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apt

Introduction​

This cheat sheet provides a quick reference for some common apt commands and concepts. apt (Advanced Package Tool) is a package management tool used on Debian-based Linux distributions to install, update, and manage software packages.

Package Management​

Update Package Lists​

To update the local package lists to ensure they are current:

sudo apt update

Upgrade Packages​

To upgrade all installed packages to their latest versions:

sudo apt upgrade

Upgrade Distribution​

To upgrade the entire distribution to a new release (use with caution):

sudo apt dist-upgrade

Install Packages​

To install a package or packages:

sudo apt install package_name

Remove Packages​

To remove a package but keep its configuration files:

sudo apt remove package_name

To remove a package along with its configuration files:

sudo apt purge package_name

Search Packages​

To search for packages containing a specific keyword in their name or description:

apt search keyword

List Installed Packages​

To list all installed packages:

dpkg --list

Package Information​

Show Package Information​

To display detailed information about a package, including its description and dependencies:

apt show package_name

List Installed Files​

To list all files installed by a package:

dpkg -L package_name

Repository Management​

Add Repository​

To add a new repository to the list of sources:

sudo add-apt-repository repository_url

Remove Repository​

To remove a repository from the list of sources:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove repository_url

Update Repository Lists​

After adding or removing repositories, update the package lists:

sudo apt update

Miscellaneous​

Clean Package Cache​

To remove all cached package files from the system:

sudo apt clean

Autoremove​

To remove packages that were installed as dependencies but are no longer needed:

sudo apt autoremove

Check Dependencies​

To check for broken dependencies:

sudo apt --fix-broken install

Conclusion​

This cheat sheet covers some common apt commands and concepts for package management on Debian-based Linux distributions. apt is a powerful tool for installing, updating, and managing software packages; refer to the official apt documentation for more in-depth information and advanced usage.