Issue installing Firefox from Mozilla repo

[Danielsan]

Hi guys,

I am trying to install Firefox from mozilla repo, but it fails:

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Errors were encountered while processing:
 firefox
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

I believe that it depends by this:

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apt show firefox -a
Package: firefox
Version: 130.0~build2
Priority: optional
Section: web
Maintainer: Mozilla Releng <release@mozilla.com>
Installed-Size: 257 MB
Provides: gnome-www-browser, www-browser
Depends: libasound2 (>= 1.0.16), libatk1.0-0 (>= 1.12.4), libc6 (>= 2.18), libcairo-gobject2 (>= 1.10.0), libcairo2 (>= 1.10.0), libdbus-1-3 (>= 1.5.12), libfontconfig1 (>= 2.11), libfreetype6 (>= 2.3.5), libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.1), libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 (>= 2.22.0), libglib2.0-0 (>= 2.37.0), libgtk-3-0 (>= 3.13.7), libpango-1.0-0 (>= 1.14.0), libpangocairo-1.0-0 (>= 1.14.0), libstdc++6 (>= 4.8), libx11-6, libx11-xcb1, libxcb-shm0, libxcb1, libxcomposite1 (>= 1:0.3-1), libxcursor1 (>> 1.1.2), libxdamage1 (>= 1:1.1), libxext6, libxfixes3, libxi6, libxrandr2 (>= 2:1.4.0), libxrender1
Download-Size: 70.6 MB
APT-Manual-Installed: yes
APT-Sources: https://packages.mozilla.org/apt mozilla/main amd64 Packages
Description: Mozilla Firefox

The package

libgcc1

doesn't exist with this name, as a matter of fact:

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apt install libgcc1 -s
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
Note, selecting 'libgcc-s1' instead of 'libgcc1'
libgcc-s1 is already the newest version (12.2.0-14).
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
Conf firefox (130.0~build2 namespaces/moz-fx-productdelivery-pr-38b5/repositories/mozilla:mozilla

Fixing doesn't work either:

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apt install -f
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Setting up firefox (130.0~build2) ...
update-alternatives: error: alternative path /usr/bin/firefox doesn't exist
dpkg: error processing package firefox (--configure):
 installed firefox package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 2
Errors were encountered while processing:
 firefox
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

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dpkg --configure -a
Setting up firefox (130.0~build2) ...
update-alternatives: error: alternative path /usr/bin/firefox doesn't exist
dpkg: error processing package firefox (--configure):
 installed firefox package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 2
Errors were encountered while processing:
 firefox

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aptitude install -f
The following packages will be REINSTALLED:
  firefox 
0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 reinstalled, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 0 B of archives. After unpacking 0 B will be used.
E: Internal Error, No file name for firefox:amd64

My system:

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lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Debian
Description:	Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Release:	12
Codename:	bookworm

Thanks!

[None1975]

Why not just using flatpak? Or download binary from firefox web page and run it from home dir?

[Danielsan]

I am going to use the binary again, but it was practical having the latest version provided through regular apt…

Flatpak? Never!

[sunrat]

I've had the binary installed but usually just use ESR as I have a lot of customisations. As a test, I just set up the Mozilla repo as instructed at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/in ... tributions and installed Firefox 130.0 on Bookworm. No problem and working fine.
It's the same version you are having trouble with so I have no idea why it's not working for you; are you using Bookworm?

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$ apt list firefox
Listing... Done
firefox/mozilla,now 130.0~build2 amd64 [installed]

The error appears to be this:

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update-alternatives: error: alternative path /usr/bin/firefox doesn't exist

[blackbird]

I have the same problem. As far as I see the new firefox package has a postinst script which wants to register /usr/bin/firefox for update-alternatives. In the package data /usr/bin/firefox is a link to /usr/lib/firefox/firefox. After the package is extracted, the link /usr/bin/firefox exists as /usr/bin/firefox.real but there is no /usr/bin/firefox. Since the postinst script calls update-alternatives with the not existing file, it returns an error.

Searching in the internet for firefox.real gives findings where others have a script at /usr/bin/firefox which searches for firefox.real and starts this if it's existing and if not starts firefox-esr.

For me this looks like there was a mechanism to switch between firefox and firefox-est in earlier versions of Debian which is only partially removed. Maybe someone else knows more.

[Danielsan]

are you using Bookworm?

It is a fresh install just made on Sunday. I did not have this issue on the other laptop with Debian bookworm through dist-upgrade.
Maybe it belongs to "pure" Bookworm install.

[sunrat]

It is a fresh install just made on Sunday. I did not have this issue on the other laptop with Debian bookworm through dist-upgrade.
Maybe it belongs to "pure" Bookworm install.

Hmmm. My Bookworm is upgraded from Bullseye. I also set it up on a fresh Trixie install which works fine too. Indeed puzzling. You need to investigate the "update-alternatives" error; does /usr/bin/firefox actually exist?

[blackbird]

The change of the firefox name to firefox.real comes from the Debian firefox-esr package. It uses dpgk diversions -> check "dpkg-divert --list".

