Hi everyone,
as some may know, I've been using AntiX with much happiness recently as an audio production suite. Nice and fast, I really like how it's performing.
I have a question though about permissions. When I download a VST instrument to test out (usually in windows .dll format), I have to change all the permissions in order to be able to open, play and modify presets freely. It's not a problem, it just takes a bit of time. And, if I happen to not change the right permissions, I risk the instrument not running, crashing LMMS, etc etc.
Is there an easier way to approach the issue of permissions? (I have a hunch that the majority of my"problems" with AntiX are nothing other than changing the permissions. In my case, not a"risk," since I'm the only one using this particular pc.)
Thanks!
brian
PS: I am aware of the importance of permissions when working with windows .dll files downloaded from other websites. Most of where I download from are places that are well-frequented. __{{emoticon}}__
topic title: Working with permissions in linux
6 posts
• Page 1 of 1
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brianPosts: 107
- Joined: 10 Sep 2011
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dolphin_oraclePosts: 2,238
- Joined: 16 Dec 2007
#2
Where on your system are you storing these files? what permissions do they start off with, and what permissions do you need?
I don't know much about what you are doing, but I do know some about permissions.brian wrote:Hi everyone,
as some may know, I've been using AntiX with much happiness recently as an audio production suite. Nice and fast, I really like how it's performing.
I have a question though about permissions. When I download a VST instrument to test out (usually in windows .dll format), I have to change all the permissions in order to be able to open, play and modify presets freely. It's not a problem, it just takes a bit of time. And, if I happen to not change the right permissions, I risk the instrument not running, crashing LMMS, etc etc.
Is there an easier way to approach the issue of permissions? (I have a hunch that the majority of my"problems" with AntiX are nothing other than changing the permissions. In my case, not a"risk," since I'm the only one using this particular pc.)
Thanks!
brian
PS: I am aware of the importance of permissions when working with windows .dll files downloaded from other websites. Most of where I download from are places that are well-frequented. __{{emoticon}}__
Where on your system are you storing these files? what permissions do they start off with, and what permissions do you need?
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brianPosts: 107
- Joined: 10 Sep 2011
#3
I save the dll file to a folder in my home directory. Depending upon how the instrument is made, it may be just the single file, or it may depend on other files, usually found in a subfolder. It's not always the same.
If they start with just read permissions, I have to change them to read+write as well if I want to be able to use them, since the application itself allows to change the parameters and save the settings as a"preset" file.
Maybe just a quick run-down on permissions would help me a bit. When I unzip a folder with the files in it, I change the folder to have read+write+execute permissions; but the sub-files will not take the same permissions even if I select"recursive." So I have to change all the files in each folder-- a bit cumbersome...
And, since I'm not exactly sure which types of files need which permissions, I tend to do them all as r+w+x. Maybe I should change ownerships of the entire directory where I download all the instruments.. ? Perhaps doing it at the CLI will change each and every file and folder.?
brian
Hi dolphin_oracle,dolphin_oracle wrote:
I don't know much about what you are doing, but I do know some about permissions.
Where on your system are you storing these files? what permissions do they start off with, and what permissions do you need?
I save the dll file to a folder in my home directory. Depending upon how the instrument is made, it may be just the single file, or it may depend on other files, usually found in a subfolder. It's not always the same.
If they start with just read permissions, I have to change them to read+write as well if I want to be able to use them, since the application itself allows to change the parameters and save the settings as a"preset" file.
Maybe just a quick run-down on permissions would help me a bit. When I unzip a folder with the files in it, I change the folder to have read+write+execute permissions; but the sub-files will not take the same permissions even if I select"recursive." So I have to change all the files in each folder-- a bit cumbersome...
And, since I'm not exactly sure which types of files need which permissions, I tend to do them all as r+w+x. Maybe I should change ownerships of the entire directory where I download all the instruments.. ? Perhaps doing it at the CLI will change each and every file and folder.?
brian
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dolphin_oraclePosts: 2,238
- Joined: 16 Dec 2007
#4
you may need to change the $USER keys to your own username, but I think with sudo those values should work as is.
the -R switch should do the recursive stuff.
there is also a nice gui in the right click menu of spacefm, in the"root" subfolder, for doing quick permission and ownership changes.
basically you get three permissions levels,
user
group
everyone
and each of those can have individual (r)ead,(w)rite, and e(X)ecute privileges. so often you get permissions like this in the home folder:
The first bit (-) is a placeholder to tell the system what the file is (remeber, everything in linux is a file). so a link will have a lowercase L, and a directory will have a 'd' and so forth.
the first three after the id bit is the owner users' permissions. So rw- indicates the user can read and write the file, but not run as an executable (which is the third bit). rwx would indicate the user can read, write, and execute.
the next three positions are the permissions for owner groups' permissions. the last three are the everyone permissions.
a blunderbuss approach when all else fails is to set the"everyone" permissions to rwx.
