Very new to Linux, want to install Schism Tracker

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Doshead

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Full disclosure: Got my very first Linux laptop by using Rufus to install Ubuntu on an Asus minilaptop that I bought for offline use. I have never installed a program in Linux before. I've downloaded the Linux 64-bit build from the schismtracker.org website and have it on a USB-stick. That's as far as I got.

I've never really liked Windows, I've always preferred Dos, I feel like a terminal OS gives you a much better idea of what you're doing, but I have to confess I don't really know what I'm doing right now. Feel free to mock me but I'd much appreciate it if someone could help me get it installed :) I really miss my old Dos computer with Impulse Tracker and I'm trying to sorta kinda replicate it with 2024 stuff.
 


Welcome
I assume you have downloaded a zip file...
1]find file on usb, right click and select unzip
2] you should now have 2 files right-click on the new one and select open [or if its a deb file open with deb installer]
 
Thank you for taking the time to help me! There were in fact 8 files inside the zip file:
configuration.md
COPYING
COPYING.Xiph
libFLAC.so.8
libogg.so.0
README.md
schismtracker
schismtracker.1

The one just named "schismtracker" would be my most likely candidate, but if I right-click/open it just says:
Could Not Display "schismtracker"
There is no application installed for "executable" files.

If I open my usb drive in the terminal and type in schismtracker it just says:
schismtracker: command not found
 
you don't open just one file, you unzip the complete package or it wont install..so again
Brickwizard said:
1]find file on usb, right click and select unzip
2] you should now have 2 files right-click on the new one and select open [or if its a deb file open with deb installer]
Click to expand...

edit if on 2] you do not get the install using then click on install using and try archive manager
 
My apologies for trying your patience, but it doesn't work for me. I used right-click, Extract Here ( I don't get the Unzip option but I assume they're the same) and then I have a new directory with the aforementioned 8 files in it. I tried using right-click/Open With Software Install on the Zip file, the directory, and 3 of the new files (the ones that couldn't be opened as text files). The Software Installer itself opens, but it says "Failed to install file: not supported".
 
The file you downloaded is a .zip file without any .deb file included. The installation instructions above are thus erroneous.

I'm not sure how to install it but it looks like you might extract everything and make the schismtracker executable or whatnot.

Anyhow, while investigating this, it looks like you can just install this from the default repositories.

If you're using Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, etc... sudo apt install schism should install this for you.
 
So, further investigation...

NOTE BY ADMIN - the below should read CTRL + ALT + t ... Wizard

Press CTRL + ALT + DEL on your keyboard to open a terminal.

Copy/paste this:

sudo apt install schism

Let the package install.

Start it with the following command:

schismtracker

Beyond that, you're on your own. I haven't got a clue what the software does or what it's for. But it's now installed on my system.

Edit: Thanks for the catch, Wizard!
 
Last edited:
That app is included in Linux Mint 21.3, in the Software Manager

1713824009882.png

This is an editor for "tracked" music, i.e. audio samples of instruments pitch shifted according to the note data.

The Impulse Tracker is one of the most popular "tracker" programs at present, and Schism Tracker attempts to follow their UI layout wherever possible in order to make it easy for existing users to switch.
 
@Doshead :-

It's the kind of thing I often turn into a 'portable', since most of what's needed is all in the one directory...

Just unzip it, open a terminal in the extracted directory, type

Code: 
./schismtracker

....and hit 'Enter'. Fires straight up. You're meant to run it via keyboard shortcuts, but you CAN operate things with the mouse cursor (if ya want). If you try to start it by clicking directly on 'schismtracker' you end up with 'Permission denied', although that may be peculiar to Puppy.....we run as 'root', y'see.

Hope that helps!


Mike. :D
 
Thanks for all the replies!
So far none of them have worked, but I assume KGIII's method relies on an online resource. I'll try that again when I come home from work, but with an internet cable plugged in.
Mike's solution actually looks like the way I'd want it to work - but it doesn't. When I enter that into the terminal it says permission denied. I've tried "sudo ./schismtracker" instead but then it asks for my password and then says it doesn't recognize the command.

I will need zero help with the software itself once it runs, could even help other people get started with it if anybody's interested.
 
Doshead said:
Thanks for all the replies!
So far none of them have worked, but I assume KGIII's method relies on an online resource. I'll try that again when I come home from work, but with an internet cable plugged in.
Mike's solution actually looks like the way I'd want it to work - but it doesn't. When I enter that into the terminal it says permission denied. I've tried "sudo ./schismtracker" instead but then it asks for my password and then says it doesn't recognize the command.

