How can I install Midnight Commander on pfSense?

stilez · Nov 2, 2017, 10:32 AM

Is there a better place to register requests for adding packages like mc (midnightcommander) on pfsense.
Somehow I find that adding comments to a single forum thread named package whishlist as useful as sending them to /dev/null.

This wouldn't be a "package" in the sense of a pfsense-GUI addon. It's a FreeBSD port that you want included in the build script. For that, a feature/enhancement request on the pfsense bug+feature tracker (redmine.pfsense.org) is probably the way to go. It's not a big thing to include a ported pkg and won't disrupt the builds to do so, so if there's a reasonable case for it (which there probably is: it's generally useful!), the devs might well do so.

Balanga · Apr 28, 2018, 10:02 PM

I'm trying to set up pfSense (2.3.5-RELEASE (i386)) on a ThinkPad T60 for test purposes and have come across a thread I started over a year ago, and wondered if there is a simple way to install Midnight Commander on pfSense yet…

cmbc · Oct 16, 2019, 9:38 AM

Tested of pfSense 2.4.4-RELEASE-p3

pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/png-1.6.34.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libslang2-2.3.1_3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/kbproto-1.0.7.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/xproto-7.0.31.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXau-1.0.8_3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXdmcp-1.1.2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libpthread-stubs-0.4.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libxcb-1.12_2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libX11-1.6.5,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/xextproto-7.3.0.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXext-1.3.3_1,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/mc-4.8.20_2.txz
/usr/local/bin/mc

stephenw10 · Oct 16, 2019, 12:54 PM

I don't see a feature request open for this yet. https://redmine.pfsense.org/

Steve

tristangrimaux · Feb 1, 2020, 12:29 AM

Tested on pfSense 2.4.4-RELEASE-p3
Packages to install (Cmbc's answer is missing libssh2 pkg)

pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/png-1.6.34.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libslang2-2.3.1_3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/kbproto-1.0.7.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/xproto-7.0.31.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXau-1.0.8_3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXdmcp-1.1.2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libpthread-stubs-0.4.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libxcb-1.12_2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libX11-1.6.5,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/xextproto-7.3.0.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXext-1.3.3_1,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libssh2-1.8.0,3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/mc-4.8.20_2.txz

Then to have a proper shell in mc, execute this

mv /usr/local/bin/mc /usr/local/bin/mc.real
echo 'sh -c "export SHELL=/bin/tcsh ; /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh"' > /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
chmod +x /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
sed -i.bak 's;/usr/local/bin/mc -P;/usr/local/bin/mc.real -P;' /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh
ln -s /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc /usr/local/bin/mc

KARLAGIN · Jun 10, 2020, 11:21 AM

Tested on 2.4.5-RELEASE

pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/png-1.6.34.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libslang2-2.3.1_3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/kbproto-1.0.7.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/xproto-7.0.31.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXau-1.0.8_3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXdmcp-1.1.2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libpthread-stubs-0.4.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libxcb-1.12_2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libX11-1.6.5,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/xextproto-7.3.0.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libXext-1.3.3_1,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/libssh2-1.8.0,3.txz
pkg install python27
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:11:amd64/release_2/All/mc-4.8.20_2.txz

mv /usr/local/bin/mc /usr/local/bin/mc.real
echo 'sh -c "export SHELL=/bin/tcsh ; /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh"' > /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
chmod +x /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
sed -i.bak 's;/usr/local/bin/mc -P;/usr/local/bin/mc.real -P;' /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh
ln -s /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc /usr/local/bin/mc

Gertjan · Jun 10, 2020, 11:47 AM

@KARLAGIN said in How can I install Midnight Commander on pfSense?:

Tested on 2.4.5-RELEASE

That's old ......
p1 is there ;)

edit : with another FreeBSD kernel version, so other ? libs etc.

tristangrimaux · Apr 13, 2021, 1:19 AM

Tested on 2.5.0-RELEASE

pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/png-1.6.37.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libslang2-2.3.2_2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXau-1.0.9.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXdmcp-1.1.3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libpthread-stubs-0.4.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libxcb-1.14_1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libX11-1.6.12,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXext-1.3.4,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libssh2-1.9.0_3,3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libsigsegv-2.12.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/diffutils-3.7.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/mc-4.8.24.txz

mv /usr/local/bin/mc /usr/local/bin/mc.real
echo 'sh -c "export SHELL=/bin/tcsh ; /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh"' > /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
chmod +x /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
sed -i.bak 's;/usr/local/bin/mc -P;/usr/local/bin/mc.real -P;' /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh
ln -s /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc /usr/local/bin/mc

bmeeks · Apr 13, 2021, 1:35 AM

@tristangrimaux said in How can I install Midnight Commander on pfSense?:

Tested on 2.5.0-RELEASE

pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/png-1.6.37.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libslang2-2.3.2_2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXau-1.0.9.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXdmcp-1.1.3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libpthread-stubs-0.4.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libxcb-1.14_1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libX11-1.6.12,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXext-1.3.4,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libssh2-1.9.0_3,3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libsigsegv-2.12.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/diffutils-3.7.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/mc-4.8.24.txz

mv /usr/local/bin/mc /usr/local/bin/mc.real
echo 'sh -c "export SHELL=/bin/tcsh ; /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh"' > /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
chmod +x /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
sed -i.bak 's;/usr/local/bin/mc -P;/usr/local/bin/mc.real -P;' /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh
ln -s /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc /usr/local/bin/mc

Just FYI. This can be very dangerous (installing packages from repos other than the official pfSense one). Notice how installing Midnight Commander pulled in a bunch of other dependency packages? If any of those pulled in packages happens to overwrite a critical pfSense system library with a different version, you could break your firewall.

