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 If no package matches the given expression and the expression contains one
  82 of '.', '?' or '*' then it is assumed to be a POSIX regex and it is applied
  83 to all package names in the database. Any matches are then installed (or
  84 removed). Note that matching is done by substring so 'lo*' matches 'how-lo'
  85 and 'lowest'. If this is undesired prefix with a '^' character.
  86
  87 dit(bf(remove))
  88 bf(remove) is identical to bf(install) except that packages are removed
  89 instead of installed. If a plus sign is appended to the package name (with no
  90 intervening space), the identified package will be installed.
  91
  92 dit(bf(source))
  93 bf(source) causes apt-get to fetch source packages. APT will examine the
  94 available packages to decide which source package to fetch. It will then
  95 find and download into the current directory the newest available version of
  96 that source package. Source packages are tracked separately from binary
  97 packages via bf(deb-src) type lines in the bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file.
  98 This probably will mean that you will not get the same source as the package
  99 you have installed or as you could install. If the --compile options is
 100 specified then the package will be compiled to a binary .deb using
 101 dpkg-buildpackage, if --download-only is specified then the source package
 102 will not be unpacked.
 103
 104 dit(bf(check))
 105 bf(check) is a diagnostic tool; it updates the package cache and checks for
 106 broken packages.
 107
 108 dit(bf(clean))
 109 bf(clean) clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. It
 110 removes everything but the lock file from bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/)
 111 and bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/partial/).
 112 When APT is used as a bf(dselect(8)) method, bf(clean) is run automatically.
 113 Those who do not use dselect will likely want to run code(apt-get clean)
 114 from time to time to free up disk space.
 115
 116 dit(bf(autoclean))
 117 Like bf(clean), bf(autoclean) clears out the local repository of retrieved
 118 package files. The difference is that it only removes package files that
 119 can no longer be downloaded, and are largely useless. This allows a
 120 cache to be maintained over a long period without it growing out of
 121 control.
 122
 123 enddit()
 124
 125 manpageoptions()
 126 All command line options may be set using the configuration file, the
 127 descriptions indicate the configuration option to set. For boolean
 128 options you can override the config file by using something like bf(-f-),
 129 bf(--no-f), bf(-f=no) or several other variations.
 130
 131 startdit()
 132 dit(bf(-d, --download-only))
 133 Download only; package files are only retrieved, not unpacked or installed.
 134 See bf(APT::Get::Download-Only).
 135
 136 dit(bf(-f, --fix-broken))
 137 Fix; attempt to correct a system with broken dependencies in
 138 place. This option may be used alone or in conjunction with any of the
 139 command actions, and is sometimes necessary when running APT for the
 140 first time; APT itself does not allow broken package dependencies to
 141 exist on a system. It is possible that a system's dependency structure
 142 can be so corrupt as to require manual intervention (which usually
 143 means using dselect or dpkg --remove to eliminate some of the offending
 144 packages). Use of this option together with -m may produce an error in
 145 some situations. See bf(APT::Get::Fix-Broken).
 146
 147 dit(bf(-h, --help))
 148 Help; display a helpful usage message and exits.
 149
 150 dit(bf(-v, --version))
 151 Show the program version.
 152
 153 dit(bf(-m, --ignore-missing, --fix-missing))
 154 Ignore missing packages; If packages cannot be retrieved or fail the
 155 integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package files), hold back
 156 those packages and handle the result. Use of this option together with
 157 -f may produce an error in some situations. See bf(ignore-missing).
 158
 159 dit(bf(--no-download))
 160 Disables downloading of packages. This is best used with --ignore-missing to
 161 force APT to use only the .debs it has already downloaded.
 162
 163 dit(bf(-q, --quiet))
 164 Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
 165 More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
 166 bf(-q=#) to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file. Note that
 167 quiet level 2 implies -y, you should never use -qq without a no-action
 168 modifier such as -d, --print-uris or -s as APT may decided to do something
 169 you did not expect.
 170 See bf(quiet)
 171
 172 dit(bf(-s, --simulate, --just-print, --dry-run, --recon, --no-act))
 173 No action; perform a simulation of events that would occur but do not
 174 actually change the system. See bf(APT::Get::Simulate). Simulate prints out
 175 a series of lines each one representing a dpkg operation, Configure (Conf),
 176 Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst). Square brackets indicate broken packages with
 177 and empty set of square brackets meaning breaks that are of no consequence
 178 (rare).
