Insync-thunar 1.2.7 cannot be installed on Xubuntu because of missing package thunarx-python

Bugs and issues Linux
#1

I’ve just upgraded my laptop today to Xubuntu Vivid 15.04, and insync-thunar cannot be installed because it depends on package thunarx-python which is not available on Vivid’s repositories.

Here’s the attempt to install:

paulo@monk:~/Downloads$ sudo apt-get install insync-thunar
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 insync-thunar : Depends: thunarx-python but it is not installable
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

and here’s double-checking that thunarx-python indeed is not available for installing:

paulo@monk:~/Downloads$ apt-cache policy thunarx-python
thunarx-python:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:
#2

Added all utopic repositories creating /etc/apt/sources.list.d/utopic.list:

deb http://sft.if.usp.br/ubuntu/ utopic main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://sft.if.usp.br/ubuntu/ utopic-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://sft.if.usp.br/ubuntu/ utopic-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://sft.if.usp.br/ubuntu/ utopic-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu utopic partner
deb http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu utopic main

But thunarx-python is not to be found in the utopic repositories either:

paulo@monk:/etc/apt/sources.list.d$ apt-cache policy thunarx-python
thunarx-python:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:

Actually, as can be seen here, package thunarx-python doesn’t exist in any Ubuntu repository:

This makes insync-thunar completely uninstallable in any Ubuntu flavor.

I’m currently running insync 1.2.7.35123-trusty.

#3

Found this solution here on the forum, but it doesn’t work. ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8 doesn’t host thunarx-python anymore. I have just added the ppa to my list of repositories, and here’s its Packages file where you can confirm that thunarx-python is not there.

#4

Decided to try my hand at building thunarx-python. I’ll document it here, for reference.

  1. Downloaded tarball from the official Xfce project page

  2. Had to install these packages:

    libthunarx-2-dev
python-gtk2-dev

  3. Copied tarball to ~/src, and then:

    tar xjvf thunarx-python-0.3.0.tar.bz2
cd thunarx-python-0.3.0
./configure
make
sudo make install

  4. Tried to install thunarx-insync again:

    paulo@monk:~/src/thunarx-python-0.3.0$ sudo apt-get install insync-thunar
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
 insync-thunar : Depends: thunarx-python but it is not installable
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

I then realized: package insync-thunar depends on package thunarx-insync:

paulo@monk:~/src/thunarx-python-0.3.0$ apt-cache show insync-thunar 
Package: insync-thunar
Version: 1.2.7.35123-precise
License: unknown
Vendor: luis@luis-VirtualBox
Architecture: all
Maintainer: Luis Manuel R. Pugoy <lpugoy@insynchq.com>
Installed-Size: 4
Depends: insync, thunar, thunarx-python
Replaces: insync-beta-xfce, insync-thunar
Homepage: http://www.insynchq.com
Priority: extra
Section: xfce
Filename: pool/non-free/i/insync-thunar/insync-thunar_1.2.7.35123-precise_all.deb
Size: 4934
SHA256: 6ab4cfd890ffda469e9a725849296fb633ef68b0976318954b95605c0ed024b6
SHA1: 4d187136a40766885a0b8d29af34cf64d915aebc
MD5sum: a8f2c02ae9a17199de0c6b9f4355e497
Description: Google Drive sync and backup with multiple account support
 Insync is an application that syncs your Drive files to your computer. It has
 more advanced features than Google's official client such as multiple account
 support, Google Doc conversion, symlink support, and built in sharing.
 .
 This package contains the Python extension for integrating Insync with Thunar.
Description-md5: a6146f0aeefdb68f48f3def47265912f

so it’s not enough to have thunarx-python available: the package has to be registered as installed to APT.

Not sure what would be the most elegant solution here, perhaps thunarx-python could be packaged and made available on Insync’s repositories, considering that it’s not available in Ubuntu repositories. Otherwise, insync-thunar will remain uninstallable.

#5

Found a workaround, after reading this: get thunarx-python from the RabbitVCS PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository -y 'deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/rabbitvcs/ppa/ubuntu utopic main'
sudo apt-key adv --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com --recv-keys 34EF4A35
sudo apt-get update

This PPA was last touched 33 weeks ago, and they don’t have a build for Vivid, so I had to use the Utopic build.

Now insync-thunar can be installed. It has a minor glitch which I’ll address in a separate issue.

While this workaround works, I still believe the proper, definitive solution would be for Insync to bundle thunarx-python in its repository.

#6

@marcelpaulo We’ve added thunarx-python for Ubuntu Vivid in our repo, thanks for pointing it out.

#7

Thanks for the speedy solution, @lpugoy ! I’ve just removed the RabbitVCS PPA, uninstalled insync-thunar and its dependencies, and reinstalled it. Issue solved !

#8

Could we get the same fix for 16.04?

#9

Fix for 16.04, please.

#10

@andromeduck @NeuroStream: The thunarx-python package is available from 16.04’s repo, which should be automatically added when you installed it. Does it not work in your case?

#11

Same issue here in Linux Lite 3.0, not available in Ubuntu 16.04. See https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/thunarx-python. Can this be fixed?

#12

@Bart_Rogiers: After installing Insync in 16.04 the entry for Insync’s deb repo should have been added to your system, and that provides the thunarx-python package. I tested in a live CD of Linux Lite 3.0 and it worked in my case, please try it out.

#13

Doesn’t work in my case apparently… I can see the deb repo has been added to /etc/apt/sources.list.d/insync.list, but in /var/lib/apt/lists/apt.insynchq.com_ubuntu_dists_xenial_non-free_binary-i386_Packages I find only these entries:
insync, insync-caja, insync-dolphin, insync-headless, insync nautilus, insync-nemo and insync-thunar, but no thunarx-python … Might it have to do with the system architecture (i386 in my case)?

#14

@Bart_Rogiers: Please try running sudo apt-get update then retry installing insync-thunar. The entry for thunarx-python is located in /var/lib/apt/lists/apt.insynchq.com_ubuntu_dists_xenial_contrib_binary-i386_Packages.

#15

I do not seem to have /var/lib/apt/lists/apt.insynchq.com_ubuntu_dists_xenial_contrib_binary-i386_Packages, only */apt.insynchq.com_ubuntu_dists_xenial_InRelease and */apt.insynchq.com_ubuntu_dists_xenial_non-free_binary-i386_Packages, so running sudo apt-get update and installing insync-thunar is not working. Still getting The following packages have unmet dependencies: insync-thunar : Depends: thunarx-python but it is not installable E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages. Any idea on what might have gone wrong?

#16

@Bart_Rogiers: Please confirm that Insync’s APT sources entry contains contrib, for example: deb http://apt.insynchq.com/ubuntu trusty non-free contrib.

#17

I didn’t realize it was that simple! Everything’s up and running now. Thanks!