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I downloaded Emacs source files, and installed it using make. After installing Emacs successfully, I manually removed the downloaded source files to save disk space. Now I want to remove Emacs and I tried to use sudo apt-get purge emacs. But it says Emacs has not been installed and will not be removed. But I can run Emacs by typing emacs in the terminal. Also the command which emacs shows the result /usr/local/bin/emacs.

Why can't apt-get detect it? How can I remove Emacs completely in this situation? My OS is Ubuntu 12.04, and my Emacs version is 24.3.1.

karel
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Yang Wenhao
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9 Answers9

14

It is not enough to

sudo apt-get remove emacs

You have to do

sudo apt-get remove emacs emacs23 emacs24 emacs25 emacs26 \
                    emacs-bin-common emacs-common emacs-el

Then

locate emacs
alper
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Hartmut Pfarr
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13

You haven't installed Emacs with the package manager. As you have installed it from source tarball, try this way.

  1. Check emacs version.

    $ emacs --version

  2. Download the same emacs version you have installed in the past.

    $ wget https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/emacs/emacs-$VERSION.tar.xz

  3. Extract tarball.

    $ tar xJvf emacs-$VERSION.tar.xz

  4. Run ./configure to generate the make file. If you remember the option you have given when you install it, add those command line flags, too. (e.g. --with-x=no)

    $ cd emacs-$VERSION
$ ./configure

  5. Do make uninstall to uninstall.

    $ sudo make uninstall

Enjoy!

Jaehyun Yeom
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5

For me removing emacs-gtk worked

sudo apt-get remove emacs-gtk
Yusuf
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5

apt-get can not detect the applications which you have installed from source.Actually every source file will have uninstall script also but unfortunately you have removed the source file.

You may still do this. In the terminal type as

locate emacs

it will list all it footprints in the system , then remove those emacs footprints by using rm command carefully.

Peaceful
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Raja G
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2

Using apt

sudo apt remove emacs

followed by

sudo apt autoremove

this will remove both emacs-terminal and emacs-GUI

Shadman Wakil
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2
sudo apt remove --purge emacs-bin-common emacs-el emacs-gtk

This command worked for me

MD SHAYON
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1

I tried this and worked for me :

  1. Go the emacs installed Icon in the apps:
  2. Click the right button > Show Details
  3. Click on the uninstalled button.
  4. Go to terminal > emacs--version.
  5. Nothing is there.
  6. Enjoy.
SAHOTA
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Using checkinstall

  1. Close all package managers
  2. Download the archive again
  3. Compile emacs again

  4. Install the package checkinstall

    sudo apt-get install checkinstall

  5. Install emacs with

    sudo checkinstall

    to overwrite you previous installation and to have a deb package. That's the trick.

  6. Remove the emacs package, the command is shown after the installation via checkinstall.

A.B.
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0

This worked for me to uninstall emacs which was installed through ppa:kelleyk/emacs.

I initially tried

sudo apt purge --autoremove emacs$VERSION

it removed some emacs files but the emacs itself does not removed. when I went to my terminal and do emacs --version, I can still open emacs.

I then reinstalled emacs$VERSION once more

sudo apt install emacs$VERSION

then again purged the emacs

sudo apt purge --autoremove emacs$VERSION

Now its completely removed.

Eka
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