1APT-GET(8) apt-get APT-GET(8)
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6 apt-get - APT package handling utility - command-line interface
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9 apt-get [options] [-o config=string] [-c=cfgfile] command [pkg]
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13 apt-get is the command-line tool for handling packages, and may be con‐
14 sidered the user's "back-end" to other tools using the APT library.
15 Several "front-end" interfaces exist, such as synaptic and aptitude.
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19 Unless the -h, or --help option is given, one of the commands below
20 must be present.
21 update Used to re-synchronize the package index files from their
24 sources. The indexes of available packages are fetched from the
25 location(s) specified in /etc/apt/sources.list(5). An update
26 should always be performed before an upgrade or dist-upgrade.
27 upgrade
30 Used to install the newest versions of all packages currently
31 installed on the system from the sources enumerated in
32 /etc/apt/sources.list(5). Packages currently installed with new
33 versions available are retrieved and upgraded; under no circum‐
34 stances are currently installed packages removed, nor are pack‐
35 ages that are not already installed retrieved and installed.
36 New versions of currently installed packages that cannot be
37 upgraded without changing the install status of another package
38 will be left at their current version. An update must be per‐
39 formed first so that apt-get knows that new versions of packages
40 are available.
41 dist-upgrade
44 In addition to performing the function of upgrade, this option
45 also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new ver‐
46 sions of packages; apt-get has a "smart" conflict resolution
47 system, and it will attempt to upgrade the most important pack‐
48 ages at the expense of less important ones, if necessary.
49 The /etc/apt/sources.list(5) file contains a list of locations
51 from which to retrieve desired package files. See also
52 apt_preferences(5) for a mechanism for over-riding the general
53 settings for individual packages.
54 install pkg(s)
57 This option is followed by one or more packages desired for
58 installation. Each package is a package name, not a fully qual‐
59 ified filename (for instance, in a Fedora Core system, glibc
60 would be the argument provided, not glibc-2.4.8.i686.rpm).
61 All packages required by the package(s) specified for installa‐
63 tion will also be retrieved and installed. The
64 /etc/apt/sources.list(5) file is used to locate the repositories
65 for the desired packages. If a hyphen (-) is appended to the
66 package name (with no intervening space), the identified package
67 will be removed if it is currently installed. Similarly a plus
68 sign (+) can be used to designate a package to install. These
69 latter features may be used to override decisions made by apt-
70 get's conflict resolution system.
71 A specific version of a package can be selected for installation
73 by following the package name with an equals (=) and the version
74 of the package to select. This will cause that version to be
75 located and selected for install. Alternatively, a specific
76 distribution can be selected by following the package name with
77 a slash (/) and the version of the distribution or the Archive
78 name (i.e. stable, testing, unstable).
79 Both of the version selection mechanisms can downgrade packages
81 and must be used with care.
82 Finally, the apt_preferences(5) mechanism allows you to create
84 an alternative installation policy for individual packages.
85 If no package matches the given expression and the expression
87 contains one of ".", "?" or "*" then it is assumed to be a POSIX
88 regular expression, and it is applied to all package names in
89 the database. Any matches are then installed (or removed).
90 Note that matching is done by substring so "lo.*" matches "how-
91 lo" and "lowest". If this is undesired, anchor the regular
92 expression with a "^" or "$" character, or create a more spe‐
93 cific regular expression.
94 remove pkg(s)
97 Identical to install except that packages are removed instead of
98 installed. If a plus sign (+) is appended to the package name
99 (with no intervening space), the identified package will be
100 installed instead of removed.
101 source source_pkg
104 Causes apt-get to fetch source packages. APT will examine the
105 available packages to decide which source package to fetch. It
106 will then find and download into the current directory the new‐
107 est available version of that source package. Source packages
108 are tracked separately from binary packages via rpm-src type
109 lines in the sources.list(5) file. This probably will mean that
110 you will not get the same source as the package you have
111 installed, or could install. If the --compile options is speci‐
112 fied then the package will be compiled to a binary using rpm‐
113 build, if --download-only is specified then the source package
114 will not be unpacked.
115 A specific source version can be retrieved by following the
117 source name with an equals (=) and then the version to fetch,
118 similar to the mechanism used for the package files. This
119 enables exact matching of the source package name and version,
120 implicitly enabling the APT::Get::Only-Source option.