Gertjan · Apr 13, 2021, 5:55 AM

Yeah, its advised to have a copy of the config and an USB with the latest pfSense version ready.

tristangrimaux · Apr 15, 2021, 1:04 AM

@bmeeks midnight commander should be included in PFSense, and more tools for those of us who live and breathe in a text terminal.

bmeeks · Apr 15, 2021, 1:42 AM

@tristangrimaux said in How can I install Midnight Commander on pfSense?:

@bmeeks midnight commander should be included in PFSense, and more tools for those of us who live and breathe in a text terminal.

I think you will find a difference of opinion among cyber security professionals. Some think a firewall should only have the absolute bare minimum of software to be a firewall. Anything else is seen as just an additional attack surface. But others are willing to tolerate a firewall with additional software installed on it. Neither is 100% the only correct answer.

It is a fact, though, that the more software installed on the firewall, the greater the potential attack surface because each installed package (and its dependencies) drags in potential security flaws.

The point of my original reply was not to argue, but just to point out for others reading this thread, that may be considering installing third-party packages from outside the official pfSense package repo, that you can surely break the firewall if an installed package brings in a different version or even flavor of a critical system shared library.

tristangrimaux · Apr 15, 2021, 1:44 AM

@bmeeks your point is most valid

i64ru · Dec 25, 2021, 11:12 AM

Work PfSense 2.5.2-RELEASE

pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/png-1.6.37.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libslang2-2.3.2_2.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXau-1.0.9.txz
++pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/xorgproto-2020.1.txz добавить этот пакет, без него не встанет libXdmcp
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXdmcp-1.1.3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libpthread-stubs-0.4.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libxcb-1.14_1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libX11-1.6.12,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libXext-1.3.4,1.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libssh2-1.9.0_3,3.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/libsigsegv-2.12.txz
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/diffutils-3.7.txz
++ pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_3/All/python37-3.7.12.txz добавить этот пакет, без него не встанет mc-4.8.24
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:12:amd64/release_2/All/mc-4.8.24.txz

mv /usr/local/bin/mc /usr/local/bin/mc.real
echo 'sh -c "export SHELL=/bin/tcsh ; /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh"' > /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
chmod +x /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
sed -i.bak 's;/usr/local/bin/mc -P;/usr/local/bin/mc.real -P;' /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh
ln -s /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc /usr/local/bin/mc

потом пишем exit
снова 8 to shell
mc !!!! work!

Спасибо всем друзья!

drknssc · Jul 15, 2022, 10:24 AM

@i64ru проблема!!!
никаких релизов нет! ломаю голову уже часа 3!

stephenw10 · Jul 15, 2022, 11:45 AM

The pkgs are there the directory listing was just disabled due to continued attacks on the pkg servers.
In pfSense 2.6 you would want to use FreeBSD latest or quarterly though.

You can still see and download the file containing the full YAML listing of all the packages so you can find the correct path.

Steve

PhilipZ · Apr 19, 2025, 6:05 PM

Work PfSense 2.7.2-RELEASE
Because I prefer bash as shell is the first line. Last few lines are copied from i64ru and modified to work with bash

pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/libsigsegv-2.14.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/bash-5.2.15.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/diffutils-3.8.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/libXau-1.0.9.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/xorgproto-2022.1_1.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/libXdmcp-1.1.3.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/libxcb-1.15_1.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/libX11-1.8.6_1,1.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/libXext-1.3.4,1.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/libslang2-2.3.3.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/python39-3.9.18.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/zip-3.0_1.pkg
pkg add http://pkg.freebsd.org/FreeBSD:14:amd64/release_0/All/mc-4.8.30.pkg

mv /usr/local/bin/mc /usr/local/bin/mc.real
echo 'sh -c "export SHELL=/usr/local/bin/tcsh ; /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh"' > /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
chmod +x /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc
sed -i.bak 's;/usr/local/bin/mc -P;/usr/local/bin/mc.real -P;' /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc-wrapper.sh
ln -s /usr/local/libexec/mc/mc /usr/local/bin/mc

provels · Apr 20, 2025, 1:15 PM

@kpa said in How can I install Midnight Commander on pfSense?:

It's supposedly an easy to use file manager (for being an ncurses application) but since there are better ones like Filezilla, WinSCP and others that can use an SFTP connection and offer a proper GUI on your workstation I don't see why you would want to install it on pfSense.

An upfist from the future!