System Utilities Installer

Curated picker for 26 CLI utilities defined in the canonical PROXMENUX_UTILS list. Offers custom selection, install-all, six predefined groups and a verify-installations check. Uses the shared ensure_repositories() + install_single_package() pair so repo configuration and per-package feedback stay consistent across the project.

What this does

Installs CLI tools from a curated list of 26 packages. Every installation goes through the same canonical flow: ensure_repositories sets up Proxmox + Debian repos for the running PVE major version, then install_single_package runs the install and verifies the resulting command is in PATH.

Opening the installer

From the Utilities menu, choose System Utilities Installer. The main menu offers nine options:

System Utilities Installer menu with custom selection, ALL, predefined groups and verify

The 9 menu actions

Option	Behaviour
1. Custom selection	Dialog checklist of all 26 packages. Use SPACE to toggle, ENTER to confirm; only the selected ones are installed.
2. Install ALL utilities	One-shot install of every package in `PROXMENUX_UTILS`. Use after a fresh Proxmox install.
3. Basic	`grc`, `htop`, `tree`, `curl`, `wget`
4. Development	`git`, `vim`, `nano`
5. Compression	`zip`, `unzip`, `rsync`
6. Terminal multiplexers	`screen`, `tmux`
7. Analysis	`jq`, `ncdu`, `iotop`
8. Network	`iperf3`, `nethogs`, `nmap`, `tcpdump`, `lsof`
9. Verify installations	Walks every entry in `PROXMENUX_UTILS`, checks if the verify command is in PATH, prints an Available / Missing summary.

The 26 packages

Defined in the shared scripts/global/utils-install-functions.sh as PROXMENUX_UTILS (format: package:verify_command:description). Other ProxMenux scripts (e.g. the network monitoring launchers for iftop / iptraf-ng / iperf3) reuse entries from this list so package + verify command stay in sync.

Package	Verify command	Description
axel	axel	Download accelerator
aria2	aria2c	Multi-source downloader
btop	btop	Modern resource monitor
cabextract	cabextract	Extract CAB files
chntpw	chntpw	Edit Windows registry / passwords
dos2unix	dos2unix	Convert DOS / Unix text files
genisoimage	genisoimage	Create ISO images
grc	grc	Generic log colorizer
htop	htop	Interactive process viewer
iftop	iftop	Real-time network usage
intel-gpu-tools	intel_gpu_top	Intel GPU tools
iotop	iotop	Monitor disk I/O usage
iperf3	iperf3	Network bandwidth testing
ipset	ipset	Manage IP sets
iptraf-ng	iptraf-ng	Network monitoring tool
libguestfs-tools	virt-filesystems	VM disk utilities
msr-tools	rdmsr	Access CPU MSRs
net-tools	netstat	Legacy networking tools
plocate	locate	Locate files quickly
s-tui	s-tui	Stress-Terminal UI
sshpass	sshpass	Non-interactive SSH login
tmux	tmux	Terminal multiplexer
unzip	unzip	Extract ZIP files
wimtools	wimlib-imagex	Manage WIM images
zip	zip	Create ZIP files
libguestfs-tools	virt-filesystems	VM disk utilities

How a single package install works

ensure_repositories detects PVE 8 or 9, writes Proxmox no-subscription + Debian sources files if missing, runs apt-get update.
install_single_package "pkg" "verify_cmd" "description" runs apt-get install -y "$pkg" with feedback (msg_info / msg_ok / msg_error).
After install, the verify command is checked with command -v "$verify_cmd". Three outcomes:
- 0 (success): command available, package counted as Successful.
- 1 (failed): apt failed, counted as Failed.
- 2 (warning): apt succeeded but command not yet in PATH (hash refresh pending) — counted as With warnings.
At the end of a group / custom install, a summary dialog shows Successful / With warnings / Failed counts.

Verify installations

Option 9 is read-only: it walks PROXMENUX_UTILS and runs command -v for each verify command. Output looks like this:

Total: 26
Available: 18
Missing: 8

✓ axel - Download accelerator
✓ aria2c - Multi-source downloader
✓ btop - Modern resource monitor
✗ cabextract - Extract CAB files
✓ dos2unix - Convert DOS / Unix text files
✗ genisoimage - Create ISO images
✓ grc - Generic log colorizer
...

Useful before running scripts that depend on these tools (e.g. uup_dump_iso_creator.sh needs aria2c + cabextract + wimlib-imagex). If anything is missing, run the matching group install or pick the missing packages via custom selection.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to configure repositories. Installation aborted."

The host can't reach the Proxmox or Debian repos, or doesn't have the expected base config. From a console: cat /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.sources and apt-get update manually to see the actual error.

A package is reported "With warnings" but the command works after I close the menu

Expected. After apt-get install, the new binary is on disk but the current shell's PATH cache (hash -t) doesn't know yet. ProxMenux runs hash -r after each install, but in some shells the refresh only takes effect on the next prompt. Open a new shell and the command will work.

An apt install hangs

Most likely a debconf prompt is blocked behind the silenced output. The script wraps all apt calls with DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive, which usually suppresses prompts, but a few packages still require user input. Cancel with Ctrl+C, run apt-get install -y <pkg> manually from a shell to see the prompt and decide.

Files involved

scripts/utilities/system_utils.sh                    # this script
scripts/global/utils-install-functions.sh            # PROXMENUX_UTILS, ensure_repositories,
                                                     # install_single_package
/etc/apt/sources.list                                # may be touched by ensure_repositories
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/proxmox.sources              # created if missing (PVE 9)
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources               # created if missing (PVE 9)
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-no-subscription.list     # created if missing (PVE 8)

Proxmox System Update — for the actual apt dist-upgrade on the host.
Live monitoring tools (Network) — uses iftop / iptraf-ng / iperf3 from this same list.
Utilities overview — back to the section overview.

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