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matthew

Member

Registered: 2026-05-25

Posts: 2  

[HowTo] Portmaster v2 on Devuan 6 Excalibur Desktop

Installed Portmaster v2 via .deb file on Devuan then alerted this error message.
"Your System Service Manager is not supported. Please make sure Portmaster is running."

I'm going to fix this error.

I tried to replace the systemd part with SysVinit of this manual installation script.
https://wiki.safing.io/en/Portmaster/In … stallation

How to install portmaster v2 on Devuan 6 Excalibur Desktop.
1. Create a script file 'install-portmaster.sh'
2. Fill it with the content presented below
3. Don't forget to set the correct access rights

sudo chmod a+x install-portmaster.sh

4. Run it with administrative privileges:

sudo ./install-portmaster.sh

And Restart/Reboot your computer.

my installation script

#!/bin/sh

# ===================================
# STEP 1: Install Portmaster
# (install all necessary files)
# ===================================

# Create directory for binaries
mkdir -p /usr/lib/portmaster
cd /usr/lib/portmaster

# Download Portmaster UpdateManager utility
echo "[+] Downloading Portmaster UpdateManager..."
wget https://updates.safing.io/latest/linux_amd64/updatemgr/updatemgr
chmod a+x updatemgr

# Download latest binaries
echo "[+] Downloading Portmaster binaries..."
./updatemgr download https://updates.safing.io/stable.v3.json "/usr/lib/portmaster"
chmod a+x /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster        # Ensure binary is executable
chmod a+x /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-core   # Ensure binary is executable

# Download latest data files
echo "[+] Downloading Portmaster data files..."
mkdir -p /var/lib/portmaster/intel
./updatemgr download https://updates.safing.io/intel.v3.json "/var/lib/portmaster/intel"

# (Optional)
# If the SELinux module is enabled, set correct SELinux context for the Portmaster core binary.
# This ensures the binary can be executed properly under SELinux policies, avoiding permission issues.
if command -v semanage >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "[ ] Fixing SELinux permissions"
    semanage fcontext -a -t bin_t -s system_u $(realpath /usr/lib)'/portmaster/portmaster-core' || :
    restorecon -R /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-core 2>/dev/null >&2 || :
fi

# Clean up
rm -f /usr/lib/portmaster/updatemgr

# Done
echo "[i] At this point, Portmaster is installed."
echo "    You can start manually running the Portmaster daemon with:"
echo "        sudo /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-core --log-stdout"
echo "    To start User Interface, run:"
echo "        /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster"

# ===================================
# STEP 2: Register Portmaster service
# (for systemd-based systems)
# ===================================

#echo "[+] Registering Portmaster service"
#cat <<EOF > /usr/lib/systemd/system/portmaster.service
#[Unit]
#Description=Portmaster by Safing
#Documentation=https://safing.io
#Documentation=https://docs.safing.io
#Before=nss-lookup.target network.target shutdown.target
#After=systemd-networkd.service
#Conflicts=shutdown.target
#Conflicts=firewalld.service
#Wants=nss-lookup.target
#
#[Service]
#Type=simple
#Restart=on-failure
#RestartSec=10
#RestartPreventExitStatus=24
#LockPersonality=yes
#MemoryDenyWriteExecute=yes
#MemoryLow=2G
#NoNewPrivileges=yes
#PrivateTmp=yes
#PIDFile=/var/lib/portmaster/core-lock.pid
#Environment=LOGLEVEL=info
#Environment=PORTMASTER_ARGS=
#EnvironmentFile=-/etc/default/portmaster
#ProtectSystem=true
#ReadWritePaths=/usr/lib/portmaster
#RestrictAddressFamilies=AF_UNIX AF_NETLINK AF_INET AF_INET6
#RestrictNamespaces=yes
#ProtectHome=read-only
#ProtectKernelTunables=yes
#ProtectKernelLogs=yes
#ProtectControlGroups=yes
#PrivateDevices=yes
#AmbientCapabilities=cap_chown cap_kill cap_net_admin cap_net_bind_service cap_net_broadcast cap_net_raw cap_sys_module cap_sys_ptrace cap_dac_override cap_fowner cap_fsetid cap_sys_resource cap_bpf cap_perfmon
#CapabilityBoundingSet=cap_chown cap_kill cap_net_admin cap_net_bind_service cap_net_broadcast cap_net_raw cap_sys_module cap_sys_ptrace cap_dac_override cap_fowner cap_fsetid cap_sys_resource cap_bpf cap_perfmon
#StateDirectory=portmaster
#WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/portmaster
#ExecStart=/usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-core --log-dir=/var/lib/portmaster/log -- $PORTMASTER_ARGS
#ExecStopPost=-/usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-core -recover-iptables
#
#[Install]
#WantedBy=multi-user.target
#EOF

# ===================================
# STEP 2: Register Portmaster service
# (for SysVinit-based systems)
# ===================================

echo "[+] Registering Portmaster service"
cat << 'EOF' > /etc/init.d/portmaster
#!/bin/sh
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides:          portmaster
# Required-Start:    $network
# Required-Stop:     $network
# Default-Start:     2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop:      0 6
# Short-Description: Portmaster by Safing
# Description:       Portmaster is a free and open-source application firewall that does the heavy lifting for you.
### END INIT INFO