I think this happens when firefox-esr is installed from the Debian repo, then the mozilla sources are configured with high priority. After that the old firefox-esr from Debian is overwritten with the new firefox-esr from Mozilla which doesn't do the diversion and also has no install script to remove this old diversion.

So removing the diversion with "dpkg-divert --remove" should be the easiest solution. I just installed firefox-esr from Debian repo and removed it again to solve this.

[Danielsan]

[...]So removing the diversion with "dpkg-divert --remove" should be the easiest solution. I just installed firefox-esr from Debian repo and removed it again to solve this.

I am not really understood what you wrote, anyway why on another installation (always Bookworm) did it work out and now it did not?

[blackbird]

The firefox-esr package of Debian includes a script /usr/bin/firefox that calls firefox.real if available and firefox-esr if not. Also it has a preinstall script that tells dpkg to rename /usr/bin/firefox from other packages to /usr/bin/firefox.real.
If firefox-esr is installed vom Debian sources and then the Mozilla sources are added with higher priority, firefox-esr is overwritten with the package from Mozilla. This don't contains the /usr/bin/firefox script.
When firefox is then installed from Mozilla, the /usr/bin/firefox link is renamed to firefox.real with the rule in dpgk. Then the package wants to register the file /usr/bin/firefox to update-alternatives, but this file is missing.

To solve the issue you could call

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dpkg-divert --package firefox-esr --rename --remove /usr/bin/firefox

to remove the rename rule (this call is from the firefox-esr postrm script) and then try again installing firefox.

If the rule is removed with this can be checked with

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dpkg-divert --list

It's likely that in other installation, where it works, the rename rule is not there or the script from firefox-esr, from the Debian version, exists.

[sunrat]

Sounds like a good explanation of the issue @blackbird . I wonder why it didn't affect Bookworm upgraded from Bullseye?
Here dpkg-divert --list includes the line

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diversion of /usr/bin/firefox to /usr/bin/firefox.real by firefox-esr

[sunrat]

I just noticed Firefox-ESR from stable repo was upgraded in today's upgrade from 115.15.0esr to 128.2.0esr . The menu entry changed from "Firefox-ESR" to "Firefox" meaning confusingly there were now 2 entries for "Firefox", one is 128esr and the other is 130 from Mozilla repo. Easy to fix with a quick edit of the menu, but I wonder if this may have some bearing on OP's problem? Probably not but just a thought.
Now that FF ESR has been upgrade to almost modern, I might just remove the Mozilla one and its repo. I'm seriously considering just switching to using Librewolf full-time anyway; it's more private than Firefox, has its own repo, and keeps up with current which is 130.0.3 atm.

[Danielsan]

I use LibreWolf daily on a SBC with Devuan instead of Debian and I can tell you that is leaner than Firefox-esr, besides this is still Firefox.

[blackbird]

I just noticed Firefox-ESR from stable repo was upgraded in today's upgrade from 115.15.0esr to 128.2.0esr .

Please check if firefox-esr is really from Debian repo. I suspect you now did the upgrade from 115 Debian to 128 Mozilla. That would explain why the firefox install worked yesterday for you. If firefox-esr is now from Mozilla, the script /usr/bin/firefox should be removed.

[sunrat]

I just noticed Firefox-ESR from stable repo was upgraded in today's upgrade from 115.15.0esr to 128.2.0esr .

Please check if firefox-esr is really from Debian repo. I suspect you now did the upgrade from 115 Debian to 128 Mozilla. That would explain why the firefox install worked yesterday for you. If firefox-esr is now from Mozilla, the script /usr/bin/firefox should be removed.

Good catch! Silly of me not to realise that, of course it's from the Mozilla repo.
Guess I'll keep it now, it's working well so far. Without any sciencing to confirm, it even feels a bit snappier.

[Danielsan]

Thank you guys, removing the "diverging" I was able to install Firefox although Bookworm decided to set Vivaldi as main x-www-browser and thus I had to reassign manually Firefox as default system browser...

[ramack]

The firefox-esr package of Debian includes a script /usr/bin/firefox that calls firefox.real if available and firefox-esr if not. Also it has a preinstall script that tells dpkg to rename /usr/bin/firefox from other packages to /usr/bin/firefox.real.
If firefox-esr is installed vom Debian sources and then the Mozilla sources are added with higher priority, firefox-esr is overwritten with the package from Mozilla. This don't contains the /usr/bin/firefox script.
When firefox is then installed from Mozilla, the /usr/bin/firefox link is renamed to firefox.real with the rule in dpgk. Then the package wants to register the file /usr/bin/firefox to update-alternatives, but this file is missing.

To solve the issue you could call

Code: Select all

dpkg-divert --package firefox-esr --rename --remove /usr/bin/firefox

to remove the rename rule (this call is from the firefox-esr postrm script) and then try again installing firefox.

If the rule is removed with this can be checked with

Code: Select all

dpkg-divert --list

It's likely that in other installation, where it works, the rename rule is not there or the script from firefox-esr, from the Debian version, exists.

Same issue and same resolution. Thank you!