The install command (from the Linux manual install documentation):
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sudo dpkg -i --force-depends fah-client_8.4.9_amd64.debNow, this has the effect that installs and updates to Ubuntu fail, and one have to uninstall the fah-client to be able to maintain the installation, and then reinstall the fah-client.
Me, and a friend of mine ( GPTo4
), made a simple bash script to remedy this by unpacking the .deb file and stripping the invalid dependencies, for then to proceed to rebuild the .deb file.The script can, and will be improved over time, as it now has hard coded URL for download and version of the fah-client among other things, but I post it here in the hope that this can help overcome some initial problems with fah installation.
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#!/bin/bash
set -e
FAH_VERSION="8.4.9"
FAH_DEB="fah-client_${FAH_VERSION}_amd64.deb"
FAH_URL="https://download.foldingathome.org/releases/public/fah-client/debian-10-64bit/release/${FAH_DEB}"
TMP_DIR="fah-deb-temp"
FIXED_DEB="fixed-${FAH_DEB}"
echo "Folding@home Client Installer (v${FAH_VERSION}) for Ubuntu 25.04+"
# Optional user configuration
read -p "🔑 FAH passkey (leave empty to skip): " USER_PASSKEY
read -p "👤 Machine name (leave empty to skip): " USER_NAME
read -p "🧑🤝🧑 Team number (leave empty to skip): " USER_TEAM
# Clean up prior attempts
echo "Cleaning up previous install attempts..."
sudo apt-mark unhold fah-client 2>/dev/null || true
sudo apt --fix-broken install -y || true
sudo apt purge -y fah-client || true
rm -rf "$TMP_DIR" "$FAH_DEB" "$FIXED_DEB"
# Download if missing
if [ ! -f "$FAH_DEB" ]; then
echo "Downloading FAH client .deb..."
wget -q --show-progress "$FAH_URL"
else
echo "Using existing ${FAH_DEB}"
fi
# Repack .deb
echo "Unpacking .deb to remove broken dependencies..."
dpkg-deb -R "$FAH_DEB" "$TMP_DIR"
echo "Stripping invalid PolicyKit dependency..."
sed -i '/^Depends:/s/polkitd-pkla[^,]*,\?//g' "$TMP_DIR/DEBIAN/control"
sed -i '/^Depends:/s/policykit-1([^)]*)//g' "$TMP_DIR/DEBIAN/control"
sed -i '/^Depends:/s/,,/,/g' "$TMP_DIR/DEBIAN/control"
sed -i '/^Depends:/s/: ,/: /g' "$TMP_DIR/DEBIAN/control"
echo "Rebuilding clean .deb..."
dpkg-deb -b "$TMP_DIR" "$FIXED_DEB"
# Install
echo "Installing clean FAH client .deb..."
sudo apt install -y "./$FIXED_DEB"
# Hold it to prevent upgrade breakage
sudo apt-mark hold fah-client
# Optional configuration
if [ -n "$USER_PASSKEY" ] || [ -n "$USER_NAME" ] || [ -n "$USER_TEAM" ]; then
echo "Configuring /etc/fah-client/config.xml..."
CONFIG_FILE="/etc/fah-client/config.xml"
sudo cp "$CONFIG_FILE" "${CONFIG_FILE}.bak"
sudo xmlstarlet ed -L \
-u "/config/user" -v "${USER_NAME:-Anonymous}" \
-u "/config/team" -v "${USER_TEAM:-0}" \
-u "/config/passkey" -v "${USER_PASSKEY}" \
"$CONFIG_FILE" || echo "⚠️ Could not auto-edit config.xml (install xmlstarlet?)"
fi
# Restart client
sudo systemctl restart fah-client
echo "FAH client installed and running!"
echo "Open browser to https://v8-4.foldingathome.org/ to view web UI"
