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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
60
61dit(bf(dist-upgrade))
62bf(dist-upgrade),in addition to performing the function of bf(upgrade),
63also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new versions of
64packages; bf(apt-get) has a "smart" conflict resolution system, and it will
65attempt to upgrade the most important packages at the expense of less
66important ones if necessary. The bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file contains a
67list of locations from which to retrieve desired package files.
68
69dit(bf(install))
70bf(install) is followed by one or more em(packages) desired for installation.
71Each em(package) is a package name, not a fully qualified filename
6d5dd02a 72(for instance, in a Debian GNU/Linux system, em(ldso) would be the argument
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73provided, not em(ldso_1.9.6-2.deb)). All packages required by the package(s)
74specified for installation will also be retrieved and installed. The
75bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file is used to locate the desired packages. If a
76hyphen is appended to the package name (with no intervening space), the
77identified package will be removed if it is installed. This latter feature
78may be used to override decisions made by apt-get's conflict resolution system.
79
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80dit(bf(remove))
81bf(remove) is identical to bf(install) except that packages are removed
82instead of installed. If a plus sign is appended to the package name (with no
83intervening space), the identified package will be installed.
84
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85dit(bf(source))
86bf(source) causes apt-get to fetch source packages. APT will examine the
87available packages to decide which source package to fetch. It will then
88find and download into the current directory the newest available version of
89that source package. Source packages are tracked seperately from binary
90packages via df(deb-src) type lines in the bf(/etc/apt/sources.list) file.
91This probably will mean that you will not get the same source as the package
92you have installed or as you could install.
93
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94dit(bf(check))
95bf(check) is a diagnostic tool; it updates the package cache and checks for
96brokenpackages.
97
98dit(bf(clean))
35c22def 99bf(clean) clears out the local repository of retrieved package files. It
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100removes everything but the lock file from bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/)
101and bf(/var/cache/apt/archives/partial/).
102When APT is used as a bf(dselect(8)) method, bf(clean) is run automatically.
103Those who do not use dselect will likely want to run code(apt-get clean)
104from time to time to free up disk space.
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105
106dit(bf(autoclean))
35c22def 107Like bf(clean), bf(autoclean) clears out the local repository of retrieved
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108package files. The difference is that it only removes package files that
109can no longer be downloaded, and are largely useless. This allows a
110cache to be maintained over a long period without it growing out of
111control.
112
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113enddit()
114
115manpageoptions()
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116All command line options may be set using the configuration file, the
117descriptions indicate the configuration option to set. For boolean
118options you can override the config file by using something like bf(-f-),
119bf(--no-f), bf(-f=no) or several other variations.
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120
121startdit()
122dit(bf(-d, --download-only))
123Download only; package files are only retrieved, not unpacked or installed.
3d8fd174 124See bf(APT::Get::Download-Only).
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125
126dit(bf(-f, --fix-broken))
127Fix; attempt to correct a system with broken dependencies in
128place. This option may be used alone or in conjunction with any of the
129command actions, and is sometimes necessary when running APT for the
130first time; APT itself does not allow broken package dependencies to
131exist on a system. It is possible that a system's dependency structure
132can be so corrupt as to require manual intervention (which usually
133means using dselect or dpkg --remove to eliminate some of the offending
134packages). Use of this option together with -m may produce an error in
3d8fd174 135some situations. See bf(APT::Get::Fix-Broken).
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136
137dit(bf(-h, --help))
138Help; display a helpful usage message and exits.
139
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140dit(bf(-v, --version))
141Show the program verison.
142
72f16ed2 143dit(bf(-m, --ignore-missing, --fix-missing))
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144Ignore missing packages; If packages cannot be retrieved or fail the
145integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package files), hold back
146those packages and handle the result. Use of this option together with
d59cbe7f 147-f may produce an error in some situations. See bf(ignore-missing).
de50f048 148
09f2e026 149dit(bf(-q, --quiet))
de50f048 150Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress indicators.
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151More qs will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2. You can also use
152bf(-q=#) to set the quiet level, overriding the configuration file. Note that
153quiet level 2 implies -y, you should never use -qq without a no-action
154modifier such as -d, --print-uris or -s as APT may decided to do something
155you did not expect.
3d8fd174 156See bf(quiet)
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157
158dit(bf(-s, --simulate, --just-print, --dry-run, --recon, --no-act))
159No action; perform a simulation of events that would occur but do not
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160actually change the system. See bf(APT::Get::Simulate). Simulate prints out
161a series of lines each one representing a dpkg operation, Configure (Conf),
162Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst). Square brackets indicate broken packages with
163and empty set of square brackets meaning breaks that are of no consequence
164(rare).
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165
166dit(bf(-y, --yes, --assume-yes))
167Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and run
168non-interactively. If an undesireable situation, such as changing a held
169package or removing an essential package occures then bf(apt-get) will
3d8fd174 170abort. See bf(APT::Get::Assume-Yes).
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171
172dit(bf(-u, --show-upgraded))
173Show upgraded packages; Print out a list of all packages that are to be
3d8fd174 174upgraded. See bf(APT::Get::Show-Upgraded).
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175
176dit(bf(--ignore-hold))
177Ignore package Holds; This causes bf(apt-get) to ignore a hold placed on
178a package. This may be usefull in conjunction with bf(dist-upgrade) to
3d8fd174 179override a large number of undesired holds. See bf(APT::Ingore-Hold).
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180
181dit(bf(--no-upgrade))
182Do not upgrade packages; When used in conjunction with bf(install)
183bf(no-upgrade) will prevent packages listed from being upgraded if they
3d8fd174 184are already installed. See bf(APT::Get::no-upgrade).
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185
186dit(bf(--force-yes))
187Force yes; This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to continue without
188prompting if it is doing something potentially harmfull. It should not be used
189except in very special situations. Using bf(force-yes) can potentially destroy
3d8fd174 190your system! See bf(APT::Get::force-yes).
de50f048 191
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192dit(bf(--print-uris))
193Instead of fetching the files to install their URIs are printed. Each
194URI will have the path, the destination file name, the size and the expected
195md5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will not always match
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196the file name on the remote site! This also works with the bf(source)
197command See bf(APT::Get::Print-URIs).
f7a08e33 198
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199dit(bf(-c, --config-file))
200Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. bf(apt-get) will
201read the default configuration file and then this configuration file. See
202bf(apt.conf(5)) for syntax information.
203
204dit(bf(-o, --option))
205Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitary configuration option.
206The syntax is
207verb(-o Foo::Bar=bar)
09f2e026 208enddit()
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209
210manpagefiles()
211itemize(
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
228manpageseealso()
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229apt-cache(8),
230dpkg(8),
231dselect(8),
232sources.list(5),
3d8fd174 233apt.conf(5),
09f2e026 234The APT Users Guide in /usr/doc/apt/
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235
236manpagediagnostics()
237apt-get returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.
238
239manpagebugs()
d59cbe7f 240See http://bugs.debian.org/apt. If you wish to report a
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241bug in bf(apt-get), please see bf(/usr/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt)
242or the bf(bug(1)) command.
243
244manpageauthor()
245apt-get was written by the APT team <apt@packages.debian.org>.