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!!NAME


apt-get - APT package handling utility -- command-line interface
!!SYNOPSIS


__apt-get__ [[ __-hvs__ ] [[ __-o=__''config
string'' ] [[ __-c=__''file'' ] __[[ update ] [[
upgrade ] [[ dselect-upgrade ] [[ install__ ''pkg...''
__] [[ remove__ ''pkg...'' __] [[ source__
''pkg...'' __] [[ build-dep__ ''pkg...'' __] [[
check ] [[ clean ] [[ autoclean ]__
!!DESCRIPTION


__apt-get__ is the command-line tool for handling
packages, and may be considered the user's
__


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__


is used in conjunction with the traditional Debian GNU/Linux
packaging front-end, dselect(8). dselect-upgrade
follows the changes made by dselect(8) 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
__/etc/apt/sources.list'' file contains a list of
locations from which to retrieve desired package
files.


__install__


install is followed by one or more packages desired for
installation. 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
em(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, frozen,
unstable).


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


If no package matches the given expression and the
expression contains one of '.', '?' or '*' then it is
assumed to be a POSIX regex 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 prefix
with a '^' character.


__remove__


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


__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. Source packages are tracked separately from
binary packages via deb-src type lines in the
''sources.list''(5) file. This probably will mean that
you will not get the same source as the package you have
installed or as you could install. If the --compile options
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
packages. Right now virtual package build depends choose a
package at random.


__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/archive/partial/''. When APT is used as
a dselect(8) 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
off.
!!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.


__-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 soltion. Any
Package that are specified must completly 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(8) 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.


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


__-y__


__--yes__


__--assume-yes__


Automatic yes to prompts; assume


__-u__


__--show-upgraded__


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


__-b__


__--compile__


__--build__


Compile source packages after downloading them.
Configuration Item: APT::Get::Compile.


__--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 listed from being
upgraded if they are already installed. Configuration Item:
APT::Get::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/ command.
Configuration Item: APT::Get::Print-URIs.


__--purge__


Use purge instead of remove for anything that would be
removed. 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. The preferences file may further override
this setting. 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*'__ or
__-t unstable__. Configuration Item:
APT::Default-Release


__--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


__--only-source__


Only has meaning for the source command. indicates that the
given source names are not to be mapped through the binary
table. Configuration Item:
APT::Get::Only-Source


__--diff-only__


__--tar-only__


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


__-h__


__--help__


Show a short usage summary.


__-v__


__--version__


Show the program verison.


__-c__


__--config-file__


Configuration File; Specify a configuration file to use. The
program will read the default configuration file and then
this configuration file. See ''apt.conf''(5) for syntax
information.


__-o__


__--option__


Set a Configuration Option; This will set an arbitary
configuration option. The syntax is __-o
Foo::Bar=bar__.
!!FILES


''/etc/apt/sources.list''


locations to fetch packages from. Configuration Item:
Dir::Etc::!SourceList.


''/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 Configuration Item:
Dir::Etc::Preferences.


''/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(8),
dselect(8), sources.list(5),
apt.conf(5), The APT users guide in
/usr/share/doc/apt/, apt_preferences(5).
!!DIAGNOSTICS


__apt-get__ returns zero on normal operation, decimal 100
on error.
!!BUGS


See the APT bug page
/usr/share/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt'' or the
bug(1) command.
!!AUTHOR


APT was written by the APT team
----

See apt-move(8)
12 pages link to apt-get(8):
This page is a man page (or other imported legacy content). We are unable to automatically determine the license status of this page.
Last edited on Saturday, December 27, 2003 1:58:33 pm by "GuyHenryAtkinson"
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