apt-get man page on Debian

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APT-GET(8)			      APT			    APT-GET(8)

NAME
       apt-get - APT package handling utility -- command-line interface

SYNOPSIS
       apt-get [-sqdyfmubV] [-o= config_string ] [-c= config_file ]
	       [-t= target_release] {update | upgrade | dselect-upgrade |
	       dist-upgrade |
	       install pkg [ { =pkg_version_number | /target_release } ] ...
	       | remove pkg...	| purge pkg...	|
	       source pkg [ { =pkg_version_number | /target_release } ] ...  |
	       build-dep pkg...	 | check | clean | autoclean | autoremove |
	       {-v | --version} | {-h | --help}}

DESCRIPTION
       apt-get is the command-line tool for handling packages, and may be
       considered the user's "back-end" to other tools using the APT library.
       Several "front-end" interfaces exist, such as dselect(1), aptitude(8),
       synaptic(8) and wajig(1).

       Unless the -h, or --help option is given, one of the commands below
       must be present.

       update
	   update is used to resynchronize the package index files from their
	   sources. The indexes of available packages are fetched from the
	   location(s) specified in /etc/apt/sources.list. For example, when
	   using a Debian archive, this command retrieves and scans the
	   Packages.gz files, so that information about new and updated
	   packages is available. An update should always be performed before
	   an upgrade or dist-upgrade. Please be aware that the overall
	   progress meter will be incorrect as the size of the package files
	   cannot be known in advance.

       upgrade
	   upgrade is used to install the newest versions of all packages
	   currently installed on the system from the sources enumerated in
	   /etc/apt/sources.list. Packages currently installed with new
	   versions available are retrieved and upgraded; under no
	   circumstances are currently installed packages removed, or packages
	   not already installed retrieved and installed. New versions of
	   currently installed packages that cannot be upgraded without
	   changing the install status of another package will be left at
	   their current version. An update must be performed first so that
	   apt-get knows that new versions of packages are available.

       dselect-upgrade
	   dselect-upgrade is used in conjunction with the traditional Debian
	   packaging front-end, dselect(1).  dselect-upgrade follows the
	   changes made by dselect(1) to the Status field of available
	   packages, and performs the actions necessary to realize that state
	   (for instance, the removal of old and the installation of new
	   packages).

       dist-upgrade
	   dist-upgrade in addition to performing the function of upgrade,
	   also intelligently handles changing dependencies with new versions
	   of packages; apt-get has a "smart" conflict resolution system, and
	   it will attempt to upgrade the most important packages at the
	   expense of less important ones if necessary. So, dist-upgrade
	   command may remove some packages. The /etc/apt/sources.list file
	   contains a list of locations from which to retrieve desired package
	   files. See also apt_preferences(5) for a mechanism for overriding
	   the general settings for individual packages.

       install
	   install is followed by one or more packages desired for
	   installation or upgrading. Each package is a package name, not a
	   fully qualified filename (for instance, in a Debian GNU/Linux
	   system, libc6 would be the argument provided, not
	   libc6_1.9.6-2.deb). All packages required by the package(s)
	   specified for installation will also be retrieved and installed.
	   The /etc/apt/sources.list file is used to locate the desired
	   packages. If a hyphen is appended to the package name (with no
	   intervening space), the identified package will be removed if it is
	   installed. Similarly a plus sign can be used to designate a package
	   to install. These latter features may be used to override decisions
	   made by apt-get's conflict resolution system.

	   A specific version of a package can be selected for installation by
	   following the package name with an equals and the version of the
	   package to select. This will cause that version to be located and
	   selected for install. Alternatively a specific distribution can be
	   selected by following the package name with a slash and the version
	   of the distribution or the Archive name (stable, testing,
	   unstable).

	   Both of the version selection mechanisms can downgrade packages and
	   must be used with care.

	   This is also the target to use if you want to upgrade one or more
	   already-installed packages without upgrading every package you have
	   on your system. Unlike the "upgrade" target, which installs the
	   newest version of all currently installed packages, "install" will
	   install the newest version of only the package(s) specified. Simply
	   provide the name of the package(s) you wish to upgrade, and if a
	   newer version is available, it (and its dependencies, as described
	   above) will be downloaded and installed.

	   Finally, the apt_preferences(5) mechanism allows you to create an
	   alternative installation policy for individual packages.

