doc/apt-get.8.yo

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