DAEMON="/usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-core"
PIDFILE="/var/run/portmaster.pid"

case "$1" in
    start)
        echo "Starting portmaster"
        start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE --exec $DAEMON
        ;;
    stop)
        echo "Stopping portmaster"
        start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --pidfile $PIDFILE
        ;;
    restart)
        portmaster stop
        portmaster start
        ;;
    status)
        if [ -f $PIDFILE ]; then
            echo "portmaster is running."
        else
            echo "portmaster is stopped."
        fi
        ;;
    *)
        echo "Usage: portmaster {start|stop|restart|status}"
        exit 1
        ;;
esac
exit 0

EOF

chmod a+x /etc/init.d/portmaster

#systemctl daemon-reload
#systemctl enable portmaster
update-rc.d portmaster defaults

# ===================================
# STEP 3: Register Portmaster UI
# (for desktop environments)
# ===================================

# Install Portmaster UI start script
echo "[+] Installing Portmaster UI start script"

cat <<EOF > /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-ui-start.sh
#!/bin/sh
WEBKIT_DISABLE_COMPOSITING_MODE=1 /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster "$@"
EOF

chmod a+x /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-ui-start.sh
ln -sf /usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster-ui-start.sh /usr/bin/portmaster

# Register Portmaster UI in the system
echo "[+] Registering Portmaster UI .desktop file"

cat <<EOF > /usr/share/applications/portmaster.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Portmaster
GenericName=Application Firewall
Exec=/usr/bin/portmaster --with-prompts --with-notifications
Icon=portmaster
StartupWMClass=portmaster
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=System
EOF

# Register Portmaster UI to automatically start on login
echo "[+] Registering Portmaster UI to start on login"

mkdir -p /etc/xdg/autostart

cat <<EOF > /etc/xdg/autostart/portmaster-autostart.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Portmaster
GenericName=Application Firewall Notifier
Exec=/usr/bin/portmaster --with-prompts --with-notifications --background
Icon=portmaster
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=System
NoDisplay=true
EOF

# Register Portmaster icon
echo "[+] Registering Portmaster icon"
sudo wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/safing/portmaster-packaging/master/linux/portmaster_logo.png -O /usr/share/pixmaps/portmaster.png

# ===================================
# Final notes
# ===================================

echo
cat <<'EOF'
[✓] Portmaster installation complete.

    NOTE:
    The Portmaster User Interface requires the following runtime libraries for tray integration and embedded web content:
      - AppIndicator (Ayatana / libappindicator) — system tray / indicator support
      - WebKitGTK 4.1 (libwebkit2gtk-4.1) — embedded web rendering
    Package names vary by distribution — use your distribution’s package manager or search tool to find the exact package names:
      - Debian / Ubuntu / openSUSE: `libayatana-appindicator3-1`, `libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0`
      - Fedora / RHEL: `libayatana-appindicator-gtk3`, `webkit2gtk4.1`
    If the UI fails to launch, verify the dependencies above are installed.
    You can run the UI from a terminal to view error output and diagnostics: `/usr/lib/portmaster/portmaster`
EOF

my uninstallation script

#!/bin/sh

# Stop and disable Portmaster service
echo "[+] Stopping and disabling Portmaster service..."
service stop portmaster 2>/dev/null || :
update-rc.d -f portmaster remove 2>/dev/null || :

# Remove SysVinit service file
echo "[+] Removing SysVinit service file..."
rm -f /etc/init.d/portmaster

# Reload systemd daemon
#systemctl daemon-reload 2>/dev/null || :

# Remove symlink to Portmaster UI
echo "[+] Removing symlink /usr/bin/portmaster..."
rm -f /usr/bin/portmaster

# Remove desktop files
echo "[+] Removing desktop files..."
rm -f /usr/share/applications/portmaster.desktop
rm -f /etc/xdg/autostart/portmaster-autostart.desktop

# Remove SELinux contexts if semanage is available
if command -v semanage >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "[+] Removing SELinux contexts..."
    semanage fcontext -d $(realpath /usr/lib)'/portmaster/portmaster-core' 2>/dev/null || :
fi

# Remove folder /usr/lib/portmaster
echo "[+] Removing folder /usr/lib/portmaster..."
rm -fr /usr/lib/portmaster

# Remove folder /var/lib/portmaster
echo "[+] Removing folder /var/lib/portmaster..."
rm -fr /var/lib/portmaster

# Remove Portmaster icon
rm -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/portmaster.svg
rm -f /usr/share/pixmaps/portmaster.png

echo "[i] Portmaster has been uninstalled."

matthew

Member

Registered: 2026-05-25

Posts: 2  

Re: [HowTo] Portmaster v2 on Devuan 6 Excalibur Desktop

How to update portmaster v2 correctly on Devuan 6 Excalibur Desktop.

1. Export settings
Global Settings(the gear/cog icon)> Export Settings.
click many boxes.
and click the Save button. It'll display the confirmation window. And again click the Save button. It made the export.yaml file on your Downloads directory. This is your portmaster settings.
2. Manual uninstallation portmaster
3. Restart/Reboot your computer
4. Manual re-installation portmaster
5. Restart/Reboot your computer
6. Import Settings. Choose File. choose the export.yaml file.

Caution: Don't update portmaster via portmaster itself.
If you do this, then there will be no UI startup.
When you encounter this issue. The bottom might help you. However, your portmaster settings will be gone.
Manual uninstallation portmaster.
Restart/Reboot your computer.
Manual re-installation portmaster.
Restart/Reboot your computer.