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 packages).
  61
  62 dit(bf(dist-upgrade))
  63 bf(dist-upgrade),in addition to performing the function of bf(upgrade),
  64 also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new versions of
  65 packages; bf(apt-get) has a "smart" conflict resolution system, and it will
  66 attempt to upgrade the most important packages at the expense of less
  67 important ones if necessary. The bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file contains a
  68 list of locations from which to retrieve desired package files.
  69
  70 dit(bf(install))
  71 bf(install) is followed by one or more em(packages) desired for installation.
  72 Each em(package) is a package name, not a fully qualified filename
  73 (for instance, in a Debian GNU/Linux system, em(ldso) would be the argument
  74 provided, not em(ldso_1.9.6-2.deb)). All packages required by the package(s)
  75 specified for installation will also be retrieved and installed. The
  76 bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file is used to locate the desired packages. If a
  77 hyphen is appended to the package name (with no intervening space), the
  78 identified package will be removed if it is installed. This latter feature
  79 may be used to override decisions made by apt-get's conflict resolution system.
  80
  81 dit(bf(remove))
  82 bf(remove) is identical to bf(install) except that packages are removed
  83 instead of installed. If a plus sign is appended to the package name (with no
  84 intervening space), the identified package will be installed.
  85
  86 dit(bf(source))
  87 bf(source) causes apt-get to fetch source packages. APT will examine the
  88 available packages to decide which source package to fetch. It will then
  89 find and download into the current directory the newest available version of
  90 that source package. Source packages are tracked separately from binary
  91 packages via bf(deb-src) type lines in the bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file.
  92 This probably will mean that you will not get the same source as the package
  93 you have installed or as you could install. If the --compile options is
  94 specified then the package will be compiled to a binary .deb using
  95 dpkg-buildpackage, if --download-only is specified then the source package
  96 will not be unpacked.
  97
  98 dit(bf(check))
  99 bf(check) is a diagnostic tool; it updates the package cache and checks for
 100 broken packages.
 101
 102 dit(bf(clean))
 103 bf(clean) clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. It
 104 removes everything but the lock file from bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/)
 105 and bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/partial/).
 106 When APT is used as a bf(dselect(8)) method, bf(clean) is run automatically.
 107 Those who do not use dselect will likely want to run code(apt-get clean)
 108 from time to time to free up disk space.
 109
 110 dit(bf(autoclean))
 111 Like bf(clean), bf(autoclean) clears out the local repository of retrieved
 112 package files. The difference is that it only removes package files that
 113 can no longer be downloaded, and are largely useless. This allows a
 114 cache to be maintained over a long period without it growing out of
 115 control.
 116
 117 enddit()
 118
 119 manpageoptions()
 120 All command line options may be set using the configuration file, the
 121 descriptions indicate the configuration option to set. For boolean
 122 options you can override the config file by using something like bf(-f-),
 123 bf(--no-f), bf(-f=no) or several other variations.
 124
 125 startdit()
 126 dit(bf(-d, --download-only))
 127 Download only; package files are only retrieved, not unpacked or installed.
 128 See bf(APT::Get::Download-Only).
 129
 130 dit(bf(-f, --fix-broken))
 131 Fix; attempt to correct a system with broken dependencies in
 132 place. This option may be used alone or in conjunction with any of the
 133 command actions, and is sometimes necessary when running APT for the
 134 first time; APT itself does not allow broken package dependencies to
 135 exist on a system. It is possible that a system's dependency structure
 136 can be so corrupt as to require manual intervention (which usually
 137 means using dselect or dpkg --remove to eliminate some of the offending
 138 packages). Use of this option together with -m may produce an error in
 139 some situations. See bf(APT::Get::Fix-Broken).
 140
 141 dit(bf(-h, --help))
 142 Help; display a helpful usage message and exits.
 143
 144 dit(bf(-v, --version))
 145 Show the program version.
 146
 147 dit(bf(-m, --ignore-missing, --fix-missing))
 148 Ignore missing packages; If packages cannot be retrieved or fail the
 149 integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package files), hold back
 150 those packages and handle the result. Use of this option together with
 151 -f may produce an error in some situations. See bf(ignore-missing).
 152
 153 dit(bf(--no-download))
 154 Disables downloading of packages. This is best used with --ignore-missing to
 155 force APT to use only the .debs it has already downloaded.