121 Note that source packages are not tracked like binary packages,
123 they exist only in the current directory and are similar to
124 downloading source tar balls.
125 build-dep source_pkg
128 Causes apt-get to install/remove packages in an attempt to sat‐
129 isfy the build dependencies for a source package.
130 check Diagnostic tool; it updates the package cache and checks for
133 broken dependencies.
134 clean Clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. It
137 removes everything but the lock file from /var/cache/apt/ar‐
138 chives/ and /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/.
139 autoclean
142 Like clean, autoclean clears out the local repository of
143 retrieved package files. The difference is that it only removes
144 package files that can no longer be downloaded, and are largely
145 useless. This allows a cache to be maintained over a long
146 period of time without it growing out of control. The configu‐
147 ration option APT::Clean-Installed will prevent installed pack‐
148 ages from being erased if it is set to off.
149
152 All command-line options may be set using the configuration file, the
153 descriptions indicate the configuration option to set. For boolean
154 options you can override the config file by using something like -f-,
155 --no-f, -f=no or several other variations.
156 -d, --download-only
159 Download only; package files are only retrieved, not unpacked or
160 installed.
161 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Download-Only.
163 -f, --fix-broken
166 Fix. Attempt to correct a system with broken dependencies in
167 place. This option, when used with install/remove, can omit any
168 packages to permit APT to deduce a likely solution. Any pack‐
169 age(s) that are specified must completely correct the problem.
170 This option is sometimes necessary when running APT for the
171 first time; APT itself does not allow broken package dependen‐
172 cies to exist on a system. It is possible that a system's
173 dependency structure can be so corrupt as to require manual
174 intervention. Use of this option together with -m may produce
175 an error in some situations.
176 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Fix-Broken.
178 -m, --ignore-missing, --fix-missing
181 Ignore missing packages. If packages cannot be retrieved or
182 fail the integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package
183 files), hold back those packages and handle the result. Use of
184 this option together with -f may produce an error in some situa‐
185 tions. If a package is selected for installation (particularly
186 if it is mentioned on the command-line) and it could not be
187 downloaded then it will be silently held back.
188 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Fix-Missing.
190 --no-download
193 Disables downloading of packages. This is best used with
194 --ignore-missing to force APT to use only the rpms it has
195 already downloaded.
196 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Download.
198 -q, --quiet
201 Quiet. Produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress
202 indicators. More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of
203 two. You can also use -q=# to set the quiet level, overriding
204 the configuration file. Note that quiet level 2 implies -y, you
205 should never use -qq without a no-action modifier such as -d,
206 --print-uris or -s as APT may decided to do something you did
207 not expect.
208 Configuration Item: quiet.
210 -s, --simulate, --just-print, --dry-run, --recon, --no-act
213 No action. Perform a simulation of events that would occur but
214 do not actually change the system.
215 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Simulate.
217 Simulate prints out a series of lines, each one representing an
219 rpm operation: Configure (Conf), Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst).
220 Square brackets indicate broken packages with an empty set of
221 square brackets meaning breaks that are of no consequence
222 (rare).
223 -y, --yes, --assume-yes
226 Automatic yes to prompts. Assume "yes" as answer to all prompts
227 and run non-interactively. If an undesirable situation, such as
228 changing a held package or removing an essential package, occurs
229 then apt-get will abort.
230 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Assume-Yes.
232 -u, --show-upgraded
235 Show upgraded packages. Print out a list of all packages that
236 are to be upgraded.
237 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Show-Upgraded.
239 -V, --verbose-versions
242 Show full versions for upgraded and installed packages.
243 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Show-Versions.
245 -b, --compile, --build
248 Compile source packages after downloading them.
249 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Compile.
251 --ignore-hold
254 Ignore package Holds. This causes apt-get to ignore a hold
255 placed on a package. This may be useful in conjunction with
256 dist-upgrade to override a large number of undesired holds.
257 Configuration Item: APT::Ignore-Hold.
259 --no-upgrade
262 Do not upgrade packages. When used in conjunction with install,
263 no-upgrade will prevent packages listed from being upgraded if
264 they are already installed.
265 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Upgrade.
