menuconfig Linux Error: curses.h: No such file or directory Problem Solution

Linux Error: curses.h: No such file or directory Problem Solution

by Vivek Gite · 1 comment




Q. I see following error when I run make command to install specific software:

curses.h: No such file or directory Problem Solution

How do I fix this error under Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) or CentOS / Fedora Linux?

A.. You need to install the curses library which include routines for a terminal-independent method of updating character screens with reasonable optimization. The ncurses (new curses) library is a freely distributable replacement for the
discontinued 4.4 BSD classic curses library.

Fix this error under RHEL / Fedora / CentOS Linux

Type the following command at a shell prompt as root user:

# yum install ncurses-devel ncurses

Sample output:

Loading "downloadonly" plugin
Loading "rhnplugin" plugin
Loading "security" plugin
rhel-x86_64-server-vt-5   100% |=========================| 1.2 kB    00:00
rhel-x86_64-server-5      100% |=========================| 1.2 kB    00:00
Setting up Install Process
Parsing package install arguments
Package ncurses - 5.5-24.20060715.x86_64 is already installed.
Package ncurses - 5.5-24.20060715.i386 is already installed.
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package ncurses-devel.x86_64 0:5.5-24.20060715 set to be updated
---> Package ncurses-devel.i386 0:5.5-24.20060715 set to be updated
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

=============================================================================
Package                 Arch       Version          Repository        Size
=============================================================================
Installing:
ncurses-devel           x86_64     5.5-24.20060715  rhel-x86_64-server-5  1.7 M
ncurses-devel           i386       5.5-24.20060715  rhel-x86_64-server-5  1.6 M

Transaction Summary
=============================================================================
Install      2 Package(s)
Update       0 Package(s)
Remove       0 Package(s)

Total download size: 3.3 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/2): ncurses-devel-5.5- 100% |=========================| 1.6 MB    00:01
(2/2): ncurses-devel-5.5- 100% |=========================| 1.7 MB    00:01
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
Installing: ncurses-devel                ######################### [1/2]
Installing: ncurses-devel                ######################### [2/2]

Installed: ncurses-devel.x86_64 0:5.5-24.20060715 ncurses-devel.i386 0:5.5-24.20060715
Complete!

Fix this error under Debian / Ubuntu Linux

Open terminal and type the following command to install ncurses:

$ sudo apt-get install libncurses5-dev libncursesw5-dev