It may also be possible that your music software has its own user or group, and that setting the group to have the read/write permissions will be enough as well. I'm not well versed in music software.
users usually have full access to files they own, with the possible exception of the executable bit. maybe try changing the ownership of the files.brian wrote:Hi dolphin_oracle,dolphin_oracle wrote:
I don't know much about what you are doing, but I do know some about permissions.
Where on your system are you storing these files? what permissions do they start off with, and what permissions do you need?
I save the dll file to a folder in my home directory. Depending upon how the instrument is made, it may be just the single file, or it may depend on other files, usually found in a subfolder. It's not always the same.
If they start with just read permissions, I have to change them to read+write as well if I want to be able to use them, since the application itself allows to change the parameters and save the settings as a"preset" file.
Maybe just a quick run-down on permissions would help me a bit. When I unzip a folder with the files in it, I change the folder to have read+write+execute permissions; but the sub-files will not take the same permissions even if I select"recursive." So I have to change all the files in each folder-- a bit cumbersome...
And, since I'm not exactly sure which types of files need which permissions, I tend to do them all as r+w+x. Maybe I should change ownerships of the entire directory where I download all the instruments.. ? Perhaps doing it at the CLI will change each and every file and folder.?
brian
Code: Select all
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER [i]path_to_top_level_folder_you_want_to_change[/i]the -R switch should do the recursive stuff.
there is also a nice gui in the right click menu of spacefm, in the"root" subfolder, for doing quick permission and ownership changes.
basically you get three permissions levels,
user
group
everyone
and each of those can have individual (r)ead,(w)rite, and e(X)ecute privileges. so often you get permissions like this in the home folder:
Code: Select all
-rw-r--r--the first three after the id bit is the owner users' permissions. So rw- indicates the user can read and write the file, but not run as an executable (which is the third bit). rwx would indicate the user can read, write, and execute.
the next three positions are the permissions for owner groups' permissions. the last three are the everyone permissions.
a blunderbuss approach when all else fails is to set the"everyone" permissions to rwx.
It may also be possible that your music software has its own user or group, and that setting the group to have the read/write permissions will be enough as well. I'm not well versed in music software.
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hobbyist7890Posts: 45
- Joined: 24 Apr 2016
#5
Be sure your umask setting is correct. Look in .profile the user directory. This doesn't work all the time.
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask"
linktext was:"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask"
====================================
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask"
linktext was:"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umask"
====================================
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brianPosts: 107
- Joined: 10 Sep 2011
#6
Hi guys, and thanks for the help.
Working with VST instruments in linux is a bit complex I guess, as it's all about programs that utilize the Wine layer for running on linux.
According to this
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/system_configuration#audio_group"
linktext was:"configuration page"
====================================
, it's important for the user to be part of the"audio" group, and of course I check that I am a part of it. So, when I download a file, I usually have to add"write" to the user group.
My confustion comes from the fact that these downloaded files need to be run, access other libraries/files included with it, and modify/ save these other files. So it's not always clear if making these modifications and saving them is writing or executing.
Installing these programs never requires root permissions, so I suppose I could avoid the write/execute permissions for root, right?
As for other groups, would that mean other users? Since I'm the only user of the computer, then groups would be irrelevant, right?
Also, sometimes I notice that a downloaded file will not indicate me as the owner. Could this cause problems? Should I *always* make myself the owner of *all* files?
@dolphin_oracle: you said that some programs may have their own group. This might be true, and if I have had any problems running any of these, it might be precisely because the group was not in the permissions. I'll check this part in the future! __{{emoticon}}__ Probably, the best route would be to allow everyone to r+w+x, as you said.
@hobbyist7890: thank you for pointing out the umask issue. I've mostly been focusing on the chmod but I'll take a look at umask too! __{{emoticon}}__
brian
Working with VST instruments in linux is a bit complex I guess, as it's all about programs that utilize the Wine layer for running on linux.
According to this
========= SCRAPER REMOVED AN EMBEDDED LINK HERE ===========
url was:"http://wiki.linuxaudio.org/wiki/system_configuration#audio_group"
linktext was:"configuration page"
====================================
, it's important for the user to be part of the"audio" group, and of course I check that I am a part of it. So, when I download a file, I usually have to add"write" to the user group.
My confustion comes from the fact that these downloaded files need to be run, access other libraries/files included with it, and modify/ save these other files. So it's not always clear if making these modifications and saving them is writing or executing.
Installing these programs never requires root permissions, so I suppose I could avoid the write/execute permissions for root, right?
As for other groups, would that mean other users? Since I'm the only user of the computer, then groups would be irrelevant, right?
Also, sometimes I notice that a downloaded file will not indicate me as the owner. Could this cause problems? Should I *always* make myself the owner of *all* files?
@dolphin_oracle: you said that some programs may have their own group. This might be true, and if I have had any problems running any of these, it might be precisely because the group was not in the permissions. I'll check this part in the future! __{{emoticon}}__ Probably, the best route would be to allow everyone to r+w+x, as you said.
@hobbyist7890: thank you for pointing out the umask issue. I've mostly been focusing on the chmod but I'll take a look at umask too! __{{emoticon}}__
brian