Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    31 Posts 6 Posters 3.5k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • D
      DominikHoffmann @stephenw10
      last edited by

      @stephenw10 said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

      Better to run it from an interactive prompt like via SSH. But if you have to you can upgrade with the -y switch like: pkg-static upgrade -y.

      Steve

      What is the potential downside of running the command from the GUI? Also, why do you suggest pkg-static, as opposed to pkg?

      GertjanG 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • stephenw10S
        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
        last edited by stephenw10

        If the install fails for some unexpected reason you will only see anything in the GUI if the command completes. Otherwise the page will just hang and eventually timeout. It's unlikely though those pkg upgrades are pretty widely used.
        But at an SSH prompt you can see any errors and abort the process.

        pkg-static is safer as it uses static linked libs so will always run. If an install has pulled in newer libs from a newer available version pkg may error out. It does it immediately and just returns an error though so it's unlikely to cause a problem when used discretely like that. The pfSense system scripts use pkg-static because when used as part of a script it will abort the script if it fails.

        D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • D
          DominikHoffmann @stephenw10
          last edited by

          @stephenw10: Shouldn’t then the emailed notification use the png-static nomenclature, too?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • stephenw10S
            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
            last edited by

            When you use the pkg command directly it would just safely fail. But the email says to run it from the shell not via the webgui. And I believe that is generated by a 3rd party script?

            D 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • D
              DominikHoffmann @stephenw10
              last edited by

              @stephenw10: Ah, yes! It is the script from the post by @luckman212, titled “Auto update check, checks for updates to base system + packages and sends email alerts”.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • GertjanG
                Gertjan @DominikHoffmann
                last edited by

                @DominikHoffmann said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

                What is the potential downside of running the command from the GUI?

                In one word : gravity 😊
                See it like this : you can potentially create the situation where you are sawing that tree branch while sitting on it.

                When you receive a mail from the "luckman" script, and it announces :

                @DominikHoffmann said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

                curl: 8.5.0 -> 8.6.0 [pfSense]
                unbound: 1.18.0_1 -> 1.19.1 [pfSense]

                Then you know why it says :

                Some packages are part of the base system and will not show up in (pfSense GUI) Package Manager

                as these two, unbound and curl, are system (FreeBSD) packages, NOT pfSense GUI packages, the ones that are shown here ;

                d4702c83-fd1a-4d8e-8025-dedb6c89a5bc-image.png

                So, this applies :

                If any such updates are listed below, run pkg upgrade from the shell to install them

                With 'shell' he means : console or SSH.

                My advise : whatever happens : make sure, at any time, that you have a working console access.
                If the console access works for you, chances are very great you might never need it.
                The day you need console access is not the day you want to make it work first.

                Set up SSH access, as this is the "next best" access. SSH access can be done from the same place as where you can access the GUI. So no need to crawl in front of the pfSense device with the small USB cable, or hook up a keyboard and screen to your pfSense box.

                With SSH, when login, you see (the same) this :

                0) Logout (SSH only)                  9) pfTop
                1) Assign Interfaces                 10) Filter Logs
                2) Set interface(s) IP address       11) Restart webConfigurator
                3) Reset webConfigurator password    12) PHP shell + Netgate pfSense Plus tools
                4) Reset to factory defaults         13) Update from console
                5) Reboot system                     14) Disable Secure Shell (sshd)
                6) Halt system                       15) Restore recent configuration
                7) Ping host                         16) Restart PHP-FPM
                8) Shell
                
                Enter an option:
                

                Use option 13 and you'll be good.

                No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                Edit : and where are the logs ??

                S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • S
                  SwissSteph @Gertjan
                  last edited by SwissSteph

                  @Gertjan
                  I'm bouncing back on your answer, because when I connect in SSH (not with the original user "admin" but mine which also has admin rights) I don't have the menu that comes back automatically, I only have this (in my Windows system)

                  78bc1b4d-4db2-47ad-8b88-2222dde7f423-image.png

                  Any idea? or how to launch it manually when I'm connected via SSH?

                  Thanks for your help

                  I started with two "no-name" pfsense, one for use at home and the other as a backup in case of problems (which can happen when you're new to pfsense).
                  ... And now I'm living with a Netgate 8200
                  ... And sorry for my bad English...

                  GertjanG 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by stephenw10

                    You can run /etc/rc.initial to bring up the menu. Though some options there require the admin/root user.

                    S 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • S
                      SwissSteph @stephenw10
                      last edited by

                      @stephenw10
                      Thanks for the quick reply :-) ... it actually works for me.

                      I started with two "no-name" pfsense, one for use at home and the other as a backup in case of problems (which can happen when you're new to pfsense).
                      ... And now I'm living with a Netgate 8200
                      ... And sorry for my bad English...

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • GertjanG
                        Gertjan @SwissSteph
                        last edited by

                        @SwissSteph said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

                        Any idea?

                        Windows has a ssh client ? [ I even don't want to know ^^ ]

                        Yeah, go here.
                        Don't worry, the site look like the something from another centry, but it host worlds most important admn on planet earth.
                        Putty.
                        It's a the best SSH client (IMHO of course). Some extra tools come with it.

