LaTeX can't find any files

[Peter Flynn]

On 01/08/2023 21:27, xigoi--- via tex-live wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I've installed TeXLive on a quite new installation of Debian, but
> when I try to compile anything, it gives the following message:
> 
> ! LaTeX Error: File `article.cls' not found.

IMHE this usually means the installation was not completed, so the paths 
to all the component directories were never set up.

> If I manually copy article.cls next to the file I'm compiling, it
> will complain that it can't find some other files that are part of
> the LaTeX installation.
Right. It needs to find the files in their rightful places.

When you say "If I manually copy..." can we assume that you have found 
/usr/share/texlive/texmf-dist/tex/latex/base/article.cls (or wherever TL 
puts it). There should be files should be there too, like book.cls, 
report.cls, bk10.clo, and dozens of others.

If that directory is present and has files in it, it's possible that the 
"copy" phase of the installation was completed, and it's just the 
path-setting that never got done.

> kpsewhich article.cls doesn't return anything.

That would be a symptom of the same problem.

> I've tried installing TeXLive both through the system package manager 
> (apt) and manually, this problem occurs in both cases. 

That is very surprising. I have installed TL with apt install 
texlive-full on many occasions and never had a problem. Did you 
delete/purge the previous versions fully before installing a new one?

> I've also looked in various config files and debug logs, but couldn't
> find anything unusual.

The settings are all in texmf.cnf but I don't know how TL adds paths 
during installation.

Peter