aptitude

Package management tool for Debian GNU/Linux

Being a console geek without the pain

Ben Finney

Cybersource

Overview

• For those who came in late
• Features of aptitude
• Using aptitude

For those who came in late

• Packages and their relationships
• The dpkg system
• The APT system
• Package manager interfaces

Packages and their relationships

• A package contains files, meta-data, and instructions
  • Files: the files to be put into the operating system
  • Meta-data: information about the package and its files
  • Instructions: scripts to install, uninstall, configure etc.
• Each packages declares how it relates to others
  • Provides, Depends, Recommends, Suggests, Conflicts, etc.
  • Relationships are part of the meta-data

The dpkg system

• Manages individual packages
  • --install, --remove, --configure, etc.
  • Uses meta-data for a package
    • from foo.deb package file
    • from system database of installed packages
  • Runs pre-blah and post-blah scripts for a package
• Maintains dependency database and ensures consistency
  • Knows only about packages installed on the system
  • Has one way to resolve dependency conflict: abort

The APT system

• Knows about packages available from repositories
  • Repositories are specified in /etc/apt/sources.list
  • Meta-data for available packages is in each Packages file
• Plans ordering of steps for a user's request
  • User requests a single action (install foo, uninstall foo)
  • APT resolves the request to a set of package status changes
  • Transactional: maintains a consistent state before and after
• Fetches packages needed to satisfy dependencies
• Uses dpkg to perform each package status change

Package manager interfaces

• Raw dpkg: resolve all relationships yourself
  • Always available regardless of other tools
• dselect: text console GUI, predates APT
  • Default "new-user" package manager for several Debian releases
  • Interface and features have fallen far behind
• Command-line tools packaged with APT
  • apt-get, apt-cache and friends
• aptitude: APT command-line and text console GUI
  • Default package manager interface in "sarge"
• Others
  • synaptic, feta, wajig, ...

Features of aptitude

• Main features
• Nine reasons to use aptitude

Main features

• From package description:

  $ dpkg-query --show --showformat '${description}\n' aptitude
  terminal-based apt frontend
   aptitude is a terminal-based apt frontend with a number of useful
   features, including: a mutt-like syntax for matching packages in a
   flexible manner, dselect-like persistence of user actions, the
   ability to retrieve and display the Debian changelog of most
   packages, and extreme flexibility and customization.
  

  • Terminal-based: fast for remote sessions
  • Mutt-like navigation and pattern matching
  • Persistence of user actions
  • Retrieve and display changelogs
  • Flexibility and customisation

•  aptitude is also Y2K-compliant, non-fattening, naturally cleansing,
   and housebroken.
  

Nine reasons to use aptitude

• According to Joey Hess (via debian-user):
  1. aptitude can look just like apt-get
  2. aptitude tracks automatically installed packages
  3. aptitude sanely handles recommends
  4. use aptitude as a normal user and avoid hosing your system
  5. aptitude has a powerful UI and searching capabilities
  6. aptitude makes it easy to keep track of obsolete software
  7. aptitude has an interface to the Debian task system
  8. aptitude supports multiple sources
  9. aptitude logs its actions
• The real reason:
  10. you can play minesweeper if you get bored/frustrated!

Using aptitude

• Text GUI operation
  • Package browser interface
  • Navigating the package list
  • Finding packages by name
  • Managing packages
  • Updating and installing
• Command-line operation
  • Common aptitude commands

Package browser interface

• Run aptitude as a normal user

  $ aptitude
  

• Screen regions
  • Menu bar
  • Common shortcuts
  • Program status
  • Package hierarchy list
  • Package summary line
  • Package information

Common shortcuts

• q: Quit current level, back to previous operation
• F10: Menu activation
• ?: Help on shortcuts
• Ctrl + U: Undo latest package change
• u: Update package list
• g: Go to next step

Navigating the package list

• Expanding hierarchy of groups:
  • status → package section → archive component
  • status: Grouped by current status of package
  • package section: Grouped by functional section in meta-data
  • archive component: Grouped by package repository component (main, contrib, etc.)
• Navigation keys:
  • ↑ and ↓: move selection highlight
  • Enter: close or open selected group one level
  • [ and ]: open or close all levels of selected group

Package list display

• Open hierarchy groups until a package list is reached
• Listing format:

  iu    autobook                    +139kB  1.4.1-1    1.4.2-1
  i A   gettext-base                        0.14.1-10  0.14.1-10
  

  • Status flags
    • Current state
    • Requested action
    • Automatic flag
  • Package name
  • Disk usage delta
  • Current installed version
  • Latest available version

Finding packages by name

• Press / to open search dialogue
• Type package name
  • Package list incrementally searches as you type
• Select Ok (press Enter) to close search
• Press n for next matching package

Limiting the package list

• Press l to open limit dialogue
• Type package name (or some other pattern)
• Select Ok (press Enter) to set the limit
• All non-matching packages are hidden
• Set a limit of . to match all packages
  • Or use the menu: F10 → Search → Un-Limit Display

Managing packages

• Main action request shortcut keys:
  • +: request installation
  • -: request removal
  • =: request hold
  • Ctrl+U: undo a request
• No change to status
  • Changes the "action" flag
  • Other packages will change action flag as needed
• Can only change package database as root
  • aptitude will prompt for root password when needed
  • Or use the menu: F10 → Actions → Become root

