Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

apt-get

Synopsis

apt-get [options] command [package...]

Description

A command-line tool for handling packages. Will eventually be a backend to APT.

Commands

autoclean

Like clean, but remove only package files that can no longer be downloaded.

clean

Clear the local repository of retrieved package files.

check

Update the package cache and check for broken packages.

dist-upgrade

Like upgrade but also handle dependencies intelligently.

dselect-upgrade

Used together with dselect. Track the changes made by dselect to the Status field of available packages and take actions necessary to realize that status.

install package...

Install one or more packages. Specify the package name, not the full filename. Other required packages also are retrieved and installed. With a hyphen appended to the package name, the package is removed if it is already installed.

remove package...

Remove one or more packages. Specify the package name, not the full filename. With a plus sign appended to the name, the package is installed.

source package...

Find source packages and download them into the current directory. If specified with --compile, the source packages are compiled into binary packages. With --download-only, the source packages are not unpacked.

update

Resynchronize the package overview files from their sources. Must be done before an upgrade or dist-upgrade.

upgrade

Install the latest versions of all packages currently installed. Run update first.

Options

Options can be specified on the command line ...