	   If no package matches the given expression and the expression
	   contains one of '.', '?' or '*' then it is assumed to be a POSIX
	   regular expression, and it is applied to all package names in the
	   database. Any matches are then installed (or removed). Note that
	   matching is done by substring so 'lo.*' matches 'how-lo' and
	   'lowest'. If this is undesired, anchor the regular expression with
	   a '^' or '$' character, or create a more specific regular
	   expression.

       remove
	   remove is identical to install except that packages are removed
	   instead of installed. Note the removing a package leaves its
	   configuration files in system. If a plus sign is appended to the
	   package name (with no intervening space), the identified package
	   will be installed instead of removed.

       purge
	   purge is identical to remove except that packages are removed and
	   purged (any configuration files are deleted too).

       source
	   source causes apt-get to fetch source packages. APT will examine
	   the available packages to decide which source package to fetch. It
	   will then find and download into the current directory the newest
	   available version of that source package while respect the default
	   release, set with the option APT::Default-Release, the -t option or
	   per package with the pkg/release syntax, if possible.

	   Source packages are tracked separately from binary packages via
	   deb-src type lines in the sources.list(5) file. This means that you
	   will need to add such a line for each repository you want to get
	   sources from. If you don't do this you will properly get another
	   (newer, older or none) source version than the one you have
	   installed or could install.

	   If the --compile option is specified then the package will be
	   compiled to a binary .deb using dpkg-buildpackage, if
	   --download-only is specified then the source package will not be
	   unpacked.

	   A specific source version can be retrieved by postfixing the source
	   name with an equals and then the version to fetch, similar to the
	   mechanism used for the package files. This enables exact matching
	   of the source package name and version, implicitly enabling the
	   APT::Get::Only-Source option.

	   Note that source packages are not tracked like binary packages,
	   they exist only in the current directory and are similar to
	   downloading source tar balls.

       build-dep
	   build-dep causes apt-get to install/remove packages in an attempt
	   to satisfy the build dependencies for a source package.

       check
	   check is a diagnostic tool; it updates the package cache and checks
	   for broken dependencies.

       clean
	   clean clears out the local repository of retrieved package files.
	   It removes everything but the lock file from
	   /var/cache/apt/archives/ and /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/. When
	   APT is used as a dselect(1) method, clean is run automatically.
	   Those who do not use dselect will likely want to run apt-get clean
	   from time to time to free up disk space.

       autoclean
	   Like clean, autoclean clears out the local repository of retrieved
	   package files. The difference is that it only removes package files
	   that can no longer be downloaded, and are largely useless. This
	   allows a cache to be maintained over a long period without it
	   growing out of control. The configuration option
	   APT::Clean-Installed will prevent installed packages from being
	   erased if it is set to off.

       autoremove
	   autoremove is used to remove packages that were automatically
	   installed to satisfy dependencies for some package and that are no
	   more needed.

OPTIONS
       All command line options may be set using the configuration file, the
       descriptions indicate the configuration option to set. For boolean
       options you can override the config file by using something like
       -f-,--no-f, -f=no or several other variations.

       --no-install-recommends
	   Do not consider recommended packages as a dependency for
	   installing. Configuration Item: APT::Install-Recommends.

       -d, --download-only
	   Download only; package files are only retrieved, not unpacked or
	   installed. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Download-Only.

       -f, --fix-broken
	   Fix; attempt to correct a system with broken dependencies in place.
	   This option, when used with install/remove, can omit any packages
	   to permit APT to deduce a likely solution. If packages are
	   specified, these have to completely correct the problem. The option
	   is sometimes necessary when running APT for the first time; APT
	   itself does not allow broken package dependencies to exist on a
	   system. It is possible that a system's dependency structure can be
	   so corrupt as to require manual intervention (which usually means
	   using dselect(1) or dpkg --remove to eliminate some of the
	   offending packages). Use of this option together with -m may
	   produce an error in some situations. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::Fix-Broken.

       -m, --ignore-missing, --fix-missing
	   Ignore missing packages; If packages cannot be retrieved or fail
	   the integrity check after retrieval (corrupted package files), hold
	   back those packages and handle the result. Use of this option
	   together with -f may produce an error in some situations. If a
	   package is selected for installation (particularly if it is
	   mentioned on the command line) and it could not be downloaded then
	   it will be silently held back. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::Fix-Missing.

