This article shows you how to use the apt command in Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, or any other Debian or Ubuntu-based distributions, with examples so that you can easily manage packages.
APT is a powerful package management tool that can be used to search, install, update, upgrade, and manage the packages in a Linux operating system.
In addition, it automatically manages package dependencies, installing required software as needed and removing it when no longer required.
Table of Contents
What is apt Command in Linux?
apt
(Advanced Package Tool) is a command-line tool that is used for easy interaction with the dpkg
packaging system in Debian and Debian-based Linux distributions like Ubuntu. It is a collection of tools distributed in a package named apt
, aiming to simplify the process of managing software.
dpkg
is responsible for packing the software in an easy-to-install package. It is the Debian packages manager. When apt
is used, it invokes the dpkg
program to install or remove applications while including additional functions as a dependencies resolution.
In other words, apt
acts as a user-friendly layer that interacts with the dpkg
packaging system.
How to Use apt Command in Linux
Remember that most of the apt
commands must be run as a user with sudo
privileges.
Fetch Updates
Before any operations with apt
, we must ensure that our local copy of the package database is up-to-date. Without this, the system won’t know whether newer packages are available.
The apt update
command downloads up-to-date information about available software packages:
sudo apt update
This downloads the latest up-to-date software packages and their metadata – package names, version numbers, etc.
List Available Updates
You can view the list of packages that have a newer version ready to be upgraded. For this, run the following command:
apt list --upgradeable
apt list --upgradeable
is a hint always displayed at the end of the output of the apt update
command.
Upgrade Packages
Running an apt upgrade
will update all the packages that have a new version available. Remember that you need to perform an apt update
before the apt upgrade
command, so that apt
knows that new versions of packages are available.
sudo apt upgrade
Full System Upgrade
The common difference between an apt upgrade
and an apt full-upgrade
is that a full-ugrade
will remove the installed packages if needed to upgrade the whole system.
This is useful when you upgrading from Debian version 10 to 11, for example.
sudo apt full-upgrade
Commands with full-upgrade
require special care to be used safely, and there’s no good reason even for experienced users to run them routinely.
Installing New Packages
Once your packages database is updated, you can install any packages with the apt install
command. For example, let’s install Nginx Web Server:
sudo apt install nginx
If you want to install multiple packages at once, for example, nginx
and firewalld
, specify them as a space-separated list:
sudo apt install nginx firewalld
Removing Packages
To remove (uninstall) an installed package, use the apt remove
command. For example, to remove a package called nginx
, enter:
sudo apt remove nginx
You can also specify multiple packages, separated by spaces:
sudo apt remove nginx firewalld
We can also easily remove packages with the apt purge
command. The primary difference is that the apt remove
command will uninstall the given packages, leaving its configuration files behind.
Whereas apt purge
not only removes the package but also removes all configuration files outside the home directory.
sudo apt purge nginx
In addition, you can also remove all unwanted packages with the following command:
sudo apt autoremove
The autoremove
option is used to remove packages that were automatically installed to satisfy dependencies for other packages but now are no longer needed as dependencies.
Searching Packages
The apt search
command allows you to search for a given package in the list of the available packages. For example, to search for nginx
packages, enter:
apt search nginx
Searching Through Installed Packages
The apt list
command displays both installed and packages available to install. What if you want to list specific currently installed packages only? Just pass the --installed
option to the apt list
command. The good news is you can use a wildcard (*
) in searches.
For example, to find all the packages currently installed on the system which contain the nginx
within their name, run:
apt list --installed nginx*
Get Details About Package
The output of the apt search
command gives you a brief introduction to the packages. If you want more details, use the apt show
command.
apt show nginx
It’s important to note that you must give the exact package name to the apt show
command. Otherwise, the apt show
won’t work.
Conclusion
Knowing how to manage packages with APT is essential to Linux system administration. Of course, there is more to APT, but this should get you started.
Related: How to Use APT with Proxy on Ubuntu and Debian
For more about apt
command in Linux, consult its manual page. As always, use the form below for feedback, questions, or suggestions.