Conflicting files: protobuf

[technicallyblue]

Hello! I can’t seem to do an update until this is resolved, but I don’t know how. I tried to remove protobuf, but there are many programs using it. I can’t remove the other programs because even more are using those. What can I do please.

Thank you

Failed to commit transaction:
conflicting files:

• protobuf: /usr/lib/libprotobuf-lite.so.23 already exists in filesystem (owned by protobuf3.12)
• protobuf: /usr/lib/libprotobuf.so.23 already exists in filesystem (owned by protobuf3.12)
• protobuf: /usr/lib/libprotoc.so.23 already exists in filesystem (owned by protobuf3.12)

[Mirdarthos]

Hi @technicallyblue,

In theory it should be safe to add the --overwrite argument:

pamac upgrade --overwrite='/usr/lib/*'

---

I recommend pamac instead of pacman, especially for newcomers as pamac was developed by Manajaro (developers) for Manjaro and just takes care of more things than pacman.

[Yochanan]

@technicallyblue

protobuf3.12

That’s a poorly packaged AUR (Arch User Repository package. If you have that installed as a dependency for pcoip-client, remove it first, then update.

sudo pacman -Rsu pcoip-client  # if applicable
sudo pacman -Rsu protobuf3.12
sudo pacman -Syu

[technicallyblue]

This did the trick! Thanks!

[Yochanan]

@Mirdarthos

--overwrite

…this should be an absolute last resort. See System maintenance#Avoid certain pacman commands.

[Mirdarthos]

I understand. That’s why I didn’t say --overwrite='*' as previously.

[Yochanan]

The point is, it shouldn’t have been used at all in this case:

When used, pacman will bypass file conflict checks… In a properly maintained system, it should only be used when explicitly recommended by the Arch developers.

If protobuf3.12 had the proper provides and conflicts with protobuf, this never would have happened the way it did.

@technicallyblue Either way, you need to remove protobuf3.12 properly to avoid further issues.