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To install programs from launchpad, you can add a repository to the software sources list...

I know how to look at a launchpad page and add the repository & public key through the "Software Sources" GUI page, but I'd rather use the add-apt-repository command as this finds the key for me.. and I'm too lazy to grab it from the launchpad page, save it, then import it.

My problem is that I have no idea how to figure out the right command for a particular project??

For instance, Cardapio uses the command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cardapio-team/unstable

But I can't see cardapio-team/unstable written on the launchpad page: https://launchpad.net/cardapio ??

is it possible, or is this address completely separate to launchpad?

Thanks!

Matthew
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tommed
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2 Answers2

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PPAs in Launchpad are connected to People/Teams, rather than projects. Your best bet is to click on the "Maintainer" for the project ("Cardapio Team" in this case):

From there, follow the link on under "Personal Package Archives" on their profile page. There may be multiple options here, you'll just have to use your best guess based on their names.

The name of the PPA will be on this page:

However, this is not guaranteed to work, as the developers can use any PPA they want for their project. It could be ppa:someunrelatedteam/foobar for all you know. There is no way to know for sure from the Launchpad project.

Alternatively, googling "[project name] PPA" tends to give good results.

Matthew
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    Thanks! Am I the only one who finds Launchpad confusing? – tommed Oct 15 '10 at 21:48
  • @tommed: PPAs were added relatively recently, and are still being tweaked. I agree that some aspects of PPAs are confusing, but for the most part I find Launchpad much easier to navigate than most project hosting sites. But that's just me, I suppose. – Matthew Oct 15 '10 at 21:53
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If you are having a hard time figuring out the correct add-apt-repository command to run, someone has created a script called ppasearch to make this task easier.

An explanation of how to use this script is available on the 'What are PPAs and how do I use them?' community wiki.

ppasearch screenshot

Community
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nhandler
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  • This is wonderful! – Matthew Oct 15 '10 at 22:00
  • This ppa (ppa:wrinkliez/ppasearch) doesn't seem to contain ppasearch for maverick. It only has packages for Karmic and Lucid. – Matthew Oct 15 '10 at 22:06
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    Matthew, that is correct. However, you can manually download and install the deb for lucid (https://edge.launchpad.net/~wrinkliez/+archive/ppasearch/+files/ppasearch_0.7.2-0ubuntu1_all.deb) on maverick. That is what I did, and it appears to be working fine. – nhandler Oct 15 '10 at 22:10
  • It's too easy; it should show more info about the PPAs it finds... – JanC Oct 15 '10 at 22:23