I recently came across an article describing how a binary payload can be attached to a shell script. You can simply append a zip or 7-zip file to a bash script and the script, when executed, will extract the binary payload and install the contents. This is the same technique used to create installers like the ones used by NVIDIA drivers.
I've written a simple script for creating such installers. Simply pass the path to a 7-zip archive and it will generate a self-contained installer with a .run extension. The install package includes a stand-alone version of 7zip (7zr) which will extract the archive on the user's system. The user does not need to have 7-zip installed on their system. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of 7zr are included so that the archive can be extracted on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems.
Usage
After installation you can run the command make-sfx from any directory. Additional options are given below:
Installer Options
The generated installer also has some options which are given below:
Examples
Let's say we have a 7-zip file named myfiles.7z. The 7zip file has a setup script inside named setup.sh in a sub-folder named files.
The following command will create an installer which will extract files to a temporary directory and run the setup script:
make-sfx --temp --run "./files/setup.sh" "myfiles.7z"
The installer file can be run from a terminal:
./install.run
Or we can simply double-click the file using a file manager like Nautilus or Nemo:
The --temp option makes the installer extract files to a temporary folder. If --temp is not specified, the generated installer will extract files to the current directory when executed.
The following command will create an installer which extracts files to the same directory.
make-sfx "myfiles.7z"
Users can specify the extraction path using the --target option:
./install.run --target "./newfolder"
Users can prevent the setup script from being executed by running the installer with the --noexecute option:
./install.run --noexecute
Installation
Debian/Ubuntu
<Packages will be uploaded soon>
Others
This installer was created with the make-sfx command.
Extract the installer from the ZIP file and install it by executing the file from a terminal window:
sudo ./make-sfx-setup.run