       --no-download
	   Disables downloading of packages. This is best used with
	   --ignore-missing to force APT to use only the .debs it has already
	   downloaded. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Download.

       -q, --quiet
	   Quiet; produces output suitable for logging, omitting progress
	   indicators. More q's will produce more quiet up to a maximum of 2.
	   You can also use -q=# to set the quiet level, overriding the
	   configuration file. Note that quiet level 2 implies -y, you should
	   never use -qq without a no-action modifier such as -d, --print-uris
	   or -s as APT may decided to do something you did not expect.
	   Configuration Item: quiet.

       -s, --simulate, --just-print, --dry-run, --recon, --no-act
	   No action; perform a simulation of events that would occur but do
	   not actually change the system. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::Simulate.

	   Simulation run as user will deactivate locking (Debug::NoLocking)
	   automatic. Also a notice will be displayed indicating that this is
	   only a simulation, if the option
	   APT::Get::Show-User-Simulation-Note is set (Default: true). Neither
	   NoLocking nor the notice will be triggered if run as root (root
	   should know what he is doing without further warnings by apt-get).

	   Simulate prints out a series of lines each one representing a dpkg
	   operation, Configure (Conf), Remove (Remv), Unpack (Inst). Square
	   brackets indicate broken packages and empty set of square brackets
	   meaning breaks that are of no consequence (rare).

       -y, --yes, --assume-yes
	   Automatic yes to prompts; assume "yes" as answer to all prompts and
	   run non-interactively. If an undesirable situation, such as
	   changing a held package, trying to install a unauthenticated
	   package or removing an essential package occurs then apt-get will
	   abort. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Assume-Yes.

       -u, --show-upgraded
	   Show upgraded packages; Print out a list of all packages that are
	   to be upgraded. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Show-Upgraded.

       -V, --verbose-versions
	   Show full versions for upgraded and installed packages.
	   Configuration Item: APT::Get::Show-Versions.

       -b, --compile, --build
	   Compile source packages after downloading them. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::Compile.

       --install-recommends
	   Also install recommended packages.

       --no-install-recommends
	   Do not install recommended packages.

       --ignore-hold
	   Ignore package Holds; This causes apt-get to ignore a hold placed
	   on a package. This may be useful in conjunction with dist-upgrade
	   to override a large number of undesired holds. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Ignore-Hold.

       --no-upgrade
	   Do not upgrade packages; When used in conjunction with install,
	   no-upgrade will prevent packages on the command line from being
	   upgraded if they are already installed. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::Upgrade.

       --only-upgrade
	   Do not install new packages; When used in conjunction with install,
	   only-upgrade will prevent packages on the command line from being
	   upgraded if they are not already installed. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::Only-Upgrade.

       --force-yes
	   Force yes; This is a dangerous option that will cause apt to
	   continue without prompting if it is doing something potentially
	   harmful. It should not be used except in very special situations.
	   Using force-yes can potentially destroy your system! Configuration
	   Item: APT::Get::force-yes.

       --print-uris
	   Instead of fetching the files to install their URIs are printed.
	   Each URI will have the path, the destination file name, the size
	   and the expected md5 hash. Note that the file name to write to will
	   not always match the file name on the remote site! This also works
	   with the source and update commands. When used with the update
	   command the MD5 and size are not included, and it is up to the user
	   to decompress any compressed files. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::Print-URIs.

       --purge
	   Use purge instead of remove for anything that would be removed. An
	   asterisk ("*") will be displayed next to packages which are
	   scheduled to be purged.  remove --purge is equivalent to the purge
	   command. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Purge.

       --reinstall
	   Re-Install packages that are already installed and at the newest
	   version. Configuration Item: APT::Get::ReInstall.

       --list-cleanup
	   This option defaults to on, use --no-list-cleanup to turn it off.
	   When on apt-get will automatically manage the contents of
	   /var/lib/apt/lists to ensure that obsolete files are erased. The
	   only reason to turn it off is if you frequently change your source
	   list. Configuration Item: APT::Get::List-Cleanup.

       -t, --target-release, --default-release
	   This option controls the default input to the policy engine, it
	   creates a default pin at priority 990 using the specified release
	   string. This overrides the general settings in
	   /etc/apt/preferences. Specifically pinned packages are not affected
	   by the value of this option. In short, this option lets you have
	   simple control over which distribution packages will be retrieved
	   from. Some common examples might be -t '2.1*', -t unstable or -t
	   sid. Configuration Item: APT::Default-Release; see also the
	   apt_preferences(5) manual page.

