Full switch locale: Ubuntu server installed with no locales, how to enable locales systemwide?

Question

I have a server with no X, installed with no locales. There is a "C" locale.

I need to:

• run server scripts (no console involved) to copy, move and gzip files towards local ext4 file-system, which should contain files with special encoding (Czech, Korean, Russian etc.), so the UTF-8 should be enabled.
• see the file-names when I type commands in the console
• have possibility to type most of the file-names with special letters, when logged trough ssh.

What should I do to reach that state? Goal is to give complete guide to change locale systemwide (as default).

Solution 1

I have to investigate it deeper and this solution helps me to solve it:

dpkg-reconfigure locales

choose cs_CZ.UTF-8 UTF-8 (default) and/or en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8

apt-get install console-data
dpkg-reconfigure console-data

set pc / qwerty / Czech / Standard / Standard or any other on your choice

dpkg-reconfigure console-setup

set Encoding to use on the console: UTF-8 set Charecter set: Latin2 - central Europe and Romanian, Fixed, 16 or any other on your coice

in file /etc/default/locale set

LANG=cs_CZ.UTF-8
LANGUAGE=cs_CZ.UTF-8
LC_ALL=cs_CZ.UTF-8
LC_CTYPE=cs_CZ.UTF-8

I dont know which steps are necessary, but after this all fonts and especially all ftp transfers and all tar-gzip actions work well.

Solution 2

I would generate the English (United States) locale.

sudo locale-gen en_US.UTF-8

The system wide locales are stated in /etc/default/locale in Ubuntu, so give that file the contents:

LANG=en_US.UTF-8

Comments

[Mitch]

See if thishelps.

[Marilou]

L- partially, but still there is default "C" locale involved...

[Marilou]

What about filenames? Still apears as ?????.txt

[Gunnar Hjalmarsson]

(Did you reboot?)

[Marilou]

@reboot: it is not possible without reboot? Actually, it is a server! And yes, unfortunate rebooted few times.

[Gunnar Hjalmarsson]

So, are the filenames showing up as ?????.txt UTF-8 encoded?

[Marilou]

yes, actually, there is still LC_ALL=C, I will play wit that a while.

[Marilou]

it directs me right way, but as answer it is incomplete. So finally, I will giv -1