 179
 180 dit(bf(-y, --yes, --assume-yes))
 181 Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and run
 182 non-interactively. If an undesirable situation, such as changing a held
 183 package or removing an essential package occurs then bf(apt-get) will
 184 abort. See bf(APT::Get::Assume-Yes).
 185
 186 dit(bf(-u, --show-upgraded))
 187 Show upgraded packages; Print out a list of all packages that are to be
 188 upgraded. See bf(APT::Get::Show-Upgraded).
 189
 190 dit(bf(-b, --compile, --build))
 191 Compile source packages after downloading them.
 192
 193 dit(bf(--ignore-hold))
 194 Ignore package Holds; This causes bf(apt-get) to ignore a hold placed on
 195 a package. This may be useful in conjunction with bf(dist-upgrade) to
 196 override a large number of undesired holds. See bf(APT::Ignore-Hold).
 197
 198 dit(bf(--no-upgrade))
 199 Do not upgrade packages; When used in conjunction with bf(install)
 200 bf(no-upgrade) will prevent packages listed from being upgraded if they
 201 are already installed. See bf(APT::Get::no-upgrade).
 202
 203 dit(bf(--force-yes))
 204 Force yes; This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without
 205 prompting if it is doing something potentially harmful. It should not be used
 206 except in very special situations. Using bf(force-yes) can potentially destroy
 207 your system! See bf(APT::Get::force-yes).
 208
 209 dit(bf(--print-uris))
 210 Instead of fetching the files to install their URIs are printed. Each
 211 URI will have the path, the destination file name, the size and the expected
 212 md5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will not always match
 213 the file name on the remote site! This also works with the bf(source)
 214 command See bf(APT::Get::Print-URIs).
 215
 216 dit(bf(--purge))
 217 Use purge instead of remove for anything that would be removed.
 218
 219 dit(bf(--reinstall))
 220 Re-Install packages that are already installed and at the newest version.
 221
 222 dit(bf(--list-cleanup))
 223 This option defaults to on, use bf(--no-list-cleanup) to turn it off.
 224 When on apt-get will automatically manage the contents of
 225 /var/state/apt/lists to ensure that obsolete files are erased. The only
 226 reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your source list. See
 227 bf(APT::Get::List-Cleanup)
 228
 229 dit(bf(--trivial-only))
 230 Only perform operations are 'trivial'. Logically this can be considered
 231 related to --assume-yes, where --assume-yes will answer yes to any prompt,
 232 --trivial-only will answer no. See bf(APT::Get::Trivial-Only)
 233
 234 dit(bf(--no-remove))
 235 If any packages are to be removed apt-get immediately aborts without
 236 prompting. See bf(APT::Get::No-Remove)
 237
 238 dit(bf(--diff-only), bd(--tar-only))
 239 Download only the diff or tar file of a source archive.
 240
 241 dit(bf(-c, --config-file))
 242 Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. bf(apt-get) will
 243 read the default configuration file and then this configuration file. See
 244 bf(apt.conf(5)) for syntax information.
 245
 246 dit(bf(-o, --option))
 247 Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitrary configuration option.
 248 The syntax is
 249 verb(-o Foo::Bar=bar)
 250 enddit()
 251
 252 manpagefiles()
 253 itemize(
 254   it() /etc/apt/sources.list
 255   locations to fetch packages from
 256
 257   it() /var/cache/apt/archives/
 258   storage area for retrieved package files
 259
 260   it() /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/
 261   storage area for package files in transit
 262
 263   it() /var/state/apt/lists/
 264   storage area for state information for each package resource specified in
 265   the source list
 266
 267   it() /var/state/apt/lists/partial/
 268   storage area for state information in transit
 269 )
 270
 271 manpageseealso()
 272 apt-cache(8),
 273 dpkg(8),
 274 dselect(8),
 275 sources.list(5),
 276 apt.conf(5),
 277 The APT Users Guide in /usr/doc/apt/
 278
 279 manpagediagnostics()
 280 apt-get returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.
 281
 282 manpagebugs()
 283 See http://bugs.debian.org/apt.  If you wish to report a
 284 bug in bf(apt-get), please see bf(/usr/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt)
 285 or the bf(bug(1)) command.
 286
 287 manpageauthor()
 288 apt-get was written by the APT team <apt@packages.debian.org>.