How to install HelloNZB on Linux
If you’re a Linux user in need of a good Usenet app and aren’t happy with the existing apps out there, consider checking out HelloNZB. It’s a Java-based NZB client that is relatively user-friendly and simple to use.
In this guide, we will show you how to install the HelloNZB application to use it on Linux. However, keep in mind that it runs on Java, so you must have Java set up on Linux for the app to work. For more information on how to set up Java on Linux, click here.
Downloading the Jar file
Getting the latest version of the HelloNZB Jar file can be done in a few ways. The easiest way by far is by using the wget application in the Linux terminal. With it, you can quickly download the file right from the command-line.
To start the download of the HelloNZB Jar file, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. After that, execute the command below.
wget https://sourceforge.net/projects/hellonzb/files/version%201.5.1/HelloNzb.jar/download -O ~/Downloads/HelloNzb.jar
When the download is complete, the HelloNZB Jar file should show up in your “Downloads” directory. Using the CD command, move into the “Downloads” directory. After that, create a new folder in /opt/ with the name “HelloNZB.”
cd ~/Downloads
sudo mkdir -p /opt/HelloNZB/
Once the new “HelloNZB” folder is created in the /opt/ directory, it is time to move the HelloNZB Jar file into it. The Jar file needs to be in this directory so that any user on your Linux PC can access the program.
sudo mv HelloNzb.jar /opt/HelloNZB/
With the Jar file downloaded and placed in the correct folder, the first part of the installation process is complete. From here, move on to the next section of the guide to learn how to create the installation script for HelloNZB.
Creating the execution script
A Jar file powers HelloNZB for Linux, so any Linux user can quickly double-click on the jar file itself to run the program. You can also execute it with the java -jar command in a terminal window. However, those ways of launching the app aren’t very user-friendly or clean.
A better way to launch HelloNZB on Linux is to create an execution script. One that can handle the parameters of the Jar file and can be tweaked at any time on the fly with little effort.
To create the execution script, start using the touch command to create a blank text file with the name “hello-nzb.”
touch hello-nzb
After creating the blank text file, open it up in the Nano text editor using the following command below for editing purposes.
nano -w hello-nzb
Inside of the Nano text editor, add the first line of code. This first line is known as the “shebang” and tells Linux how to execute your script.
#!/bin/bash
Following the first line of code, press the Enter key. Then, paste the Java code, which will allow Linux to launch HelloNZB on your Linux PC.
java -Xms128M -Xmx512M -jar /opt/HelloNZB/HelloNzb.jar
Save the edits to the script in the Nano text editor using the Ctrl + O keyboard shortcut. Then, exit the editor with Ctrl + X, and use the chmod command to update the permissions of the script.
sudo chmod +x hello-nzb
Finally, place the script in the /usr/bin/ directory, so that your Linux PC can call it as a binary.
sudo mv hello-nzb /usr/bin/
Creating the desktop shortcut
The desktop shortcut is the final piece of the puzzle in installing HelloNZB on Linux. With this shortcut, you’ll be able to launch HelloNZB from your app menu with little effort quickly. Here’s how to make it.
First, open up a terminal window and use the CD command to move into the HelloNZB directory. Once in /opt/HelloNZB/, make use of the wget command to download the desktop shortcut’s icon file.
cd /opt/HelloNZB/ sudo wget https://i.ibb.co/Ln92mxd/hellonzb.png -O hellonzb.png
After downloading the icon file to your computer, use the touch command to create the new HelloNZB desktop shortcut file. This file will be used as the basis of the shortcut file.
touch ~/hellonzb.desktop
Next, open up the desktop file you just created using the touch command in the Nano text editor for editing purposes.
nano ~/hellonzb.desktop
Paste the following code into the Nano text editor. All lines of code must match the example below! Otherwise, the shortcut may not launch on your Linux PC!
[Desktop Entry]
Name=HelloNZB
Exec=hello-nzb
Comment=
Terminal=false
Icon=/opt/HelloNZB/hellonzb.png
Type=Application
Categories=Network
Save the edits to the shortcut file using the Ctrl + O keyboard combination. After saving the edits, press the Ctrl + X keyboard combination to exit the editor. Then, use the chmod command to update the permissions of the shortcut file.
sudo chmod +x ~/hellonzb.desktop
Move the shortcut file into /usr/share/applications/ using the mv command. By placing the shortcut here, every user on your Linux PC will have access to HelloNZB.
sudo mv ~/hellonzb.desktop /usr/share/applications/
When the HelloNZB shortcut is installed, you will be able to launch the program from your app menu! Enjoy!
