Reinstall command
[ntk/apt.git] / doc / apt-get.8.yo
CommitLineData
de50f048
AL
1mailto(apt@packages.debian.org)
2manpage(apt-get)(8)(4 Dec 1998)(apt)()
3manpagename(apt-get)(APT package handling utility -- command-line interface)
4
5manpagesynopsis()
6 apt-get [options] [command] [package ...]
7
8manpagedescription()
9
10apt-get is the command-line tool for handling packages, and may be considered
11the user's "back-end" to apt(8).
12
13em(command) is one of:
14itemize(
15 it() update
16 it() upgrade
17 it() dselect-upgrade
18 it() dist-upgrade
09f2e026
AL
19 it() install package1 [package2] [...]
20 it() remove package1 [package2] [...]
4994560c 21 it() source package1 [package2] [...]
de50f048
AL
22 it() check
23 it() clean
b381f6ed 24 it() autoclean
de50f048
AL
25)
26
27Unless the -h, or --help option is given one of the above commands
09f2e026 28must be present.
de50f048
AL
29
30startdit()
31dit(bf(update))
32bf(update) is used to resynchronize the package overview files from their
33sources. The overviews of available packages are fetched from the
34location(s) specified in bf(/etc/apt/sources.list).
35For example, when using a Debian archive, this command retrieves and
36scans the bf(Packages.gz) files, so that information about new and updated
37packages is available. An bf(update) should always be performed before an
4994560c
AL
38bf(upgrade) bf(dist-upgrade). Please be aware that the overall progress
39meter will be incorrect as the size of the package files cannot be known in
40advance.
de50f048
AL
41
42dit(bf(upgrade))
43bf(upgrade) is used to install the newest versions of all packages currently
44installed on the system from the sources enumerated in
45bf(/etc/apt/sources.list). Packages currently installed with new versions
46available are retrieved and upgraded; under no circumstances are currently
47installed packages removed, or packages not already installed retrieved and
48installed. New versions of currently installed packages that cannot be
49upgraded without changing the install status of another package will be left
50at their current version. An bf(update) must be performed first so that
51bf(apt-get) knows that new versions of packages are available.
52
53dit(bf(dselect-upgrade))
54bf(dselect-upgrade)
55is used in conjunction with the traditional Debian GNU/Linux packaging
56front-end, bf(dselect (8)). bf(dselect-upgrade)
57follows the changes made by bf(dselect) to the em(Status)
58field of available packages, and performs the actions necessary to realize
59that state (for instance, the removal of old and the installation of new
2c0c53b3 60packages).
de50f048
AL
61
62dit(bf(dist-upgrade))
63bf(dist-upgrade),in addition to performing the function of bf(upgrade),
64also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new versions of
65packages; bf(apt-get) has a "smart" conflict resolution system, and it will
66attempt to upgrade the most important packages at the expense of less
67important ones if necessary. The bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file contains a
68list of locations from which to retrieve desired package files.
69
70dit(bf(install))
71bf(install) is followed by one or more em(packages) desired for installation.
72Each em(package) is a package name, not a fully qualified filename
6d5dd02a 73(for instance, in a Debian GNU/Linux system, em(ldso) would be the argument
de50f048
AL
74provided, not em(ldso_1.9.6-2.deb)). All packages required by the package(s)
75specified for installation will also be retrieved and installed. The
76bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file is used to locate the desired packages. If a
77hyphen is appended to the package name (with no intervening space), the
78identified package will be removed if it is installed. This latter feature
79may be used to override decisions made by apt-get's conflict resolution system.
80
c373c37a
AL
81If no package matches the given expression and the expression contains one
82of '.', '?' or '*' then it is assumed to be a POSIX regex and it is applied
83to all package names in the database. Any matches are then installed (or
648e3cb4
AL
84removed). Note that matching is done by substring so 'lo*' matches 'how-lo'
85and 'lowest'. If this is undesired prefix with a '^' character.
c373c37a 86
09f2e026
AL
87dit(bf(remove))
88bf(remove) is identical to bf(install) except that packages are removed
89instead of installed. If a plus sign is appended to the package name (with no
90intervening space), the identified package will be installed.
