Apt-Get Commands

Last Updated on July 10, 2024 by KC7NYR

Quick Reference for apt-get commands

APT(Advanced Package Tool) is a command line tool that is used for easy interaction with the dpkg packaging system and it is the most efficient and preferred way of managing software from the command line for Debian and Debian based Linux distributions like Ubuntu.

Search for packages
apt-cache search <search term> Searches for packages similar to the search term
apt-cache pkgnames <search_term> Searches for a specific package
apt-cache showpkg <package> Shows version, dependencies etc for the package

Update and Upgrade
sudo apt-get update Updates the package database
sudo apt-get upgrade <package> Upgrades an already installed package
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get
upgrade -y Update your entire system packages

Install Packages
sudo apt-get install <package_1>
<package_2> <package_3> Install one or several programs simultaneously

sudo apt-get install <package> –no-
upgrade Only install an not already program

sudo apt-get install <package> —
only-upgrade Only upgrade an already installed program
sudo apt-get install
<package>=<version_number> Install a specific version of a program Remove installed packages
sudo apt-get remove <package> Remove a program
sudo apt-get purge <package> Remove a program and its configuration filesClean the system
sudo apt-get clean Cleans the local repository cache of retrieved packages

sudo apt-get autoclean Cleans retrieved packages that have newer version now

sudo apt-get autoremove Cleans dependencies of an already removed

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Important Topic Informational Links

25 Useful Basic Commands of APT-GET and APT-CACHE for Package Management

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