I needed to do this, since I’m running a x86_64 machine, and netkit emulates a 32-bit one. Thus external programs cannot be run inside Netkit, which, surprise, is also a security feature.

1. Install netkit:

# yaourt netkit

2. Use the second method described in the Netkit FAQ to update packages in the VM image:

# mkdir /mnt/nkft
# mount -o loop,offset=32768 $NETKIT_HOME/fs/netkit-fs /mnt/nkfs
# chroot /mnt/nkfs

3. Install the build tools:

# apt-get install gcc g++ make automake autoconf libc6-dev binutils

4. Then proceed with Stackless (there seems to be no Debian package yet). First, install dependencies:

# apt-get install bzip2 openssl

Then:

# wget http://www.stackless.com/binaries/stackless-262-export.tar.bz2
# tar xf stackless-262-export.tar.bz2
# cd stackless-2.6.2
;; I tried building specifying “–with-threads –enable-shared” to
;; configure and it didn’t work, with “PIC register ebx clobbered in asm”.
;; Adding “–stackless-fewerregisters” might help if
;; you really need that. Thanks to Lloyd Weehuizen.
# ./configure --prefix=/usr
# make
# make install

5. After all goes well, as it always does, press CTRL+D. Then:

# umount /mnt/nfks