91
4994560c
AL
92dit(bf(source))
93bf(source) causes apt-get to fetch source packages. APT will examine the
94available packages to decide which source package to fetch. It will then
95find and download into the current directory the newest available version of
c1e78ee5 96that source package. Source packages are tracked separately from binary
4a6a69b5 97packages via bf(deb-src) type lines in the bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file.
4994560c 98This probably will mean that you will not get the same source as the package
fb0ee66e
AL
99you have installed or as you could install. If the --compile options is
100specified then the package will be compiled to a binary .deb using
101dpkg-buildpackage, if --download-only is specified then the source package
102will not be unpacked.
4994560c 103
de50f048
AL
104dit(bf(check))
105bf(check) is a diagnostic tool; it updates the package cache and checks for
c1e78ee5 106broken packages.
de50f048
AL
107
108dit(bf(clean))
35c22def 109bf(clean) clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. It
de50f048
AL
110removes everything but the lock file from bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/)
111and bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/partial/).
112When APT is used as a bf(dselect(8)) method, bf(clean) is run automatically.
113Those who do not use dselect will likely want to run code(apt-get clean)
114from time to time to free up disk space.
b381f6ed
AL
115
116dit(bf(autoclean))
35c22def 117Like bf(clean), bf(autoclean) clears out the local repository of retrieved
b381f6ed
AL
118package files. The difference is that it only removes package files that
119can no longer be downloaded, and are largely useless. This allows a
120cache to be maintained over a long period without it growing out of
121control.
122
de50f048
AL
123enddit()
124
125manpageoptions()
3d8fd174
AL
126All command line options may be set using the configuration file, the
127descriptions indicate the configuration option to set. For boolean
128options you can override the config file by using something like bf(-f-),
129bf(--no-f), bf(-f=no) or several other variations.
de50f048
AL
130
131startdit()
132dit(bf(-d, --download-only))
133Download only; package files are only retrieved, not unpacked or installed.
3d8fd174 134See bf(APT::Get::Download-Only).
de50f048
AL
135
136dit(bf(-f, --fix-broken))
137Fix; attempt to correct a system with broken dependencies in
138place. This option may be used alone or in conjunction with any of the
139command actions, and is sometimes necessary when running APT for the
140first time; APT itself does not allow broken package dependencies to
141exist on a system. It is possible that a system's dependency structure
142can be so corrupt as to require manual intervention (which usually
143means using dselect or dpkg --remove to eliminate some of the offending
144packages). Use of this option together with -m may produce an error in
3d8fd174 145some situations. See bf(APT::Get::Fix-Broken).
de50f048
AL
146
147dit(bf(-h, --help))
148Help; display a helpful usage message and exits.
149
04aa15a8 150dit(bf(-v, --version))
c1e78ee5 151Show the program version.
04aa15a8 152
72f16ed2 153dit(bf(-m, --ignore-missing, --fix-missing))
de50f048
AL
154Ignore missing packages; If packages cannot be retrieved or fail the
155integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package files), hold back
156those packages and handle the result. Use of this option together with
d59cbe7f 157-f may produce an error in some situations. See bf(ignore-missing).
de50f048 158
ab559b35
AL
159dit(bf(--no-download))
160Disables downloading of packages. This is best used with --ignore-missing to
161force APT to use only the .debs it has already downloaded.
162
09f2e026 163dit(bf(-q, --quiet))
de50f048 164Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
c1e78ee5 165More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
0c95c765
AL
166bf(-q=#) to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file. Note that
167quiet level 2 implies -y, you should never use -qq without a no-action
168modifier such as -d, --print-uris or -s as APT may decided to do something
169you did not expect.
