Fixing TeX Live tlmgr User Mode | Generated by AI
The error indicates that tlmgr user mode is not initialized on your Debian/Ubuntu system. This is a common issue with TeX Live installations from Ubuntu repositories. Here’s how to fix it:
Solution 1: Initialize tlmgr user mode
First, initialize the user mode:
tlmgr init-usertree
If that doesn’t work, try:
tlmgr --usermode init-usertree
Solution 2: Use apt instead (Recommended for Ubuntu)
Since you’re on Ubuntu/Debian, it’s often easier to use the system package manager:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install texlive-fonts-extra
This will install FontAwesome5 along with other font packages.
Solution 3: Check if FontAwesome5 is already installed
You might already have it installed. Test by creating a simple LaTeX file:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fontawesome5}
\begin{document}
\faHome
\end{document}
Compile it with:
pdflatex test.tex
Solution 4: If you need the latest version
If you specifically need the latest FontAwesome5 version, you can:
- Download the package manually from CTAN
- Install it in your local texmf directory:
mkdir -p ~/texmf/tex/latex/fontawesome5
# Extract the downloaded package to this directory
texhash ~/texmf
Quick check
To see what TeX packages you currently have installed:
dpkg -l | grep texlive
For most users, sudo apt install texlive-fonts-extra is the simplest solution that avoids the tlmgr user mode issues entirely.