       --trivial-only
	   Only perform operations that are 'trivial'. Logically this can be
	   considered related to --assume-yes, where --assume-yes will answer
	   yes to any prompt, --trivial-only will answer no. Configuration
	   Item: APT::Get::Trivial-Only.

       --no-remove
	   If any packages are to be removed apt-get immediately aborts
	   without prompting. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Remove.

       --auto-remove
	   If the command is either install or remove, then this option acts
	   like running autoremove command, removing the unused dependency
	   packages. Configuration Item: APT::Get::AutomaticRemove.

       --only-source
	   Only has meaning for the source and build-dep commands. Indicates
	   that the given source names are not to be mapped through the binary
	   table. This means that if this option is specified, these commands
	   will only accept source package names as arguments, rather than
	   accepting binary package names and looking up the corresponding
	   source package. Configuration Item: APT::Get::Only-Source.

       --diff-only, --dsc-only, --tar-only
	   Download only the diff, dsc, or tar file of a source archive.
	   Configuration Item: APT::Get::Diff-Only, APT::Get::Dsc-Only, and
	   APT::Get::Tar-Only.

       --arch-only
	   Only process architecture-dependent build-dependencies.
	   Configuration Item: APT::Get::Arch-Only.

       --allow-unauthenticated
	   Ignore if packages can't be authenticated and don't prompt about
	   it. This is useful for tools like pbuilder. Configuration Item:
	   APT::Get::AllowUnauthenticated.

       -h, --help
	   Show a short usage summary.

       -v, --version
	   Show the program version.

       -c, --config-file
	   Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. The
	   program will read the default configuration file and then this
	   configuration file. If configuration settings need to be set before
	   the default configuration files are parsed specify a file with the
	   APT_CONFIG environment variable. See apt.conf(5) for syntax
	   information.

       -o, --option
	   Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitrary
	   configuration option. The syntax is -o Foo::Bar=bar.	 -o and
	   --option can be used multiple times to set different options.

FILES
       /etc/apt/sources.list
	   Locations to fetch packages from. Configuration Item:
	   Dir::Etc::SourceList.

       /etc/apt/sources.list.d/
	   File fragments for locations to fetch packages from. Configuration
	   Item: Dir::Etc::SourceParts.

       /etc/apt/apt.conf
	   APT configuration file. Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Main.

       /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/
	   APT configuration file fragments. Configuration Item:
	   Dir::Etc::Parts.

       /etc/apt/preferences
	   Version preferences file. This is where you would specify
	   "pinning", i.e. a preference to get certain packages from a
	   separate source or from a different version of a distribution.
	   Configuration Item: Dir::Etc::Preferences.

       /etc/apt/preferences.d/
	   File fragments for the version preferences. Configuration Item:
	   Dir::Etc::PreferencesParts.

       /var/cache/apt/archives/
	   Storage area for retrieved package files. Configuration Item:
	   Dir::Cache::Archives.

       /var/cache/apt/archives/partial/
	   Storage area for package files in transit. Configuration Item:
	   Dir::Cache::Archives (implicit partial).

       /var/lib/apt/lists/
	   Storage area for state information for each package resource
	   specified in sources.list(5) Configuration Item: Dir::State::Lists.

       /var/lib/apt/lists/partial/
	   Storage area for state information in transit. Configuration Item:
	   Dir::State::Lists (implicit partial).

SEE ALSO
       apt-cache(8), apt-cdrom(8), dpkg(1), dselect(1), sources.list(5),
       apt.conf(5), apt-config(8), apt-secure(8), The APT User's guide in
       /usr/share/doc/apt-doc/, apt_preferences(5), the APT Howto.

DIAGNOSTICS
       apt-get returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100 on error.

ORIGINAL AUTHORS
       Jason Gunthorpe

CURRENT AUTHORS
       APT team

       QA Page[1]

BUGS
       APT bug page[2]. If you wish to report a bug in APT, please see
       /usr/share/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt or the reportbug(1) command.

AUTHORS
       Jason Gunthorpe

       APT team

NOTES
	1. QA Page
	   http://packages.qa.debian.org/a/apt.html

	2. APT bug page
	   http://bugs.debian.org/src:apt

Linux			       08 November 2008			    APT-GET(8)
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