267 --force-yes
270 Force yes. This is a dangerous option that will cause apt-get
271 to continue without prompting if it is doing something poten‐
272 tially harmful. It should not be used except in very special
273 situations. Using --force-yes can potentially destroy your sys‐
274 tem!
275 Configuration Item: APT::Get::force-yes.
277 --print-uris
280 Instead of fetching the files to install, their URIs are
281 printed. Each URI will have the path, the destination file
282 name, the size and the expected md5 hash. Note that the file
283 name to write to will not always match the file name on the
284 remote site! This also works with the source and update com‐
285 mands. When used with the update command, the MD5 and size are
286 not included, and it is up to the user to decompress any com‐
287 pressed files.
288 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Print-URIs.
290 --reinstall
293 Re-Install packages that are already installed and at the newest
294 version.
295 Configuration Item: APT::Get::ReInstall.
297 --list-cleanup
300 This option defaults to on, use --no-list-cleanup to turn it
301 off. When on, apt-get will automatically manage the contents of
302 /var/lib/apt/lists to ensure that obsolete files are erased.
303 The only reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your
304 source list.
305 Configuration Item: APT::Get::List-Cleanup.
307 -t, --target-release, --default-release
310 This option controls the default input to the policy engine. It
311 creates a default pin at priority 990 using the specified
312 release string. The preferences file may further override this
313 setting. In short, this option lets you have simple control
314 over which distribution packages will be retrieved from. Some
315 common examples might be -t '2.1*' or -t unstable.
316 Configuration Item: APT::Default-Release; see also the apt_pref‐
318 erences(5) manual page.
319 --trivial-only
322 Only perform operations that are "trivial". Logically this can
323 be considered related to --assume-yes. Where --assume-yes will
324 answer yes to any prompt, --trivial-only will answer no.
325 Configuration Item: fIAPT::Get::Trivial-Only.
327 --no-remove
330 If any packages are to be removed apt-get immediately aborts
331 without prompting.
332 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Remove.
334 --only-source
337 Only has meaning for the source command. Indicates that the
338 given source names are not to be mapped through the binary ta‐
339 ble. This means that if this option is specified, the source
340 command will only accept source package names as arguments,
341 rather than accepting binary package names and looking up the
342 corresponding source package.
343 Configuration Item: APT::Get::Only-Source.
345 -h, --help
348 Show a short usage summary.
349 -v, --version
352 Show the program version.
353 -c, --config-file
356 Configuration File. Specify a configuration file to use. The
357 program will read the default configuration file and then this
358 configuration file. See apt.conf(5) for syntax information.
359 -o, --option
362 Set a Configuration Option. This will set an arbitrary configu‐
363 ration option. The syntax is -o Foo::Bar=bar.
364
367 /etc/apt/sources.list
368 Locations to fetch packages from.
369 Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::SourceList.
371 /etc/apt/apt.conf
374 APT configuration file.
375 Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Main.
377 /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/
380 APT configuration file fragments.
381 Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Parts.
383 /etc/apt/preferences
386 Version preferences file. This is where you would specify "pin‐
387 ning", i.e. a preference to get certain packages from a sepa‐
388 rate source or from a different version of a distribution.
389 Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Preferences.
391 /var/cache/apt/archives/
394 Storage area for retrieved package files.
395 Configuration Item: Dir::Cache::Archives.
397 /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/
400 Storage area for package files in transit.
401 Configuration Item: Dir::Cache::Archives (implicit partial).
403 /var/lib/apt/lists/
406 Storage area for state information for each package resource
407 specified in sources.list(5).
408 Configuration Item: Dir::State::Lists.
410 /var/lib/apt/lists/partial/
413 Storage area for state information in transit.
414 Configuration Item: Dir::State::Lists (implicit partial).
416
419 apt-cache(8), apt-cdrom(8), sources.list(5), apt.conf(5),
420 apt-config(8), apt_preferences(5)
421
424 apt-get returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.
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428 Reporting bugs in APT-RPM is best done in the APT-RPM mailinglist at
429 http://apt-rpm.org/mailinglist.shtml.
430
433 Maintainer and contributor information can be found in the credits page
434 http://apt-rpm.org/about.shtml of APT-RPM.
435APT-RPM 14 Jun 2006 APT-GET(8)