                        cd4709b1-5270-4a44-aee5-a5fe5d7ba2b4-image.png

                        Run it, enter the IP of pfSense, port 22 (SSH) and save that as a favourite.
                        Then Connect.
                        The first time it will ask if you trust the device (your pfSense) : accept.
                        Done : connected.
                        Login with "root" (!) don't hassle with other created users or so, pfSense is a router firewall, not a multi user devices server type thing.
                        The password is the GUI password.

                        Later on, you'll ditch the user/password login. Real ;) admins use :

                        1ee0e02e-fb8b-4372-8a43-6ce9ff1c986e-image.png

                        No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                        Edit : and where are the logs ??

                        D johnpozJ 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • D
                          DominikHoffmann @Gertjan
                          last edited by

                          @Gertjan said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

                          It's a the best SSH client (IMHO of course). Some extra tools come with it.

                          I do like macOS Terminal!

                          😁

                          NollipfSenseN 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • NollipfSenseN
                            NollipfSense @DominikHoffmann
                            last edited by

                            @DominikHoffmann said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

                            I do like macOS Terminal!

                            Me also, as well.

                            pfSense+ 23.09 Lenovo Thinkcentre M93P SFF Quadcore i7 dual Raid-ZFS 128GB-SSD 32GB-RAM PCI-Intel i350-t4 NIC, -Intel QAT 8950.
                            pfSense+ 23.09 VM-Proxmox, Dell Precision Xeon-W2155 Nvme 500GB-ZFS 128GB-RAM PCIe-Intel i350-t4, Intel QAT-8950, P-cloud.

                            GertjanG 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • GertjanG
                              Gertjan @NollipfSense
                              last edited by

                              @NollipfSense @DominikHoffmann

                              d30f56a5-da51-4f42-bcae-24f0470b57b5-image.png

                              seems very 'MSoft' to me.

                              Really, guys, I agree, but can I advise @DominikHoffmann to create a Mac clone to get access to its build in ssh 😊

                              No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                              Edit : and where are the logs ??

                              S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • S
                                SwissSteph @Gertjan
                                last edited by

                                @Gertjan
                                yes, SSH command in a terminal session under Windows

                                I started with two "no-name" pfsense, one for use at home and the other as a backup in case of problems (which can happen when you're new to pfsense).
                                ... And now I'm living with a Netgate 8200
                                ... And sorry for my bad English...

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • S
                                  SwissSteph @stephenw10
                                  last edited by

                                  @stephenw10

                                  I come back to your answer and my answer where I said that this command worked (which is still the case).

                                  But why doesn't this menu appear by itself? I set the original "user" "admin" to disabled and created another "admin" with another name, is that why the menu doesn't appear by itself?

                                  I've also installed the "sudo" package, if this information helps to solve my problem.

                                  I started with two "no-name" pfsense, one for use at home and the other as a backup in case of problems (which can happen when you're new to pfsense).
                                  ... And now I'm living with a Netgate 8200
                                  ... And sorry for my bad English...

                                  GertjanG 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • GertjanG
                                    Gertjan @SwissSteph
                                    last edited by

                                    @SwissSteph said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

                                    But why doesn't this menu appear by itself? I set the original "user" "admin" to disabled and created another "admin" with another name, is that why the menu doesn't appear by itself?

                                    =>

                                    @stephenw10 said in How to run pkg upgrade from Diagnostics → Command Prompt:

                                    You can run /etc/rc.initial to bring up the menu. Though some options there require the admin/root user.

                                    See also : Admin Access.

                                    No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
                                    Edit : and where are the logs ??

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • stephenw10S
                                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                      last edited by

                                      The admin user is set to use the console menu as it's shell directly. For other users you need to add it to the tcsh config. Which can now easily be done because of: https://redmine.pfsense.org/issues/14746
                                      For example when logged in as that user run: echo /etc/rc.initial >> ~/.tcshrc.local
                                      Then logout and back in.

                                      Steve

                                      S 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • S
                                        SwissSteph @stephenw10
                                        last edited by

                                        @stephenw10

                                        Steve,

                                        Thanks for your reply, it works perfectly!!!

                                        Have a nice day 👍

                                        I started with two "no-name" pfsense, one for use at home and the other as a backup in case of problems (which can happen when you're new to pfsense).
                                        ... And now I'm living with a Netgate 8200
                                        ... And sorry for my bad English...

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • S
                                          SwissSteph @stephenw10
                                          last edited by SwissSteph

                                          @stephenw10

                                          No longer works in 24.03_1, this command "echo /etc/rc.initial >> ~/.tcshrc.local" had worked perfectly on 23.09.1

                                          Should I run another command?

                                          and every time I connect to SSH I get this message:
                                          82b48d67-43e1-406c-936f-7f1c6bf28a98-image.png

                                          I started with two "no-name" pfsense, one for use at home and the other as a backup in case of problems (which can happen when you're new to pfsense).
                                          ... And now I'm living with a Netgate 8200
                                          ... And sorry for my bad English...

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • stephenw10S
                                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                            last edited by

                                            You mean in order to show the console menu for a non-admin user?

                                            S 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                            • First post
                                              Last post
                                            Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.