directory in home dir and `.zshrc` contains `source` and settings of the files

Since what is inside the AppImage does not reside in the locations it is probably expected to be by the application in (`$HOME` and it subdirectories), you must make sure that the code inside the AppDir (AppRun or something called by it) will copy these files into `$HOME` and it subdirectories before the main payload application gets launched.

Same for

> [@codan](#):
>
> [autojump](https://github.com/wting/autojump) — python based tool for zsh — in general it’s just a directory in home dir and `.zshrc` contains `source` and settings of the files AND it can write cache to ~/.local

To your questions:

> [@codan](#):
>
> Can I pack all 1-4 items from my list in one AppImage and use from shell which run as AppImage OR I should create separate AppImages for zsh, python and autojump and run it together thru configs and scripting?

Either way is theoretically possible, but packing everything together in 1 AppImage will probably be _much_ easier for you and your users.

> [@codan](#):
>
> What is the best way to pack shell (zsh) into AppImage[/quote]

I can’t say because I really have absolute no experience with it, neither as a user nor from understanding what goes on inside it. Normally we recommend “upstream packaging” where the original author of an application (or, say, shell in this case) who understands how the application works (and can make adjustments to the code if required) packages it as an AppImage and tests it to ensure it works exactly as intended.

> [@codan](#):
>
> If it helps: my experiments shows that zsh has absolute paths for libs inside zsh executable and should be rebuilded from source with appropriate PREFIX for non standard directory.

This is the first thing that would need to be changed in its code. An application packaged inside an AppImage cannot rely on some absolute paths, because each time an AppImage executes, the paths are different. This means that an application shall load its resources never from compiled-in absolute paths, but from paths relative to the main executable. This is called “relocatablility”.

[GitHub - limbahq/binreloc: Library for creating relocatable software](https://github.com/limbahq/binreloc) is one possibility for creating relocatable applications and libraries.

> [@codan](#):
>
> For python I’ve read [Bundling-Python-apps](https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/wiki/Bundling-Python-apps) and choose conda. Any advice on this with my case?

For "python 3 with packages " this may well be the way to go - or use something like this:

> **[GitHub - niess/linuxdeploy-plugin-python: Bundle Python into an AppDir using...](https://github.com/niess/linuxdeploy-plugin-python)**
>
> Bundle Python into an AppDir using a source distribution and linuxdeploy - GitHub - niess/linuxdeploy-plugin-python: Bundle Python into an AppDir using a source distribution and linuxdeploy

> [@codan](#):
>
> OMZ and autojump — it’s external scripts but they expect environment around. Should I pack them inside AppImage or for example I can place it to AppImage.home and write entrypoint script which will fix paths and then run zsh?

I don’t know how zsh expects things, one way is what I described above - make sure these things are “copied out” into $HOME before running zsh. Maybe zsh has also some environment variables that you could set before running zsh, pointing zsh to the location of these things inside the AppDir (relative to the location of the AppDir itself because this location will be changing).

Hope this makes sense. Good luck!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![codan](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/codan/32/294_2.png) [@codan](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/codan)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455/3 "2019-10-08T17:42:52Z")

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Thank you for the fast answer!

> [@probono](#):
>
> This means that `zsh` is trying to load `zle.so` from inside the AppImage (which is good - it would be worse if it was trying to load it from `/usr` in the system). Why does it fail, though? Does the file exist at `/tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/zle.so` ?

What I did:

1. I built AppImage via `linuxdeploy/linuxdeploy-plugin-conda` and got AppDir and zsh.AppImage which works
2. Next I delete AppDir with expectation that AppImage will work but I’ve got the error above. I suppose that conda rebuild zsh with PREFIX=“/tmp/test/AppDir” and when I run AppImage zsh expects to get the lib from this path but I deleted it and this is the cause of error.

> [@probono](#):
>
> What happens if you run `ldd /tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/zle.so` ?

```auto
$ ldd /tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/zle.so linux-vdso.so.1 (0x00007fffac3f5000)
        libtinfo.so.6 => /tmp/test/AppDir/usr/conda/lib/zsh/5.6.2/zsh/../../../libtinfo.so.6 (0x00007f01f6902000)
        libc.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 (0x00007f01f637e000)
        /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00007f01f676f000)

```

> [@probono](#):
>
> Since what is inside the AppImage does not reside in the locations it is probably expected to be by the application in ( `$HOME` and it subdirectories), you must make sure that the code inside the AppDir (AppRun or something called by it) will copy these files into `$HOME` and it subdirectories before the main payload application gets launched.

Am I understand correctly that I should place the files to `zsh.AppImage.home`, then set env variables to this dir and then try to run `zsh.AppImage`? If so I do right way.

> [@probono](#):
>
> [GitHub - limbahq/binreloc: Library for creating relocatable software](https://github.com/limbahq/binreloc)

Will research. Thanks!

> [@probono](#):
>
> Normally we recommend “upstream packaging”

Got it. I’m going to write to zsh mailing list or smth like that.

> [@probono](#):
>
> What you are trying to bundle is much more than what we normally call an “application”

I know 🙂 This isn’t first try to do it 🙂 But I found AppImage more perspective than others methods like build from sources every time on every system 🙂🔫

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**Author:** ![probono](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/probono/32/81_2.png) [@probono](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/probono)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:00pm UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455/4 "2019-10-08T18:00:00Z")

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> [@codan](#):
>
> I suppose that conda rebuild zsh with PREFIX=“/tmp/test/AppDir” and when I run AppImage zsh expects to get the lib from this path but I deleted it and this is the cause of error.

That may very well be the case. Run `grep -r /tmp/test/AppDir /tmp/.mount_*` while the AppImage is running to see if this path is hardcoded somewhere inside the contents of the AppImage. If it is, then it needs to be changed. Absolute paths to things that are supposed to be inside the AppImage will not work.

> [@codan](#):
>
> Am I understand correctly that I should place the files to `zsh.AppImage.home` , then set env variables to this dir and then try to run `zsh.AppImage` ? If so I do right way.

No. Please read again what I wrote 😉

> [@codan](#):
>
> I found AppImage more perspective than others methods like build from sources every time on every system 🙂

Thanks 🙂 I think so too.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![codan](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/codan/32/294_2.png) [@codan](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/codan)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455/5 "2019-10-08T18:09:44Z")

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> [@probono](#):
>
> Run `grep -r /tmp/test/AppDir /tmp/.mount_*` while the AppImage is running to see if this path is hardcoded

You mean `grep -r /tmp/test/ /tmp/test/AppDir/`? It match 775 files and one of them is `zsh` binary )

![image](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/uploads/appimage/original/1X/adbe3fde9f8646856eb8d748c38916bafb8ed8fb.png)

That’s it. To be continued…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![codan](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex027/user_avatar/discourse.appimage.org/codan/32/294_2.png) [@codan](https://discourse.appimage.org/u/codan)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 11:33am UTC](https://discourse.appimage.org/t/shell-with-tools-in-appimage/1455/6 "2019-10-11T11:33:50Z")

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For information. Here is the thread in ZSH mailing list about portable rootless ZSH - [https://www.zsh.org/mla/workers/2019/msg00841.html](https://www.zsh.org/mla/workers/2019/msg00841.html)