Issue with libncursesw5 Dependency on MTA Linux

[GZ76]

Hello MTA Team,

I am currently setting up an MTA server on Linux, and I've encountered an issue with a missing dependency related to libncursesw5. Specifically, the server requires version 5.1 of libncursesw.so.5, but this version is no longer available in modern Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu 22.04 and Debian.

The Problem:

• The MTA Linux server depends on the libncursesw5 library, specifically version 5.1 (as indicated by the required NCURSESW_5.1.20000708 symbol). However, most modern Linux distributions only provide newer versions of the library, such as libncursesw6.
• We attempted to create symbolic links and manually install various versions of libncursesw to work around the issue, but the MTA server still fails to start, stating that it cannot find the required libncursesw.so.5.1.

Why is This a Problem?

• The specific 5.1 version of libncursesw5 is no longer officially available in current repositories, and this makes setting up the server difficult or even impossible on up-to-date Linux systems.
• As Linux distributions progress, older libraries like libncursesw5 become harder to maintain and use. However, the MTA server still has a strict requirement for this outdated library, which poses a challenge for users trying to deploy it in a modern environment.

Suggested Solution:

• Upgrade the Dependency: It would be helpful if the MTA server could be updated to support the newer libncursesw6 library (or similar) to ensure better compatibility with modern Linux systems.
• Documentation: If updating the library is not feasible in the short term, could you provide an official guide or documentation explaining how to install the correct version of libncursesw5 on modern Linux distributions?

I'm hoping that the MTA development team can either assist with resolving this dependency issue or provide guidance on how to obtain and install the necessary libraries. This would greatly help anyone who wants to run an MTA server on a modern Linux system.

Thank you in advance for your support and looking forward to your guidance.

Best regards,
GZ76

[DiSaMe]

Downloading the missing files from https://packages.debian.org works for me. At least it did when I tried, which was the last year (maybe even this year too, can't remember). In addition, I don't install them into the system - I put them into some directory and run the server with environment variable LD_LIBRARY_PATH=path/to/directory instead. So even if not a "proper" solution, it doesn't mess with system directories.

[Etralki]

This worked for me in Ubuntu 24.04.1:

Add mta-server64 to Lutris as a native game, go to Game Options tab add the executable + in 'Add directory to LD_LIBRARY_PATH' paste this:

/home/YOUR-USER-HERE/.local/share/lutris/runtime/Ubuntu-18.04-x86_64

*Replace YOUR-USER-HERE with yours.