TexLive on OpenSuse

Markus Kohm (the Author of the KOMA-Script document classes) has created an OpenSuse RPM that provides the dependencies for other packages. Unlike the original OpenSuse texlive package, it does not install a fixed texlive version (OpenSuse still ships 2012), but it offers a GUI to download and maintain a TexLive installation from their repositories. Similar to Linux distributions, TexLive is also a distribution with mirrored repositories and dependency-regarding package manager.

The page is in German, but here's how it works:

  • Install the TexLive package via 1-Click Installation (the blue button). During this process, Yast/Zypper will ask to remove hundreds of texlive packages from its own repository.
  • Re-login. Your account was added to the new group texlive which is allowed to run the tool and the new group becomes active only after a new login (can be checked with id).
  • Call texlive-config either as normal user (to install just for yourself) or as root (for a system-wide installation with symlinks in /usr/local/bin)
  • The GUI offers some settings:
    • The installed TexLive versions are shown on the left and can be activated alternately.
    • Install a new TexLive version
  • Before installing, more choices can be done
    • If you're installing as normal user, make sure that you do not select "install to /usr/local/bin", this will fail and you have to restart the installation.
    • Otherwise, when executing as root, you probably want to choose this setting.
  • After installing, you either need either to re-login or to source /etc/profile.d/zzz-texlive.sh. The latter command sets environment variables which must be set for every shell. When logging in, the scripts in /etc/profile.d are executed and all shells inherit their settings.

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