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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
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19 it() install package1 [package2] [...]
20 it() remove package1 [package2] [...]
4994560c 21 it() source package1 [package2] [...]
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22 it() check
23 it() clean
b381f6ed 24 it() autoclean
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25)
26
27Unless the -h, or --help option is given one of the above commands
09f2e026 28must be present.
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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
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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.
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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).
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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104dit(bf(check))
105bf(check) is a diagnostic tool; it updates the package cache and checks for
c1e78ee5 106broken packages.
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107
108dit(bf(clean))
35c22def 109bf(clean) clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. It
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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.
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115
116dit(bf(autoclean))
35c22def 117Like bf(clean), bf(autoclean) clears out the local repository of retrieved
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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
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123enddit()
124
125manpageoptions()
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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.
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130
131startdit()
132dit(bf(-d, --download-only))
133Download only; package files are only retrieved, not unpacked or installed.
83ab33fc 134Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Download-Only).
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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
83ab33fc 145some situations. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Fix-Broken).
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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))
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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
83ab33fc 157-f may produce an error in some situations. Configuration Item: bf(ignore-missing).
de50f048 158
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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
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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.
83ab33fc 170Configuration Item: bf(quiet)
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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
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174actually change the system. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Simulate).
175
176Simulate prints out
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177a series of lines each one representing a dpkg operation, Configure (Conf),
178Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst). Square brackets indicate broken packages with
179and empty set of square brackets meaning breaks that are of no consequence
180(rare).
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181
182dit(bf(-y, --yes, --assume-yes))
183Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and run
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184non-interactively. If an undesirable situation, such as changing a held
185package or removing an essential package occurs then bf(apt-get) will
83ab33fc 186abort. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Assume-Yes).
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187
188dit(bf(-u, --show-upgraded))
189Show upgraded packages; Print out a list of all packages that are to be
83ab33fc 190upgraded. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Show-Upgraded).
de50f048 191
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192dit(bf(-b, --compile, --build))
193Compile source packages after downloading them.
194
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195dit(bf(--ignore-hold))
196Ignore package Holds; This causes bf(apt-get) to ignore a hold placed on
c1e78ee5 197a package. This may be useful in conjunction with bf(dist-upgrade) to
83ab33fc 198override a large number of undesired holds. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Ignore-Hold).
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199
200dit(bf(--no-upgrade))
201Do not upgrade packages; When used in conjunction with bf(install)
202bf(no-upgrade) will prevent packages listed from being upgraded if they
83ab33fc 203are already installed. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::no-upgrade).
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204
205dit(bf(--force-yes))
206Force yes; This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without
c1e78ee5 207prompting if it is doing something potentially harmful. It should not be used
de50f048 208except in very special situations. Using bf(force-yes) can potentially destroy
83ab33fc 209your system! Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::force-yes).
de50f048 210
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211dit(bf(--print-uris))
212Instead of fetching the files to install their URIs are printed. Each
213URI will have the path, the destination file name, the size and the expected
214md5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will not always match
4994560c 215the file name on the remote site! This also works with the bf(source)
83ab33fc 216command. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Print-URIs).
f7a08e33 217
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218dit(bf(--purge))
219Use purge instead of remove for anything that would be removed.
220
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221dit(bf(--reinstall))
222Re-Install packages that are already installed and at the newest version.
223
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224dit(bf(--list-cleanup))
225This option defaults to on, use bf(--no-list-cleanup) to turn it off.
226When on apt-get will automatically manage the contents of
227/var/state/apt/lists to ensure that obsolete files are erased. The only
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228reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your source list.
229Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::List-Cleanup)
17c0e8e1 230
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231dit(bf(--trivial-only))
232Only perform operations are 'trivial'. Logically this can be considered
233related to --assume-yes, where --assume-yes will answer yes to any prompt,
83ab33fc 234--trivial-only will answer no. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Trivial-Only)
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235
236dit(bf(--no-remove))
237If any packages are to be removed apt-get immediately aborts without
83ab33fc 238prompting. Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::No-Remove)
d150b09d 239
17c0e8e1 240dit(bf(--diff-only), bd(--tar-only))
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241Download only the diff or tar file of a source archive.
242Configuration Item: bf(APT::Get::Diff-Only)
9df71a5b 243
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244dit(bf(-c, --config-file))
245Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. bf(apt-get) will
246read the default configuration file and then this configuration file. See
247bf(apt.conf(5)) for syntax information.
248
249dit(bf(-o, --option))
c1e78ee5 250Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitrary configuration option.
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251The syntax is
252verb(-o Foo::Bar=bar)
09f2e026 253enddit()
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254
255manpagefiles()
256itemize(
257 it() /etc/apt/sources.list
258 locations to fetch packages from
259
260 it() /var/cache/apt/archives/
261 storage area for retrieved package files
262
263 it() /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/
264 storage area for package files in transit
265
266 it() /var/state/apt/lists/
267 storage area for state information for each package resource specified in
2c0c53b3 268 the source list
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269
270 it() /var/state/apt/lists/partial/
271 storage area for state information in transit
272)
273
274manpageseealso()
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275apt-cache(8),
276dpkg(8),
277dselect(8),
278sources.list(5),
3d8fd174 279apt.conf(5),
09f2e026 280The APT Users Guide in /usr/doc/apt/
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281
282manpagediagnostics()
283apt-get returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.
284
285manpagebugs()
d59cbe7f 286See http://bugs.debian.org/apt. If you wish to report a
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287bug in bf(apt-get), please see bf(/usr/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt)
288or the bf(bug(1)) command.
289
290manpageauthor()
291apt-get was written by the APT team <apt@packages.debian.org>.