 156
 157 dit(bf(-q, --quiet))
 158 Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
 159 More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
 160 bf(-q=#) to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file. Note that
 161 quiet level 2 implies -y, you should never use -qq without a no-action
 162 modifier such as -d, --print-uris or -s as APT may decided to do something
 163 you did not expect.
 164 See bf(quiet)
 165
 166 dit(bf(-s, --simulate, --just-print, --dry-run, --recon, --no-act))
 167 No action; perform a simulation of events that would occur but do not
 168 actually change the system. See bf(APT::Get::Simulate). Simulate prints out
 169 a series of lines each one representing a dpkg operation, Configure (Conf),
 170 Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst). Square brackets indicate broken packages with
 171 and empty set of square brackets meaning breaks that are of no consequence
 172 (rare).
 173
 174 dit(bf(-y, --yes, --assume-yes))
 175 Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and run
 176 non-interactively. If an undesirable situation, such as changing a held
 177 package or removing an essential package occurs then bf(apt-get) will
 178 abort. See bf(APT::Get::Assume-Yes).
 179
 180 dit(bf(-u, --show-upgraded))
 181 Show upgraded packages; Print out a list of all packages that are to be
 182 upgraded. See bf(APT::Get::Show-Upgraded).
 183
 184 dit(bf(-b, --compile, --build))
 185 Compile source packages after downloading them.
 186
 187 dit(bf(--ignore-hold))
 188 Ignore package Holds; This causes bf(apt-get) to ignore a hold placed on
 189 a package. This may be useful in conjunction with bf(dist-upgrade) to
 190 override a large number of undesired holds. See bf(APT::Ignore-Hold).
 191
 192 dit(bf(--no-upgrade))
 193 Do not upgrade packages; When used in conjunction with bf(install)
 194 bf(no-upgrade) will prevent packages listed from being upgraded if they
 195 are already installed. See bf(APT::Get::no-upgrade).
 196
 197 dit(bf(--force-yes))
 198 Force yes; This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without
 199 prompting if it is doing something potentially harmful. It should not be used
 200 except in very special situations. Using bf(force-yes) can potentially destroy
 201 your system! See bf(APT::Get::force-yes).
 202
 203 dit(bf(--print-uris))
 204 Instead of fetching the files to install their URIs are printed. Each
 205 URI will have the path, the destination file name, the size and the expected
 206 md5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will not always match
 207 the file name on the remote site! This also works with the bf(source)
 208 command See bf(APT::Get::Print-URIs).
 209
 210 dit(bf(--purge))
 211 Use purge instead of remove for anything that would be removed.
 212
 213 dit(bf(--list-cleanup))
 214 This option defaults to on, use bf(--no-list-cleanup) to turn it off.
 215 When on apt-get will automatically manage the contents of
 216 /var/state/apt/lists to ensure that obsolete files are erased. The only
 217 reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your source list.
 218
 219 dit(bf(-c, --config-file))
 220 Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. bf(apt-get) will
 221 read the default configuration file and then this configuration file. See
 222 bf(apt.conf(5)) for syntax information.
 223
 224 dit(bf(-o, --option))
 225 Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitrary configuration option.
 226 The syntax is
 227 verb(-o Foo::Bar=bar)
 228 enddit()
 229
 230 manpagefiles()
 231 itemize(
 232   it() /etc/apt/sources.list
 233   locations to fetch packages from
 234
 235   it() /var/cache/apt/archives/
 236   storage area for retrieved package files
 237
 238   it() /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/
 239   storage area for package files in transit
 240
 241   it() /var/state/apt/lists/
 242   storage area for state information for each package resource specified in
 243   the source list
 244
 245   it() /var/state/apt/lists/partial/
 246   storage area for state information in transit
 247 )
 248
 249 manpageseealso()
 250 apt-cache(8),
 251 dpkg(8),
 252 dselect(8),
 253 sources.list(5),
 254 apt.conf(5),
 255 The APT Users Guide in /usr/doc/apt/
 256
 257 manpagediagnostics()
 258 apt-get returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.
 259
 260 manpagebugs()
 261 See http://bugs.debian.org/apt.  If you wish to report a
 262 bug in bf(apt-get), please see bf(/usr/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt)
 263 or the bf(bug(1)) command.
 264
 265 manpageauthor()
 266 apt-get was written by the APT team <apt@packages.debian.org>.