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Why Manual Installation?

There are hundreds of Linux distributions out there and each of them has its own way of installing software. Some may have overlaps based on the upstream but still, the number of distributions varies a lot. For certain software that doesn't need to install files in different locations, I prefer to install them using pre-built binaries to avoid distribution-specific installation methods.

For example, I install compilers using pre-built binaries because the distributors do not provide automatic updates and the software has to be installed only in a selected folder. All the installation instructions on this website using pre-built binaries are using binaries for that reason. In addition, I do not have to write a distribution-specific article for all those distributions out there. Just imagine writing how to install Java on Fedora using rpm package, on Debian using deb package, on Arch from AUR, on openSUSE using rpm, and so on. Instead installing pre-built binaries works on all the distributions and requires only one article.

As a user, it also gives you more control over the installation. For example, you can install multiple versions of the same software but select only one of them as the default option. You know what changes you have made and it's easy to revert them without leaving any orphan files.
 
Considering these factors, some software installation methods shared in this blog will use manual installation using pre-built binaries even if there are native installation packages.

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