How to set custom search paths for the terminfo database when building ncurses from source

Question

How do I set custom search paths for the terminfo database when building ncurses from source?

To be more specific, how do I force the primary directory to be searche

Answer 1

Define the --datadir flag in configure, like:

configure --datadir=/usr/customshare

Read the notes in INSTALL file located in the root of ncurses files:

...

The location of the terminfo is set indirectly by the "--datadir" configure option, e.g., /usr/share/terminfo, given a datadir of /usr/share. You may want to override this if you are installing ncurses libraries in nonstandard locations, but wish to share the terminfo database.

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--with-terminfo-dirs=XXX Specify a search-list of terminfo directories which will be compiled into the ncurses library (default: DATADIR/terminfo)