3d8fd174 170See bf(quiet)
de50f048
AL
171
172dit(bf(-s, --simulate, --just-print, --dry-run, --recon, --no-act))
173No action; perform a simulation of events that would occur but do not
5c2cb6e4
AL
174actually change the system. See bf(APT::Get::Simulate). Simulate prints out
175a series of lines each one representing a dpkg operation, Configure (Conf),
176Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst). Square brackets indicate broken packages with
177and empty set of square brackets meaning breaks that are of no consequence
178(rare).
de50f048
AL
179
180dit(bf(-y, --yes, --assume-yes))
181Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and run
c1e78ee5
AL
182non-interactively. If an undesirable situation, such as changing a held
183package or removing an essential package occurs then bf(apt-get) will
3d8fd174 184abort. See bf(APT::Get::Assume-Yes).
de50f048
AL
185
186dit(bf(-u, --show-upgraded))
187Show upgraded packages; Print out a list of all packages that are to be
3d8fd174 188upgraded. See bf(APT::Get::Show-Upgraded).
de50f048 189
fb0ee66e
AL
190dit(bf(-b, --compile, --build))
191Compile source packages after downloading them.
192
de50f048
AL
193dit(bf(--ignore-hold))
194Ignore package Holds; This causes bf(apt-get) to ignore a hold placed on
c1e78ee5
AL
195a package. This may be useful in conjunction with bf(dist-upgrade) to
196override a large number of undesired holds. See bf(APT::Ignore-Hold).
de50f048
AL
197
198dit(bf(--no-upgrade))
199Do not upgrade packages; When used in conjunction with bf(install)
200bf(no-upgrade) will prevent packages listed from being upgraded if they
3d8fd174 201are already installed. See bf(APT::Get::no-upgrade).
de50f048
AL
202
203dit(bf(--force-yes))
204Force yes; This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without
c1e78ee5 205prompting if it is doing something potentially harmful. It should not be used
de50f048 206except in very special situations. Using bf(force-yes) can potentially destroy
3d8fd174 207your system! See bf(APT::Get::force-yes).
de50f048 208
f7a08e33
AL
209dit(bf(--print-uris))
210Instead of fetching the files to install their URIs are printed. Each
211URI will have the path, the destination file name, the size and the expected
212md5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will not always match
4994560c
AL
213the file name on the remote site! This also works with the bf(source)
214command See bf(APT::Get::Print-URIs).
f7a08e33 215
fc4b5c9f
AL
216dit(bf(--purge))
217Use purge instead of remove for anything that would be removed.
218
d0c59649
AL
219dit(bf(--reinstall))
220Re-Install packages that are already installed and at the newest version.
221
9df71a5b
AL
222dit(bf(--list-cleanup))
223This option defaults to on, use bf(--no-list-cleanup) to turn it off.
224When on apt-get will automatically manage the contents of
225/var/state/apt/lists to ensure that obsolete files are erased. The only
17c0e8e1
AL
226reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your source list. See
227bf(APT::Get::List-Cleanup)
228
229dit(bf(--diff-only), bd(--tar-only))
230Download only the diff or tar file of a source archive.
9df71a5b 231
de50f048
AL
232dit(bf(-c, --config-file))
233Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. bf(apt-get) will
234read the default configuration file and then this configuration file. See
235bf(apt.conf(5)) for syntax information.
236
237dit(bf(-o, --option))
c1e78ee5 238Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitrary configuration option.
de50f048
AL
239The syntax is
240verb(-o Foo::Bar=bar)
09f2e026 241enddit()
de50f048
AL
242
243manpagefiles()
244itemize(
245 it() /etc/apt/sources.list
246 locations to fetch packages from
247
248 it() /var/cache/apt/archives/
249 storage area for retrieved package files
250
251 it() /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/
252 storage area for package files in transit
253
254 it() /var/state/apt/lists/
255 storage area for state information for each package resource specified in
2c0c53b3 256 the source list
de50f048
AL
257
258 it() /var/state/apt/lists/partial/
259 storage area for state information in transit
260)
261
262manpageseealso()
09f2e026
AL
263apt-cache(8),
264dpkg(8),
265dselect(8),
266sources.list(5),
3d8fd174 267apt.conf(5),
09f2e026 268The APT Users Guide in /usr/doc/apt/
de50f048
AL
269
270manpagediagnostics()
271apt-get returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.
272
273manpagebugs()
d59cbe7f 274See http://bugs.debian.org/apt. If you wish to report a
de50f048
AL
275bug in bf(apt-get), please see bf(/usr/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt)
276or the bf(bug(1)) command.
277
278manpageauthor()
279apt-get was written by the APT team <apt@packages.debian.org>.