The “current state” flag

• Shows the state of the package on the system
  • i — installed: successfully installed to system
  • c — config: package not installed, but configuration files remain
  • p — purged: package has no files on system
  • v — virtual: package does not exist, but another "Provides" it
  • B — broken: dependencies unresolved, fix required
  • u — unpacked: only files unpacked, not configured
  • C — half-configured: configuration failed, fix required
  • H — half-installed: removal failed, must be reinstalled

The “action” flag

• Shows the change needed to meet current requests
  • (blank): no change needed
  • i — install: not currently installed, get latest version
  • u — upgrade: currently installed, get latest version
  • d — delete: uninstall, don't touch config files
  • p — purge: uninstall, remove config files
  • h — hold: don't upgrade from current version
  • F — forbid: don't upgrade to latest version
  • r — reinstall: re-run installation and configuration
  • B — broken: dependencies not satisfied, fix required

The “automatic” flag

• Shows which packages are managed automatically
  • If set (A flag), remove package when not needed
    • Only affects aptitude, not other APT programs
  • If not set (blank flag), package is explicitly wanted by user
    • Default behaviour for other APT programs
• Shortcut keys to change selected package
  • m ("manual"): Unset automatic flag when a package is useful by itself
  • M ("not-manual"): Set automatic flag when a package is of no interest
• Much simpler package management
  • Tell aptitude the packages you care about
  • Put the rest on automatic

Updating and installing

• Normal workflow through aptitude:
  • Run aptitude
  • Press u: Update current package list from repositories
    • Downloads Packages files
  • Press U: Request upgrade of all packages with newer versions
  • Browse and search packages, request package actions
    • Mostly requests to install or delete
  • Press g: Go ahead with requests
    • Resolves list of changed packages for confirmation
  • Press g: Go ahead with actions
    • Downloads any needed foo.deb files
    • Runs dpkg for each change
  • Press q to quit

Common aptitude commands

• Package status actions
• Package database queries
• Useful aptitude features

Package status actions

• Using aptitude like apt-get
  • Specific package requests:

    $ sudo aptitude install foo bar baz
    $ sudo aptitude remove larry curly moe
    $ sudo aptitude purge good bad ugly
    

  • Periodic upgrades:

    $ sudo aptitude update
    $ sudo aptitude upgrade
    

  • Nightly cron job:

    $ sudo crontab -l | grep aptitude
    00 05 * * *  aptitude update && aptitude upgrade --assume-yes --download-only
    

  • Treating "Recommends" as "Depends":

    $ sudo aptitude install --with-recommends foo bar baz
    

Package database queries

• Using aptitude like apt-cache and dpkg-awk
  • Show status and meta-data for matching packages:

    $ aptitude show foo bar baz
    

  • Show name and summary for matching packages:

    $ aptitude search '^foo'           # starting with "foo"
    $ aptitude search '^foo$'          # exactly "foo"
    $ aptitude search '^(foo|bar)'     # starting with either "foo" or "bar"
    

  • Matches benefit from mutt-style patterns:

    $ aptitude search '~b'             # broken packages
    $ aptitude search '~Dfoo'          # packages that Depends: foo
    $ aptitude search '~N'             # new packages (since last "forget")
    $ aptitude search '~N~mdaniels     # new packages maintained by Daniel Stone
    

  • Full range of regular expressions and patterns
  • Works for any package selection command

Useful aptitude features

• Some features special to aptitude
  • Get a foo.deb without changing the status:

    $ aptitude download foo
    $ aptitude download foo=1.2.3-1
    

  • Show the changelog for a package without changing the status:

    $ aptitude changelog foo
    $ aptitude changelog foo=1.2.3-1
    

  • Change the automatic flag for packages:

    $ aptitude markauto foo
    $ aptitude unmarkauto foo
    

  • Forget the "new" status of available packages:

    $ aptitude forget-new
    

Important limitation

• Full disclosure:

  $ aptitude --help | tail --lines 1
                    This aptitude does not have Super Cow Powers.
  $ apt-get --help | tail --lines 1
                         This APT has Super Cow Powers.
  

• A reason to keep apt-get:

  $ aptitude moo
  There are no Easter Eggs in this program.
  $ apt-get moo
           (__)
           (oo)
     /------\/
    / |    ||
   *  /\---/\
      ~~   ~~
  ...."Have you mooed today?"...
  

The aptitude user's manual

• Comprehensive manual by designer and implementor
  • Full text available on Help menu ( F10 → h → m )
  • sudo aptitude install aptitude-doc-en
    • HTML manual available at file:///usr/share/doc/aptitude/html/en/index.html
• 1. Getting Started
  • Basis for "Using aptitude" section of this presentation
• 2. aptitude Reference Guide
  • The aptitude UI
  • Managing packages
  • Search Patterns
  • Customizing aptitude
  • Playing Minesweeper

Questions?

About this presentation

• Online (soon) at LUV
  • http://www.luv.asn.au/presentations/
  • Released as free software under the GNU GPL, of course
• XHTML slideshow system using S⁵ by Eric Meyer
  • http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/tools/s5/
• Virtual keyboard using xvkbd by Tom Sato
  • http://homepage3.nifty.com/tsato/xvkbd/
• aptitude and the user's manual by Daniel Burrows
  • http://packages.debian.org/testing/admin/aptitude
  • http://packages.debian.org/testing/admin/aptitude-doc-en