Next steps

The webOS community asks that users who have obtained access to their Linux install a standard set of software so that you can participate in community activities.

In particular, this includes the Optware package manager. Palm's webOS uses the ipkg package manager internally. The community has a version of ipkg called ipkg-opt which accesses the Optware library of over 1300 Linux programs available for installation on the Pre.

Palm has indicated that they have no intention of using the /opt directory, so we direct our installs to /opt/bin rather than /bin to avoid being overridden by future Palm software upgrades.

In addition, the standard package creates a non-root user, installs sudo, and includes an SSH program (dropbear) and an sftp program.

Optionally, it includes the quilt patch manager which allows multiple-file patches. (Yes, puns are them. Quilt manages multiple patches.)

For your convenience, we've packaged all this up into a simple script.

After completing the process of obtaining access to your Pre, do the following:

Type each line exactly as it appears. Cutting and pasting is probably a good idea.

cd /tmp
wget http://gitorious.org/webos-internals/bootstrap/blobs/raw/master/optware-bootstrap.sh
sh optware-bootstrap.sh

Follow the on-screen instructions.

If you want to review the script before you run it, you can look here:

http://gitorious.org/webos-internals/bootstrap/blobs/master/optware-bootstrap.sh