APT 3.2 is now the latest stable version of Debian’s package manager. The primary enhancement is expanded history functionality, which introduces several new commands:
apt history-rollback— rolls package changes back to an earlier transaction.apt history-list— shows a list of previous package transactions.apt history-info— shows detailed information about a specific transaction.apt history-undo— reverses a specific transaction.apt history-redo— repeats a previously undone transaction.
APT 3.2 also delivers improvements to the dependency solver, including enhancements to propagation, provider handling, source package upgrades, package selection logic, and backtracking.
The release introduces JSONL performance counter logging, providing a structured method to record performance data for improved debugging, testing, and analysis of package management behavior.
Additional improvements enhance APT’s handling of package metadata and system-specific scenarios. The release adds support for architecture variants and improves apt why output to display all providers for virtual packages.
Usability enhancements include expanded shell completion support for additional commands and search patterns.
Last but not least, APT 3.2 introduces behavior changes to improve package operation reliability. The system now remains awake while dpkg is running, reducing interruptions during installations or upgrades. Additionally, apt-daily is triggered when the system connects to AC power.
For more details, see the changelog.
For now, APT 3.2 is available in Debian unstable (sid), while Debian testing and Debian 13 stable still ship older versions. In other words, the new release has landed in Debian’s development branch first and will reach a wider audience only after it moves further through the archive.