I will need zero help with the software itself once it runs, could even help other people get started with it if anybody's interested.
Click to expand...
It's likely that the "permission denied" message is because the file schismtracker doesn't have execute permissions. To check that run, in the directory where it is:
Code: 
ls -al schismtracker

If the permissions look like this: -rw-r--r--, without any x, then you can change the permissions with the command:
Code: 
chmod 755 schismtracker
which should show permissions like this: -rwxr-xr-x after you rerun the ls -al command above.

Then try the sudo ./schismtracker command again.
 
@osprey :-

The trouble is here, that the file 'schismtracker' is NOT a binary. It's been compiled as a shared library.....and it's very rare you can launch these by clicking on them. That's why I recommended launching from the terminal.

A small 'wrapper' launch script may be needed, in the same way that the Chromium-based browsers work....


Mike. ;)
 
We're making progress :) Osprey was right about the permissions. I couldn't change the permissions at first but I could after moving the files from the USB to the hard drive. Then I tried Mike's method again, it definitely does something now:

"./schismtracker: error while loading shared libraries: libSDL2-2.0.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory"

I'm now on wiki.libsdl.org trying to fix this, I'm assuming this is the last piece of the puzzle and then I'm good to go.
 
What distro are you using?

You can, quite literally, install this from the default repositories and have it working in seconds. Well, I know that to be true for Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and others in that family. I have it installed just because I tested it and haven't removed it yet.
 
It's an unmodified Ubuntu 22.04.4 image that I downloaded from somewhere. I'm actually quite certain your way would work with a working internet connection - but I just plugged the cable in and still had no connection.
I'm typing this on my Windows laptop using the same cable.
So now I'm looking for a way to get that libSDL2-2.0.so.0 onto my Linux laptop using my trusty USB-stick again. Sorry if I'm making you facepalm :)
 
The ubuntu package is named: libsdl2-2.0-0
according to ubuntu's package search website.

It's available for these releases:
Package libsdl2-2.0-0
focal (20.04LTS) (libs): Simple DirectMedia Layer [universe]
2.0.10+dfsg1-3: amd64 arm64 armhf i386 ppc64el riscv64 s390x

jammy (22.04LTS) (libs): Simple DirectMedia Layer
2.0.20+dfsg-2build1: amd64 arm64 armhf i386 ppc64el riscv64 s390x

jammy-updates (libs): Simple DirectMedia Layer
2.0.20+dfsg-2ubuntu1.22.04.1: amd64 arm64 armhf i386 ppc64el riscv64 s390x

lunar (23.04) (libs): Simple DirectMedia Layer
2.26.3+dfsg-1: amd64 arm64 armhf i386 ppc64el riscv64 s390x

mantic (23.10) (libs): Simple DirectMedia Layer
2.28.3+dfsg-2: amd64 arm64 armhf i386 ppc64el riscv64 s390x

noble (libs): Simple DirectMedia Layer
2.30.0+dfsg-1build3: amd64 arm64 armhf i386 ppc64el riscv64 s390x
Click to expand...
 
Doshead said:
I just plugged the cable in and still had no connection.
Click to expand...

That's an important step. I'd start a (new) thread aiming to resolve that - giving as much information as you can. I'd place this on hold until you have a fully working Linux.

Resolve that and the rest is easy.

Resolving that may not be easy.
 
RESOLVED.

Connected to the internet through wifi, used sudo apt-get install libsdl2-2.0-0
After that and applying Osprey's tips, Mike's way works.

Lesson learned: Linux is doable, but offline Linux is hard.

Thanks again all involved!
 
LOL If you had wifi, you could have just used sudo apt install schism and it'd resolve any dependencies needed. But, you got it done one way or another. You just went about it the hard way.

And, yes, offline Linux is a pain in the butt.
 
I didn't think I had wifi, I figured my internet connection problem was with the laptop, since the cable worked just fine for my gaming laptop. Turns out the internet problem was just my router having some sort of security "feature" that blocks an active connection when you change the device on it.

Still though, I learned a bit more about Linux along the way and it's working now. But I do feel that there exists a general solution for all problems similar to the one I had, and it's adding a compiler to the standard Ubuntu image - if there's one thing you can always find for Linux, it's a lot of open source code that you can just compile yourself. But maybe it's a bit early for a beginner like myself to start having big opinions.
 
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