Avoiding User Interaction When Adding Packages

Using an Administration File

When you use the pkgadd -a command, the pkgadd command consults a special administration file for information about how the installation should proceed. Normally, pkgadd performs several checks and prompts the user for confirmation before actually adding the specified package. You can, however, create an administration file that indicates to pkgadd it should bypass these checks and install the package without user confirmation.

The pkgadd command, by default, looks in the current working directory for an administration file. If pkgadd doesn't find an administration file in the current working directory, pkgadd looks in the /var/sadm/install/admin directory for the specified administration file. The pkgadd command also accepts an absolute path to the administration file.

Use administration files judiciously. You should know where a package's files are installed and how a package's installation scripts run before using an administration file to avoid the checks and prompts pkgadd normally provides.

This is an example of an administration file that will prevent pkgadd from prompting the user for confirmation before installing the package.

mail=
instance=overwrite
partial=nocheck
runlevel=nocheck
idepend=nocheck
rdepend=nocheck
space=nocheck
setuid=nocheck
conflict=nocheck
action=nocheck
basedir=default

Besides using administration files to avoid user interaction when adding packages, you can use them in several other ways. For example, you can use an administration file to quit a package installation (without user interaction) if there's an error or to avoid interaction when removing packages with the pkgrm command.

You can also assign a special installation directory for a package. (It would make sense to do this if you wanted to maintain multiple versions of a package on a system.) To do this, set an alternate base directory in the administration file (using the basedir keyword), which specifies where the package will be installed. See admin(4) for more information.

Using a Response File

A response file contains your answers to specific questions asked by an interactive package. An interactive package includes a request script that asks you questions prior to package installation, such as whether or not optional pieces of the package should be installed.

If you know that the package you want to install is an interactive package, prior to installation, and you want to store your answers to prevent user interaction during future installations of this package, you can use the pkgask command to save your response. See pkgask(1M) for more information on this command.

Once you have stored your responses to the questions asked by the request script, you can use the pkgadd -r command to install the package without user interaction.